Assignment Name: Study on Understanding the Impact of Climate Change on Poor and Vulnerable Char People

Country: Bangladesh

Client Name: Concern Worldwide

The “Empowering Women and Youth through Graduation and Financial Inclusion (EWYGFI)” project, funded by MetLife Foundation and implemented by Concern Worldwide with RDRS Bangladesh, aimed to improve the livelihoods of 13,000 extreme poor and very poor households in Kurigram District, Bangladesh. Through an adapted graduation approach, the project attempted at enhancing the social and economic resilience by promoting savings, providing training on income-generating activities, and improving access to financial services. The project involved providing extreme poor women with consumption support, asset transfers for income-generating activities, and training in financial literacy, disaster risk reduction, and climate change adaptation.

The project aimed at exploring and understanding the impact of climate change on the most vulnerable populations in the Char regions of Bangladesh, specifically the people living in the Kurigram district, which is one of the most climate-vulnerable areas in the country. Bangladesh, being located in the largest river delta, faces severe climate risks, including flooding, river erosion, and droughts, which disproportionately affect the poor and marginalized communities living on river islands known as “Chars.”

The study aimed to reappraise the socio-economic impacts of climate-induced hazards on these vulnerable communities, focusing on two specific Upazilas in Kurigram—Kurigram Sadar and Ulipur. The study sought to understand the specific hazards the populations were exposed to, assess their vulnerability, and analyze their coping strategies. It also aimed to assess how future livelihood programs could better help mitigate or manage climate-induced risks.

The specific objectives of the study included:

• To understand the specific hazards participants are exposed to
• To understand their levels of exposure and the conditions that make people more vulnerable to these hazards
• To understand specific socio-economic impacts of climate-induced risks (considering different livelihood pathways – on-farm and off-farm)
• To understand what knowledge and resources participant have to mitigate the identified risks
• To assess the effectiveness of programme actions, designed to reduce hazards, exposure or vulnerability, and
• To make recommendations on how future livelihood programming could better help people mitigate or manage climate-induced risks.

The scope of work included a comprehensive set of activities to ensure the successful completion of the study.

Planning and Consultation:

• Engaged in planning meetings with the project management team to finalize the study design, objectives, and methodology. Ensured alignment with the broader goals of the “Empowering Women and Youth through Graduation and Financial Inclusion (EWYGFI)” project.
• Conducted consultations with key stakeholders, including local government officials, community leaders, and experts in climate change adaptation, to ensure that the study’s scope and objectives were closely aligned with local needs and the vulnerability context of the Char people.

Document Review:

• Reviewed relevant documents such as the project proposal, baseline and end-line survey data from the EWYGFI project, climate-related reports, and secondary data sources, including government publications and scientific studies. This helped inform the study design and understand the broader context of the Char people’s vulnerabilities.
• Analyzed past reports on the Char context, including Concern Worldwide’s 2016 Char Contextual Analysis, to gain deeper insights into existing socio-economic conditions and the impacts of climate hazards.

Study Design and Planning:

• Developed a mixed-methods approach combining both qualitative and quantitative methods to capture comprehensive data on the socio-economic impacts of climate change on the Char communities. The approach was designed to capture both the depth and breadth of the impacts, drawing on both primary field data and secondary project-related data.
• Designed data collection tools such as surveys, focus group discussion (FGD) guidelines, and key informant interview (KII) checklists that were aligned with the study’s objectives. These tools were specifically adapted for the target population (ultra-poor and very poor women, men, and youth) to capture their perspectives on climate change and livelihood vulnerabilities.
• Pre-tested data collection tools in the study area to ensure their relevance and appropriateness, and to refine them based on local conditions and needs.

Data Collection:

• Conducted extensive field data collection across two unions in Kurigram: Jatrapur Union (Kurigram Sadar Upazila) and Bazra Union (Ulipur Upazila).
• Conducted Focus group discussions (FGDs) with different groups (extreme poor women, very poor women, men, and youth) to capture qualitative perspectives on climate hazards, vulnerability, and coping strategies.
• Conducted Key informant interviews (KIIs) with local government representatives, community leaders, climate change experts, and project staff to gather insights on policy, institutional responses, and the effectiveness of the EWYGFI program.
• Implemented community-led participatory methods (PRA tools) such as calendar exercises including seasonal hazard calendar, agriculture/crop calendar, and livelihood calendar; mapping exercises including community mapping, livelihood resource mapping, and climate hazard mapping; vulnerability factor assessment such as coping and adaptation strategies assessment, and vulnerability matrix; and social network mapping.

Data Management and Analysis:

• Ensured data quality through comprehensive training of field enumerators, daily debriefing sessions, and rigorous field supervision to maintain accuracy and consistency across data collection activities.
• Applied descriptive and inferential analysis to analyze the quantitative data, including secondary household survey data from the EWYGFI program. The analysis aimed to assess socio-economic impacts, vulnerability to climate hazards, and the effectiveness of coping strategies.
• Developed a vulnerability matrix to rank the severity of climate risks, such as flooding, riverbank erosion, drought, and extreme temperatures, based on the frequency of occurrence and the socio-economic impacts.
• Utilized GIS tools to map hazard-prone areas, identifying the spatial distribution of key assets, risks, and resources that could inform future programming.

Gender and Social Inclusion Analysis:

• Assessed the gendered impacts of climate hazards by analyzing the differential impacts on women and socially excluded groups. This included understanding women’s roles in livelihood activities, decision-making processes, and their access to resources and support networks.
• Provided recommendations for designing gender-responsive climate change adaptation strategies that enhance the resilience of vulnerable groups, particularly women, in the Char regions.

Reporting and Recommendations:

• Compiled a comprehensive report detailing the findings of the study, including a clear identification of the climate hazards faced by Char communities and their socio-economic impacts. The report provided a synthesis of the study’s quantitative and qualitative findings.
• Proposed actionable recommendations for future livelihood programming to better address the climate risks and vulnerabilities of Char communities.
• Developed context-specific guidelines for designing future interventions that integrate climate resilience into livelihood improvement programs, with an emphasis on sustainable and inclusive strategies.

Stakeholder Engagement:

• Engaged with local and national stakeholders (e.g., government departments, development partners, and community representatives) to validate the study’s findings and foster collaboration for addressing climate change impacts in the Char regions.
• Facilitated presentations of the draft findings to stakeholders, gathering feedback that informed the final report and provided a platform for ensuring the study’s recommendations were actionable.

This detailed study successfully established critical insights into the vulnerabilities of Char communities to climate change, contributing to the development of future interventions that would better mitigate climate-induced risks and improve livelihoods in the Char region.