Category: Blog
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Climate Smart Rain Water Harvesting System Inaugurated in Mongla, Promises Inclusive Urban Infrastructure for Informal Settlements
In a momentous ceremony held on 31st July, 2023, the Climate Smart Rain Water Harvesting System project was officially inaugurated in Mongla, bringing hope in the form of inclusive urban infrastructure for an informal settlement named Signal Tower Colony. The event witnessed the handover of the project structure to local authorities and marked the commencement…
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Exploring the Heart of Mongla: Balur Math Slum and Signal Tower Slum | Experience Sharing from Field visit
During my recent trip to Mongla, Bangladesh, I had the opportunity to visit two slum areas: Balur Math and Signal Tower Colony. These areas provided a unique glimpse into the daily lives, challenges, and resilience of the local community. Join me on this journey as I delve into the stories and experiences, I encountered in…
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Exploring Colombo: A Journey of Urban Inclusion and Academic Collaboration
In early May, we embarked on a journey to Colombo, the vibrant capital city of Sri Lanka. Our purpose was to attend the 3rd Annual meeting of the Inclusive Urban Infrastructure (IUI) project, a multi-country initiative is leading by the University of Sussex. The 3rd Inclusive Urban Infrastructure (IUI) annual meeting was held on 8-10…
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Improving water access for the poorest households in Mongla
Mongla, the second seaport of Bangladesh, is situated in the southernmost part of the country. As the local economy has grown, the area has witnessed a massive population influx, with around 150,000 residents now living there. This has put a significant strain on water resources. The groundwater is saline, and the community relies entirely on surface drinking…
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Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) – Will it deliver?
The Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) concluded in Doha, Qatar on 09 March 2023. The event attended by around 5,000 participants, including 47 heads of state or government and 130 ministers and vice ministers, adopted the Doha Political Declaration. The declaration commits to implementing the Doha Programme of Action (DPoA),…
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Study visit to Hopley Farm in Zimbabwe
During the Inclusive Urban Infrastructure (IUI) project’s annual meeting in Zimbabwe last year, we visited Hopley Farm, located on the periphery of the country’s capital Harare, and engaged with the community. As IUI colleagues prepare to visit urban neighbourhoods in Colombo (Sri Lanka) during this year’s IUI annual meeting, we thought it was a timely moment to reflect…
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The case for a values-based understanding of loss and damage
The loss and damage conversation largely centres around the economics of climate impacts. Losses and damages which are difficult to value on a monetary scale are termed ‘non-economic losses and damages’, often left out of the equation, and often misunderstood. Moreover, there is a limited appreciation of the connections between what is deemed economic…
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Loss and Damage fund established at COP27: what happens next?
Saleemul Huq, one of the most persistent long-term advocates of a ‘loss and damage’ fund on climate change, explores the origins and potential of the breakthrough at the recent COP. For thirty years the vulnerable developing countries led by the small island states had been demanding under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)…
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Access to water services in informal settlements in Mongla, Bangladesh
Globally, 24% of the urban population lives in informal settlements. Such settlements often have inadequate essential services, including housing, water, sanitation, energy, transportation and communications. In Bangladesh, 47.2% of the population lives in urban informal settlements. According to the World Health Organization, 60% of people in Bangladesh are forced to drink contaminated water, many of whom live in urban informal settlements.…
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Ensuring water security for ethnic minority communities in CHT
The ethnic minority people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts already apply the methodology of Nature Based Solutions and Locally Led Adaptation in order to adapt to climate change
People living in remote areas in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) are more vulnerable to lack of adequate and safe water. Many people are experiencing severe water shortages due to the degradation of natural resources, including streams, and the unsustainable depletion of forest resources. This situation worsens in the dry season and persists from February…
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The impacts of human-induced climate change are exacerbating social and economic inequalities of indigenous peoples – A case study from Bangladesh
Introduction The impacts of climate change are evident on the social, economic and political spheres of the least developed and developing nations, and Bangladesh is no exception. Over the last few decades, multiple studies claim that the intensity and frequency of rapid and slow onset events such as cyclones, storm surges, sea level rise, salinity…
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Nature Conservation, Climate Change and Indigenous People – Evidence Base, Research and Environmental Justice
Indigenous peoples (IPs) have long been living with nature and observing natural changes whilst sustainably managing and protecting more than 25% of world’s landscape. While IPs constitute only 5% of the world’s population, they contribute to 80% of global biodiversity conservation. However, they are often subjected to systemic racial, socio-economic and legal discrimination resulting in…