Coastal belt of Bangladesh facing severe impacts of Climate Change. Cyclone shelters are identified as a answer to the climate change threats. However, there are alternatives that people can replicate by themselves .....

1. Shashanka Saadi
DRR & CCA Expert
Bangladesh

2.  Geographically coastal zone in Bangladesh is
extremely vulnerable to cyclone, hurricane,
tsunami, tidal surge, beach erosion and salinity
intrusion.
 Beach erosion, pro-longed tidal water in the
coastal town and water logged condition pushing
thousands of people to migrate and many of them
are sheltered in the disaster vulnerable areas or
foothill or on the coastal embankment or migrated
in the cities.
 Bangladesh coastline is more than 700km
comprised about 20 percent of our land mass, and
yet they are home to more than 30 millions.

3.  In coastal areas, concentration of people under
poverty line is comparatively higher than rest
of the country. Potential impact of natural
disasters seems to be greater on the coastal
communities as they are becoming more
vulnerable because of increasing trend of
occurrence of hazard and extreme events.
 Traditional settlement pattern in the coastal
areas are no more climate resilient.
 location of shelter and home of the poor are
scattered in the vulnerable zones.
 The chairman of Southkhali, Sharankhola,
Bagerhat lost 8 members of his families just
due to the lack of communication system to
cyclone shelters.

4.  Spatial planning and land management provide
various tools to prevent natural hazards.
 Our assertion is that the fields of disaster
management, climate change, natural
resource and environmental management,
and poverty reduction have not been
addressed in an integrated way anywhere.
 One step would be to design and begin some
work along these lines on a modest scale.

5. Learning from Cyclone Sidr 2007: Planning for Disaster Resilient
Compact Village
 A good number of people in the vulnerable coastal area did not
believe the cyclone Sidr signal as previous warning was not effective
at the last minute.
 Since there is no provision of cattle shelter in and around the
cyclone shelter, many of the hard core poor families did not go to
cyclone shelter as they don‟t wanted to leave behind of their cattle
being source of their livelihood.
 Poor women headed household, families having physically
handicapped person, old and disabled living far away from the
cyclone shelter were not interested to move for safer shelter.
 Accommodation capacity of cyclone shelters are inadequate and not
gender friendly.
Lessons Learned and Similar initiatives:
 SDCs Lesson learned from Bangladesh 1988 and follow up support
in strengthening the traditional model of Killas (raised land -hill for
shelter) in Bangladesh. SDC built a hill with the Safe shelter at the
central core between the 2 sweet water ponds as shown below.
 Core settlement was built around the ponds, which the people
expanded and developed on their own.

7.  Following is one of the disaster resilient
multi-purpose indigenous material, tools and
techniques based shelters in the flood and
cyclone prone region in Philippines could be
an learning case for Bangladesh:

9.  It is a place for meetings for the villagers
and village-committee, for DMT-
meetings/trainings, for women SHD, IT-
trainings, income generating activities etc.
and serves even for public and private
festivities. (e.g. weddings)
 It is a tool for capacity building, even for
local masons hands-on during the
construction process. These trained masons
go on to build safer houses for the rural
poor.

10.  BDT 18 million (260870 USD) is needed to
build a 120ft x 30ft size cyclone shelter
where 10ft verandah is available. The
shelter is usually total 23 feet high from the
ground.
 The design is „arrow headed‟ to resist wind
impacts.
 This type of shelter can accommodate 800-
1000 persons during emergency.
 The best model available is the CARITAS
model which has facilities of 4 toilets and
two emergency rooms for women and
children.

11.  But it cannot provide enough space for cattle,
HH assets and properties of the poor and
other people. There are issues of lack of
ownership, maintenance, gender insensitivity,
child unfriendliness, occupation by elite and
powerful and lack of accessibilities to the
cyclone shelters.

12.  With the same amount, we can build 150
strong houses (20ft x 10 ft size).
 At least 1500 person can take shelter during
any cyclone and tidal surge.
 They can also protect their livestock, poultry
and other HH assets, assist their neighbors to
get safe place during any cyclonic disasters.

13.  We can establish livelihood options for the poor
families in that cluster settlement.
 We can start the Palm tree plantation in the
vulnerable side to protect the wind and surge
impact, and same time, the palm trees will produce
oil for the poor families.
 The other livelihood options can be linked with
their available skills.
 In best cases, we don‟t need to relocate the
families from their accessible livelihood.
 The fisherfolks can easily live near to their
livelihood options, the small traders can, the
women can and children as well.
 The other wheels of „asset pentagon‟ model would
be introduced in this cluster settlement.

14. Living the Principles of
Sustainable Lifestyle
Energy source
• TOTALLY powered by
RENEWABLE ENERGY
(SOLAR, WINDMILL,
BIOGAS-ceremonial
lighting of the cooking gas
produced by the biogas
digester)
• Reducing consumption
using even ‘waste’
• Renewable energy, eff,
con

15. • Used WATER (to
recycling pond
• Solid Waste- Methane
for cooking gas and
lights
• LIVING THE
PRINCIPLES
• Teaching by example
and experience
Liquid: Recycling: Solid Waste
Biogas – light and cooking gas

16.  Structural Safety
 Cyclone resisting structural design
 100 years tidal surge safety measures
 Saline proof structure
 Decision Support Systems; integrating stakeholders for assessing
vulnerabilities for critical infrastructures
 Adaptation Interventions
 Renewable energy
 Rain water harvesting
 Growth Centre based shelters
 Air to water technology
 Bio-gas digester and
 Common grazing land

17.  Social Interventions
 Common recreational facility
 Children‟s school program
 Health Care
 Educational Programme (schools…)
 Livelihood supportive Interventions
 Common grazing land and mini-dairy farm
 Common pond for aquaculture
 Common production centre (handloom, tailoring, handicrafts, bakery
etc.)
 Kitchen garden / backyard farm
 Early warning systems are made up of, and rely
upon, four main elements:
 Observation and recording
 Risk knowledge and recognition
 Warning and dissemination
 Appropriate response

18.  Local tourist options
 The communities in eco-habitat may explore the possibilities
of tapping local tourist opportunities. The UNDP, through the
Parjatan (Tourism) Corporation and District Development
Committee, may initiate a "Tourism for Rural Poverty
Alleviation in Coastal Vulnerable Zones" programme as part of
which they are exploring the possibilities of ferrying tourists
between the place of interests.
 Changing policy and practice
 A major objective of the programme has been to demonstrate
affordable, replicable and sustainable practices in disaster
risk reduction which can be incorporated into government
and NGOs policy and practice. To this effect UNDP will
concentrate its efforts on influencing pro-poor disaster
resilient settlement with focus on sustainable livelihood policy
at horizontal and vertical level addressing community to
Government and the practices of actors at the Disaster
Management Committees at Union, Upazila, District and
National level. It has also aimed to demonstrate the
applicability and relevance of its technological solutions and
ways of working both with and through communities.

19.  Linking Development and Disaster risk reduction in terms of saving
life, property, assets and relocation.
 Learning by establishing an ecologically sound disaster resilient
habitat with multiple advantages, economically feasible and
environmentally acceptable venture with livelihood opportunities.
 Expansion of the strategic role of coastal vulnerable regions and
“gateway places”, giving particular attention to the development of
peripheral regions.
 Promotion of an economic diversification strategy in shelter sites
and support for the economic development of coastal areas.
 Promotion of integrated settlement development strategies sensitive
to social and functional diversity. Particular attention should be
given to fighting social exclusion and the recycling and/or
restructuring of underused or derelict rural sites and areas.
 Promotion of better accessibility through an appropriate location
policy and land use planning that will stimulate mixing of service
functions and the use of public services including transportation.
 Better co-ordination of spatial development policy with sustainable
use of natural resources and telecommunications planning.
 Coordinated and integrated infrastructure planning and
management for avoiding inefficient investments
 Wide-ranging integration of knowledge-relevant policies and link it
to action research for academic institution for further improvement
of the planning and design.

20.  SIDR 2007 exposed that cyclone shelter is
not the best solution to face the challenges
of climate change impacts. The assumed
increased intensity of cyclones and high
tidal surges should be considered in
cyclone preparedness and DRR programme
for the coastal belt.
 We need to show the alternatives to the
cyclone shelters as most of the cases the
profit goes to the pocket of the
„contractors‟ rather than the community
people.