1. ENHANCING RESILIENCE
Enhancing Resilience to Natural Disasters and Effects of Climate Change
The overall objective of the Enhancing Resilience Programme is:
“to improve access to livelihood assets, contribute to enhanced resilience and
to reduce risks from disaster and adverse effects of climate change faced by
targeted food-insecure communities and households”
Description
Bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world. As a delta
country, Bangladesh is exposed to natural hazards like cyclones, floods and
sea level rise. The impact of these natural hazards is enormous given the fact
that Bangladesh is densely populated. Moreover, these natural hazards are
expected to increase due to climate change and are likely to undermine poverty
reduction efforts. Coping strategies adopted by the poor such as reducing food
intake, withdrawing children from school and selling productive assets increase
the vulnerability of low-income households and worsen people’s prospects for
escaping the poverty cycle.
Resilience from natural disasters has many aspects – a home safe from
flooding, the knowledge and skills to prepare for and cope with disasters, and
the financial security to recover and rebuild in the aftermath of a shock. The
Enhancing Resilience Programme targets 7000 ultra-poor households in South
West Bangladesh and applies a participatory approach to these issues. In
exchange for their participation in work and training cycles, participants are
compensated through a combination of food and cash transfers. The revenue
from these investments or transfers help to bridge critical household
consumption gaps in targeted ultra-poor households (which prevents asset
depletion). Small savings kept aside from these transfers also provide a basic
platform for household resilience to potential future shocks. Though not
explicitly expressed as an outcome, the project can also be considered a
contribution to women empowerment, as it primarily targets 7,000 ultra-poor
women.
This Programme is a continuation of ‘component 3’ on Enhancing Resilience of
the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN) co-funded United
Nations Development Program Integrated Water Management project (UNDP
IWM). Under this co-funded project, EKN financially supported, in 2013, 7,000
ultra-poor households to complete the first year of a three year Enhancing
Resilience Project cycle. Another donor withdrew its funding at the end of 2013,
which meant that the 7,000 ultra-poor households would stop short of
completing their 3 year cycle. To avoid this, EKN decided to fund this project.
Now the second and third year of this project cycle can be completed to ensure
the sustainability and impact of the project.
Duration
January 1, 2014 - December 31, 2015
(continuation of another project; total
duration is 3 years instead of 2 years)
Program Area
Target Group
7,000 ultra-poor households
Partners
Donor:
Embassy of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands (EKN)
Implementing Partners:

2. Partner Information
The World Food Programme (WFP)
is a UN organisation which has a
humanitarian and development
mandate, which includes: food aid
in emergencies, the use of food aid
to support economic and social
development and contribution to
international food security.
The Bangladesh Country Office is
at the forefront of WFP’s global
shift from food aid to food
assistance. WFP has been
assisting the poorest people of
Bangladesh through development
programmes over the past 39 years
in close cooperation with the
Government (GoB).
Program ID
Activity no. Pir 26244
Contract no. DHA 0117027
Budget
EUR 1.265.915
Further Information
For more information please visit:
www.wfp.org/countries/bangladesh
Contact
WFP Bangladesh:
IDB Bhaban 14
th
, 16
th
and 17
th
Floor. E/8A Rokeya Sharani
Agargaon, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar,
1207-Dhaka.
Siddiqul-Islam Khan - Enhancing
Resillience Programme Officer:
siddiqul-islam.khan@wfp.org
Embassy of the Kingdom of the
Netherlands: dha-OS@minbuza.nl
Program Components
There are three key activities in this project;
1. Developing water infrastructure: During the dry season (from January to
June), water infrastructure is rehabilitated under the technical guidance
of the Local Government Engineering Department, using the unskilled
labour of the targeted 7,000 ultra-poor households. Households’
productive assets and community assets for disaster risk reduction and
adaptation are built/restored and maintained. Such as; embankments,
drainage canals, roads cum embankments, raised grounds and
homestead plinths. This component will be executed in the first two years
of this project.
2. Emergency preparedness/life-skills training: The project offers life-skills
training to participants during the wet season (from July to December).
Training topics include cyclone preparedness, as well as other critical life
skills such as nutrition awareness. These trainings will be provided in the
first two years of the project cycle.
3. Cash grant for investment: In the third and final year of the programme
women from targeted ultra-poor households are offered a monthly cash
subsistence allowance (Monthly Stipend Allowance (MSA) – 600 Taka),
which stabilizes basic consumption. Then, participants are offered
entrepreneurial skills training and receive support in developing a
business plan for an income generating activity of their choice. Following
this, participants are provided with a one-off cash grant, the value of
which is substantial enough to cover the investment needed to establish
a meaningful and sustainable micro-enterprise. For the remainder of the
cycle, participants are monitored and supported intensively to ensure
that re-investment is taking place.
The combined package of water infrastructure development, training in
emergency preparedness / life-skills and a cash grant for livelihood
investment has proven beneficial for communities vulnerable to natural
disasters and the effects of climate change.
Contribution to National Policy Programs
 Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) 2009
 National Plan for Disaster Management 2010-2015
 Country Investment Plan
 Master Plan for Agriculture Development in the Southern Region of
Bangladesh.
 National Food Policy