The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) of Bangladesh won the Earth Care Award 2012 (sponsored by the Times of India) for spearheading the  Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF)  (LDCF) project ?Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change through Coastal Afforestation in Bangladesh?. This year?s Earth Care Awards category was "Community-based adaptation and mitigation".

The LDCF- funded project has a strong community-based adaptation component and has benefited 18,269 households by involving them in afforestation, agriculture, livestock, and fishery-based livelihood adaptation.

 

 One of the significant adaptation response measures used is the development of FFF (Forest-Fish-Fruit) Model, a mound-ditch model that comprises short and long term resource and income generation, as well as livelihood diversification. This model is used in barren lands, located behind coastal mangrove forests. By using a combination of protective and productive vegetation, mound and ditch land structures, the FFF model has prevented land encroachment and ensured water security through rain water harvesting in ditches.  It offers multiple livelihood opportunities such as fish cultivation, irrigation for crops, and  conversion of barren land into productive land. This model accommodates families in the community with at least US $1,000 additional income/beneficiary/year. Ms. Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson of the GEF expressed: ?Through on-ground projects in over 42 least developed countries, the LDCF has been fulfilling its mandate to address the urgent climate change adaptation needs of the most vulnerable. However, it is only through engaged governments and community ownership, such as in the case of Bangladesh, that the expected adaptation benefits of these projects can be realized. This award honors Bangladesh's commitment and substantiates LDCF's decade-long efforts towards fulfilling adaptation needs.?

 

This innovative project, implemented by UNDP, is also the recipient of an award in the ?Knowledge Competition? of the Fifth International Conference on Community Based Adaptation (CBA5), held at Dhaka on March 26-31, 2011. This is a remarkable example of the achievements of LDCF in concrete adaptation actions finance.