This International Centre for Climate Change and Development summary for policy makers is the result of an almost two-year engagement with the issue of loss and damage in Bangladesh. By providing this assessment of the first comprehensive process to better understand loss and damage at the national-level, the authors hope to inform policy makers in other countries who might be planning to undertake a similar process. The authors note that it is based on research that is still in progress, and acknowledge that context matters and thus national research must be tailored to the individual needs of each country. The summary begins by explaining the process of the programme, including stakeholder engagement, workshops, and building capacity. It then explains the key findings across a variety of aspects of loss and damage which are translated into a number of lessons from Bangladesh that could inform other national-level processes on loss and damage, including: Perform a needs assessment to better understand how to tailor policies and programs for the poorest and most vulnerable. Work as part of a consortium to maximize opportunities for collaboration, exchange of best practices and ideas, and joint initiatives between those working in different countries and regions. Invest in long-term capacity building of researchers to ensure that high quality research is produced, disseminated to a wide audience, and translated into policy and practice. Use pilot projects to undertake field research and data collection, as well as to test different combinations of approaches to address loss and damage. Ensure finance and technology transfer to support activities aimed at assessing and addressing loss and damage. Use loss and damage as an opportunity to examine possibilities for integrating disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Encourage policy makers to mainstream transformative approaches to help vulnerable groups assume more sustainable livelihoods. There were other lessons besides these that emerged from the research, such as: the benefits of enhanced public awareness about climate change and loss and damage in facilitating better implementation of policies; the importance of engaging the right people, and to empower actors, when undertaking a national process; and that the establishment of a national-level loss and damage mechanism can facilitate the implementation of current and new policies, something Bangladesh would benefit from pursuing rather than waiting for international guidance.

Publication date
Type of publication
Document
Objective
Adaptation
Approach
Community based
Collection
Eldis
CTCN Keyword Matches
Bangladesh