Our Ongoing Projects

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Project No: 1

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Name of the Project

Developing capacity of community to improve resilience to disaster risk by promoting best practices, appropriate policies and regional cooperation in the Lower Brahmaputra River Basin in India and Bangladesh.

Introduction

Bangladesh’s main potential threat from the Brahmaputra includes floods, river bank erosion, and diminished water flow and groundwater unavailability in the dry season. The community people survive based on their traditional knowledge and practices. Therefore the purpose of this project is to explore the best practices of the disaster affected community people to cope with water induced natural hazards and disasters and enhance their capacity to improve to disaster risks by promoting best practices and promote appropriate policies in the lower region of Brahmaputra River basin in India and Bangladesh. In addition, the project will enhance capacity to the community people based on their best practices and innovative technologies particularly on agriculture, livestock, fisheries and livelihood improvement and adaptation in respect of adverse impact of climate change.

Donor

The Asia Foundation

Implementing Agency

EPRC and Aaranyak (A Scientific and Industrial Research Organization of India)

Period

September, 2016 to September, 2017

Goal & Objective

The main objective of the project are: (i) Improve capacity of community (a) to make their local practices in DRR and CCA more effective and (b) enhance their understanding about national and transboundary policies of DRR and CCA (c) facilitate their meaningful participation in national and transboundary discussion forums through training, exposure visits and knowledge sharing with their counterparts of the other country and (ii) Carry out advocacy with national and regional forums seeking policy support to communities and bilateral cooperation for implementing the best practices to enhance resilience to disaster and climate risk.

Project Approach

Activities by Output

(i) Selected and finalized unions under the study upazilas mentioned earlier in the project proposal for study implementation. (ii) Conducted Key Informant Interviews and Focus Group Discussions among the target populations. (iii) Conducted Community Training on Resilience Building. (iv) Prepared Training Manual (draft) and Country Report (draft

Progress

(i) Synthesized policy analysis of DRR and CCA in Bangladesh (ii) Published Training Manual on DRR and CCA (iii) Trained community people on resilience to DRR and CCA of the water induced disaster affected areas of Sirajganj, Jamalpur, Gaibandha and Kurigramdistricts (iv) Identified resilience champions and other participants for exposure visit to India

Project No: 2

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Name Of The Project

Developing capacity of community to improve resilience to disaster risk by promoting best practices, appropriate policies and regional cooperation in the Lower Brahmaputra River Basin in India and Bangladesh

Type of project

Climate Change

Duration

September, 2016 to September, 2017

Status

Ongoing

Partner organization

Aaranyak (A scientific and industrial research organization of India)

Key words

Resilience, DRR, CCA, Best Practice,

Goal & Objective

The main objective of the project are: (i) Improve capacity of community (a) to make their local practices in DRR and CCA more effective and (b) enhance their understanding about national and transboundary policies of DRR and CCA (c) facilitate their meaningful participation in national and transboundary discussion forums through training, exposure visits and knowledge sharing with their counterparts of the other country and (ii) Carry out advocacy with national and regional forums seeking policy support to communities and bilateral cooperation for implementing the best practices to enhance resilience to disaster and climate risk.

Brief description

The study unions were selected from the most flood and river bank erosion affected upazilas of Brahmaputra river basin in Jamalpur, Sirajganj, Gaibandha and Kurigram districts in Bangladesh. The study was focused in to the enhancement of the community people in knowledge and practice of disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation as their best practices to cope with disasters.

Output

(i) Published Training Manual on DRR and CCA (ii) Community people from disaster hotspots trained on Resilience to DRR and CCA (iii) Prepared draft country report.

Project No: 3

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Name Of The Project

Creating Arsenic Safe Unions/Upazila with Sustainable Improvement in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Severely Arsenic Affected Areas of Bangladesh

Type of project

WASH

Duration

April, 2016 to June, 2017

Status

Ongoing

Partner organization

Key words

CBO, Water, Sanitation, Hygiene, DTW, WSP

Goals & objectives

The overall objective is to build sustainable arsenic and microbiologically safe drinking water Unions (and Upazila) combined with improved KAP in WASH and O&M of drinking water provisions through educational intervention and after DPHE installed required access to safe drinking provisions in 5 numbers of Unions in KotaliparaUpazila.

Brief description

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cover a wide range of drivers across the three pillars of sustainable development, and include a dedicated goal on water and sanitation (SDG 6) that sets out to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. In Bangladesh, overall water supply coverage is good and achieving the water supply MDG is primarily a question of regress the loss of access due to arsenic contamination and improving access for the venerable and marginalized people.Gopalganj District is a severely arsenic affected district. Sources of drinking water are mainly tube-well (97.1%). Most of the tubewell water in its KotaliparaUpazila (out of 5 Upazils) was found with high arsenic contamination in ‘Situation Analysis of Arsenic Mitigation 2009’ report by DPHE and JICA. The rate of arsenic contamination in the ground water in Kotalipara is about 79%. People of this upazila have almost no access to safe water and no alternative solution was available from any public or private development organizations to overcome the situation.

Output

(i) Five unions are declared as arsenic-safe and conducted joint reviews. (ii) Total 184 no. of User Groups (10240 people) trained on WSPs under installed water points (iii) Functional (real time) monitoring and evaluation systems are established and utilized to ensure timely and accurate reporting and water and sanitation related data capture from sub-national to national level

Project No: 4

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Name of the Project

Creating Arsenic Safe Unions/Upazila with Sustainable Improvement in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in Severely Arsenic Affected Areas of Bangladesh

Introduction

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) cover a wide range of drivers across the three pillars of sustainable development, and include a dedicated goal on water and sanitation (SDG 6) that sets out to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. In Bangladesh, overall water supply coverage is good and achieving the water supply MDG is primarily a question of regress the loss of access due to arsenic contamination and improving access for the venerable and marginalized people. The recent results of the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) in 2015 estimated that approximately 19.7 million people are still exposed to arsenic concentrations above the Bangladesh Drinking Water Quality Standard 50 µg/L. Since the challenge is huge and complex in Bangladesh and drinking water supply is a sub-sector to national water policy, it is important that water resources projects for sustainable development incorporate improvement of the drinking water in water stressed areas.

Donor

Unicef Bangladesh

Implementing Agency

EPRC

Period

April, 2016 to June, 2017

Goal & Objective

The overall objective is to build sustainable arsenic and microbiologically safe drinking water Unions (and Upazila) combined with improved KAP in WASH and O&M of drinking water provisions through educational intervention and after DPHE installed required access to safe drinking provisions in 5 numbers of Unions in KotaliparaUpazila.

Project Approach

1. Community based educational intervention including community social mobilization for creating awareness and coordinated multiple stakeholder participated educational intervention anddevelop local CBOs from water point beneficiaries. 2. The intervention themes will include arsenic safe Union (and Upazila), water safety plan, WASH as stated in the Bangladesh national policies and strategies, and equitable gender mainstreaming. It will be done towards sustainable behavioral and O&M improvements. 3. Coordination and monitoring linkage about promotion of access to safe drinking water developed with DPHE and UNICEF and timely implemented for arsenic safe Unions. 4. Build local capacity to operate and maintain the installed safe water devices and promote Water Safety Plans (WSP) and WASH (through CBOs). 5. Reactivation of WATSAN Committee at LGI Level (UP and Ward) and linkage with CBOs. 6. Improve WASH in schools and promote WASH through student brigades of those schools in their respective catchment areas. 7. Action research on KAP about appropriate menstrual hygiene and hand washing for safe hands among adolescent girls.

Activities by Output

1. About 3,267people from WASH, health, and education related national and sub-national and community based institutions have enhanced capacity to implement arsenic safe village concept. 2. Approximately 38,000 poor and vulnerable people in 5 unions in KotaliparaUpazila are supported to gain access to and utilize functional arsenic safe water within 150 m of dwelling, all year round through DPHE installed water points. 3. More than 80% of community people & school age children in 5 unions improve knowledge and also about 10% improve practice of safe water handling, safe excretal disposal, hand washing at critical times & use safe water 4. Functional (real time) monitoring and evaluation systems are established and utilized to ensure timely and accurate reporting and water and sanitation related data capture from sub-national to national level 5.Sub-national and Village level Operation and Maintenance system is established and functional to ensure sustainability of project results. 6. Five unions declared arsenic-safe and conducted joint reviews.

Progress

1. Total 205 numbers of CSA conducted with Map, CBO formation and CAP done in five Unions with the presence of LGI and local leaders. 2. Total 4448 numbers of drinking water TWs were tested by DPHE support. Arsenic screening report summary submitted to DPHE, UNICEF Dhaka and Zone. 3. Total 320 DTW sites finalized by Upazila WATSAN committee. 4. Total 184 no. of User Groups (10240 people) trained on WSPs under installed water points. 5. Total 703 WATSAN cimmittee meeting conducted at 630 Ward, 70 Union and 3 Upazilalevel.

Project No: 5

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Name of the Project

Women and community empowerment for basic environmental health improvements in highly vulnerable to climate change rural areas of Bangladesh: Scopes for safe drinking water, sanitation, hygiene, and food security.

Introduction

Environment and Population Research Centre (EPRC) has conducted an action research in collaboration with Child Health Foundation towards supply of safe drinking water among poor women and children in water stressed conditions since 2003. Interventions were implemented by EPRC in collaboration with GARNET-SA partner organizations.

Donor

Child Health Foundation (CHF), USA

Duration

May to October, 2015

Goal & Objective

The main objective was to create access to drinking water and improve specified food security and its related livelihood conditions among poor people (women and children focused) in the selected vulnerable areas.

Study Area

The project was implemented at KolaroaUpazila in Satkhira district and South SunamganjUpazila in Sunamganj district.

Main Activities

i) Identified drinking water vulnerable poor communities in consultation with the sub-district officials, DPHE, GARNET-SA partner. ii) Installed DTWs in the selected project sites. iii) Conducted a training-consultation workshop on emergency safe drinking water in flash flood prone Kishoreganj district on 25th August 2015. The workshop was organized after 2015 flash flood. ORS, alum and bleaching powder was distributed to more than 120 women/families thru Union parishad and local GARNET NGO representative. iv) One Arsenic and Iron removal Plant (AIRP) was installed in South Sunamganj.

Selected Results

i) During the reported phase approximately 299 children, 950 women and men (in total 1249) were provided with access to safe drinking water. ii) Before the project only 3.3% of the targeted beneficiaries had access to safe drinking water technology within 50 meter distance. During the post-intervention approximately 92.8% of the population had access to safe drinking water technology (and project installed) within 50 meter.

Current Status

On going