Community-led Initiatives for Climate Justice in Bangladesh

Since 2017, CJRF has provided $921,750 to COAST Foundation for its project “Community-led Initiatives for Climate Justice and Resilience in the Islands and Coastal Areas of the Bay of Bengal in Bangladesh.” With CJRF funds, COAST works with some of the most climate-vulnerable people in Bangladesh, who live on remote islands and the char lands. Many face displacement by floods and rising seas. This project builds a coastal advocacy network, increases access to information through a girls’ radio program, provides education for girls who have left school, and provides technical support and capital inputs related to water, sanitation, agriculture, and climate-adaptive livelihoods.

In the second phase of their project, COAST’s priority is to build up capacity for income generation among women, with particular attention to knowledge, awareness, and confidence dimensions of this capacity, not only physical and financial assets. COAST and its network partners also continue advocacy at both local and national levels, with an emphasis on pushing for effective and equitable policy implementation in three areas: coastal protection, social safety nets, and internal displacement.

The CJRF grant enables COAST to address the links between climate events, education, domestic violence, and child marriage.