Adapting Climate Change Education, Skills and Sustainability for Advancing Locally-Led Solutions (ACCESS4ALL)
ULAB secured the Erasmus+ CBHE Grant for the project titled Adapting Climate Change Education, Skills and Sustainability for Advancing Locally-Led Solutions - ACCESS4ALL in 2023. In collaboration with BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Independent University Bangladesh, Maastricht University, and Heidelberg University, ULAB aims to co-produce and co-develop a southern-led curriculum. Climate education in the Global South has long been shaped by narratives and practices from the Global North, often leaving a gap between higher education and employability in green transformation fields in countries like Bangladesh. To address this, the ACCESS4ALL project was launched. Its mission is to reshape curriculum development for climate change in the Global South and bridge the gap between academic learning and employment opportunities in Bangladesh. By engaging different stakeholders—including NGOs, the private sector, academia, and students—the project has mapped out in-demand green skills and co-developed a course tailored to these needs. ACCESS4ALL is developing short courses to equip students and professionals with demand-driven green skills, empower and mobilize communities in climate-affected areas, and create a globally-accessible repository for the resources.
ACCESS4ALL has taken one step further in closing this knowledge gap and broadening access to climate education with its innovative approach in transforming its co-developed course for emerging climate professionals into an MOOC. This online course, incorporating diverse pedagogical methods, aims to introduce learners—both within the Global South and beyond—to climate issues unique to this context. Together with the in-person course, this MOOC represents a groundbreaking approach, with a strong focus on community engagement and the Southern context, equipping students with essential green skills for a sustainable future.
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ACU Commonwealth Climate Change Resilience Grant 2023
CSD-ULAB has been awarded the ACU Commonwealth Climate Change Resilience Grant 2023. The project is titled “Building Resilience Together - Integrated Learning Module to Address the Vulnerable Communities in Bangladesh”. Addressing one of the strategic priorities of the Commonwealth Climate Resilience Network (CCRN) of contributing to the resilience of communities, this project aims to focus on the co-development of learning materials for future professionals interested in working with climate resilience of vulnerable communities in Bangladesh.
The goals of the project are:
To develop an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary understanding of community development and resilience
To support the role and develop the capacity and technical skills of the future workforce in community development and climate resilience in Bangladesh
To enable networking among students and professionals and establish opportunities for collaboration
The project has co-developed a course and parts of the course content is being taught in the Introduction to Climate Change course at ULAB. The mid-year report has already been given and the end-year report will be provided by mid-December 2024 after the mid-term exam of the students. This will ensure the evaluation of the content planned for the course.
Addressing Resource Use Through the Lens of Innovation, Sustainability, and Equity (ARISE)
ARISE (Addressing Resource Use Through the Lens of Innovation, Sustainability, and Equity), was launched in January 2024 as a collaborative initiative by CSD-ULAB and Young Power for Social Action (YPSA), funded by the Environmental Defenders Collaborative (EDC). The project exemplified a transdisciplinary action-oriented approach, fostering collaboration across diverse sectors and expertise. This initiative, spearheaded by CSD-ULAB, brought together academic institutions, NGOs, community organizations, and market players to address the socio-environmental challenges arising from extensive blue economy developments in the Maheshkhali region.
The ARISE project prioritized an inclusive and integrative framework, involving multi-stakeholder partnerships with YPSA, Jothashilpo, and Broque. This collaboration leveraged expertise in environmental justice, community empowerment, expert designers, and market development, ensuring the initiative addressed the interconnected dimensions of environmental sustainability, social equity, and economic resilience. These partnerships were vital in bridging academic research with ground-level action, creating pathways for meaningful change.
The initiative also established market linkages through the IMAGINE project, connecting artisans with mainstream markets to ensure accessibility and scalability for their products. This transdisciplinary approach was instrumental in launching Matarbari Tales, a brand that highlighted the resilience and creativity of 30 women artisans. By combining academic insights, grassroots activism, and market expertise, ARISE transformed challenges into opportunities for these women, enabling them to reclaim their agency and redefine their futures. In essence, ARISE demonstrated the strengths of transdisciplinary research and collaboration in tackling complex socio-environmental issues.
Elicit Needs-based Grassroots Action through Cross-Group Engagement (ENGAGE)
The project ‘Elicit Needs-based Grassroots Action through Cross-Group Engagement (ENGAGE)’ aims to enhance social resilience through Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and diverse livelihood options in the Sundarbans. The project aims to overcome the boundary of the social-political system of the Sundarbans and facilitate transboundary knowledge exchange by creating a consortium of academics, NGOs and governments from India and Bangladesh. Its goals include supporting adaptive practices within the Sundarbans riskscape, exploring, understanding, and mapping climate risks and disaster impacts on the Sundarbans, and stimulating situated adaptive mechanisms to harness social resilience in and of the delta through trans-disciplinary engagement to craft high impact pathways across (post)development interventions at the ground level, unleashing cross-learning possibilities from bilateral exchanges across transboundary Sundarbans.
While the academic partners ULAB, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, and University of Lausanne focus on research components, implementation partners SAJIDA Foundation and Sundarban Jana Sramajibi Manch (SJSM) work on-field in both countries to implement integrated farms and inland fisheries in the vulnerable Sundarban region. Through these interventions, the project works to create a community-to-community knowledge sharing platform with a participatory approach to involve the local communities. For this, academics, NGOs, Governments and communities come together to work towards enhanced social resilience in one of the most climatic-risk prone areas in Bangladesh and in India.
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Strengthening Households with Integrated Farming through Energy Transformation (SHIFT)
Traditional farming practices heavily rely on fossil fuels for irrigation and chemical fertilizers, causing environmental degradation and climate change. USAID, through the Bangladesh Advancing Development and Growth through Energy (BADGE) project, has awarded the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh (ULAB) grant funding to address these challenges with the groundbreaking project "Strengthening Households with Integrated Farming through Energy Transformation (SHIFT)."
SHIFT aims to revolutionize conventional approaches to agriculture and energy usage, fostering sustainability and climate resilience. By leveraging solar energy for irrigation, SHIFT seeks to promote sustainable food production while providing essential freshwater support to Tetulia Upazila, Panchagarh District. Moreover, by converting waste into biofertilizers and optimizing electricity usage, the project aims to reduce chemical dependency and enhance community livelihoods.
On April 25, 2024, the kick-off meeting between ULAB and USAID BADGE marked the official launch of the SHIFT project. With representatives from ULAB's Center for Sustainable Development and USAID BADGE, the event set the stage for collaboration and impact.
ABOUT “SHIFT”:
· Co-funded by USAID and ULAB, SHIFT aims to create an innovative energy-water-food nexus.
· Objectives include shifting to renewable energy-based irrigation, promoting local biofertilizers, and facilitating electricity exchange.
· The 18-month project aims to mitigating climate change, achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and optimizing resource usage.
· Direct beneficiaries are the approximately 400 residents of Tetulia, with potential for broader community impact.
Securing Blue Carbon Ecosystems for Sustainable Fisheries and Climate Adaptation in the Sundarbans (STRIVE)
Securing Blue Carbon Ecosystems for Sustainable Fisheries and Climate Adaptation in the Sundarbans (STRIVE) is a pioneering initiative aimed at developing an inclusive, community-centered framework for the management of blue carbon ecosystems in the Sundarbans, Bangladesh. With our local partner LEDARS and funded by The Meridian Institute, STRIVE is a two year project. By drawing on global expertise and leveraging strong relationships with local fishing communities and area management authorities, STRIVE seeks to establish a sustainable stewardship model for blue carbon systems. This model prioritizes the knowledge, care, and active agency of local communities in managing these critical ecosystems.
Approach
STRIVE integrates action research, capacity building, and policy advocacy to empower communities with secure tenure rights and the skills needed to engage with blue carbon markets. A key focus is on strengthening local institutions and enhancing women’s leadership to ensure that blue carbon and climate action initiatives are equitable, just, and rooted in community-driven solutions.
Key activities include empowering community institutions by strengthening local organizations and women-led groups to amplify their voice and influence in managing blue carbon ecosystems. The project also facilitates multi-actor platforms, creating forums at local and national levels to ensure that blue carbon and climate agendas respect and uphold community rights and justice principles. Action research is a core component, exploring pathways for secure community stewardship over blue carbon systems, with a focus on tenure rights and equitable participation in carbon markets. Additionally, the project emphasizes developing practical and scalable frameworks and protocols for community-driven management of blue carbon ecosystems, providing models to inform both national and international practices.
Vulnerability to Viability Global Partnership (V2V)
The Vulnerability to Viability (V2V) Global Partnership is a transdisciplinary knowledge network supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada under its Partnership Grants Program. It unites members from Africa, Asia, Canada, and other regions with the shared goal of addressing the challenges faced by small-scale fisheries (SSF) globally.
The V2V Global Partnership focuses on identifying and addressing the diverse factors that contribute to the vulnerability of small-scale fishers. Through collaborative engagement with fishing communities, NGOs, governments, and academic partners, the partnership works to enhance the viability of SSF by fostering resilience, sustainability, and equitable governance systems. The V2V network emphasizes community-engaged, transdisciplinary research and operates in six Asian countries—Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand—and six African countries—Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, and Tanzania. By bridging physical, cultural, and disciplinary boundaries, V2V creates a platform for knowledge-sharing, capacity-building, and co-developing solutions to address the impacts of global change on small-scale fisheries.
Ultimately, the V2V Global Partnership aims to empower small-scale fishers to transition from vulnerability to viability, ensuring their sustainability and contributions to food security, livelihoods, and ecological health worldwide.
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The Climate Change Adaptation, Dispossession, and Displacement (ADD+)
Bangladesh's coastal regions face escalating climate risks, including rising sea levels, severe cyclones, erosion, waterlogging, and salinization. These challenges not only disrupt ecosystems but also profoundly impact the livelihoods of coastal communities, particularly those reliant on fishing and agriculture. Climate change is also reshaping marine environments, altering local fisheries and intensifying socio-economic vulnerabilities.
The Climate Change Adaptation, Dispossession, and Displacement (ADD+) project, funded by the Institute of Social Research (ISR), aims to address the critical gaps in understanding how climate change adaptation (CCA) measures in Bangladesh may inadvertently lead to dispossession, displacement, and gendered inequalities. While many CCA programs exist, they are often fragmented, unevenly implemented, and risk contributing to maladaptation, where adaptation efforts harm rather than help vulnerable populations.
The ADD+ project focuses on mapping the relationship between climate change adaptation (CCA) and displacement by investigating how adaptation strategies in coastal Bangladesh affect local communities, particularly in terms of land use, displacement, and livelihood disruptions. It also examines the gendered impacts of CCA programs, analyzing how these initiatives disproportionately affect women, exacerbating existing vulnerabilities and power imbalances.
Through a desk based review and interviewing policymakers and government officials the project aims to enhance understanding of how CCA strategies in Bangladesh contribute to or mitigate displacement and dispossession, while identifying maladaptive practices and pathways to equitable solutions.
Protibesh
The program aims to examine diverse ecosystem services (ES), the number of people dependent on the benefit of ES, and the monetary value provided by wetlands and forests across Bangladesh, highlighting their significance for human well-being and ecological health. The analysis focuses on nine key biodiversity areas (KBA’s): Sundarbans, Hakaluki Haor, Tanguar Haor, Hail Haor, Khadimnagar National Park, Ratargul Swamp, Rema Kalenga National Park, Lawachara National Park, and Satchari
National Park. All of these sites demonstrate a rich tapestry of flora and fauna on which people depend for a variety of resources including freshwater, plant and animal life native to the areas, fuel wood, medicinal plants, and more, in addition to holding significant cultural and recreational value.
The objectives of the program are designed to perceive the following:
Calculating the ecosystem services and the population-based reliance of humans on the protected ecosystems mentioned in the RFA.
To ascertain and evaluate the monetary value and population numbers of any potential economic gains from improved environmental conservation of the protected areas.
To assess the financial losses for local communities in and around particular KBAs in the event that there is no conservation of the environment and the hazards now present continue.