Char Development and Settlement Project Phase III

Crop_production_sluiceii

 

Type of project
Land/Water Management
Location
South-Eastern coast of Bangladesh (Bangladesh)
Continent
Asia
Company
Euroconsult Mott MacDonald
Client
Government of Bangladesh
Period
Sept 2005 - December 2010
Contract value
 
Objective

Technical assistance to a project to develop newly accreted (char) land on the south-eastern Bangladeshi coast, with a view to settlement by landless households.

Project information

CDSP III is the third phase of a project that has been implemented since 1994 by the Government of Bangladesh, specifically the Ministry of Water Resources. It is headed by the Bangladesh Water Development Board, in collaboration with five other departments. The overall objective of CDSP is poverty reduction through improving the economic situation and living conditions improvement in the coastal areas of south-eastern Bangladesh, with special reference to the poorest segment of the population. The project seeks to achieve this objective through three specific objectives: i) promote an institutional environment that sustains interventions as proposed in CDSP; ii) accumulate and disseminate data and knowledge on coastal char development; iii) directly improve the economic and social situation of people in the coastal chars in a sustainable way. Essential elements in the project are: a focus on the most vulnerable groups; participation of the char population in planning, implementation, and operation and maintenance of the project activities; and a multi-sectoral and integrated approach.

Description of project

The main objective of the TA during CDSP III is to internalize the lessons learned during the previous phases in char development and settlement within the six partner agencies. This is necessary to prepare the agencies for a large-scale char development programme after 2009. Main achievements of CDSP to date are: settlement of around 10,000 households; development of external and internal infrastructure in six polders; establishment of basic infrastructure in unprotected areas; significant improvements in the access to drinking water in char areas; an increase of the agricultural yields by introduction of modern technologies; creation of institutions for water management; enlargement of the data base and knowledge about coastal development. The technical assistance includes the following activities:


(i) Support the participating agencies in translating the integrated coastal zone management (ICZM) framework into practice at field level;
 

(ii) Support BWDB in equipping, training, supervising and monitoring the Extension Overseers in their work of establishing Water Management Organizations;
 

(iii) Facilitate each of the six partner line agencies in linking up with bilateral and multilateral projects, NGOs and Government of Bangladesh line agencies relevant to ICZM;
 

(iv) Advise and assist BWDB in setting up and running a strong Programme Management Committee (PMC);
 

(v) Advise and assist the Ministry of Water Resources to develop co-funding plans for the Char Development Programme investments beyond the Government of the Netherlands financial and technical Assistance, which ends in 2009;
 

(vi) Advise and assist the relevant line agencies on the ToR for baseline surveys, participatory rural appraisals, feasibility studies and quality control during implementation, and translate the lessons learned into an improved char land and integrated coastal zone management methodology;
 

(vii) Advise and assist the BWDB on translating the outcome of the study on the functioning of the drainage system in the Baggar Dona upper catchment into the overall approach towards developing new chars and simultaneously mitigating the negative impacts of that on the hinterland;
 

(viii) Advise on how to restructure the project database in line with integrated coastal resources development, and ensure easy access and maximum usefulness to potential users;
 

(ix) Advise and assist the Department of Forestry on how to use the coastal zone resources in the most pro-poor way possible;
 

(x) Advise and assist the six line agencies on format and content of publications appropriate to relevant audiences (conferences, seminars, technical publications, scientific articles, popular articles, videos etc.);
 

(xi) Quality control of social and physical infrastructure and services.
 

view more