Bangladesh: Forests, fruit and fish could save coastal communities

Climate change induced seawater intrusion, cyclones, drought and extreme weather events are increasingly affecting the citizens of Bangladesh. A community-based adaptation to climate change through coastal afforestation UNDP project - named ‘Forest, Fruit, Fish’ or the ‘Triple F’ model but called by the locals the ‘ditch and dike project’ - offers a solution to such problems for 80 landless families in the coastal Sonatola village in the southwestern Barguna district where they cultivate fruit and vegetables, grow timber trees and rear fish, reports IPS.

Other adaptation techniques involve planting mangroves to protect coastlines from cyclones, and constructing embankments to prevent sea water intrusion and lessen the impact of storms, surges and wind.