By Van Nguyen, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries. The effects of climate change is already manifesting in the form of cyclones, storm surges, and rising sea levels, and this heavily impacts the day-to-day realities of people who live in the rural, coastal areas of the country.

Travel restrictions put in place due to Covid-19 are now being eased as the situation in Bangladesh is improving. So my colleagues and I headed down South towards Khulna and Satkhira, two coastal districts where soil and water salinity is wreaking havoc in the agricultural sector. The scarcity of fresh drinking water further worsens the situation.

Women are typically in charge of food and nutrition for the family, so they are disproportionately affected by climate events. In our mission to leave no one behind, United Nations Development Programme prioritizes the needs of the most vulnerable populations, and with the support of the Green Climate Fund and the Government of Bangladesh, women are getting the opportunity to become agents of change in building resilient households and come up with climate-adaptive drinking water solutions. UNDP’s Gender-responsive Coastal Adaptation (GCA) project aims to provide safe drinking water facilities to over 30,000 households through household and community-based rainwater harvesting systems (RWHS).

We met Bipula at a primary school in the district of Khulna where a community based RWHS has been installed, providing salinity free, safe drinking water to 25 households and the local school.

Bipula spoke to me about her experience of using the RWHS. “Before, I got all my water from the local pond. We tolerated the salinity because we had no other choice. I had to walk about 12 kilometres a day to get water for cooking, cleaning and drinking. Now my route has been cut by one-thirds because I have safe drinking water available nearby.”

I asked her if she could tell the difference between the two types of water and she said, “Rainwater is very sweet.” I understood what she meant, and I could feel the taste of the pureness and freshness of what she drinks. 

Leaving the school, we went to meet Monjuara Khatun who invested Tk 3,000 in a household RWHS. It is set up at the front of her house, equipped with an innovative filtering system, ensuring year-round availability of safe drinking water.

As her water tank is located on the side of the pathway, I wondered if passers-by might drink the water. Despite her investment in the system, Monjuara generously said, “If someone is thirsty and in need of water, I won’t deny them to drink from the RWHS.”

The system not only provides drinking water for families with women providers, but also creates livelihoods opportunities for other women. I met a woman who works as a “pani apa” (water sister) -- someone trained to maintain and clean the RWHS for a small monthly fee. This provides her with an additional income generating activity and establishes a sustainable model for maintenance of the facilities.

As I said goodbye to Monjuara, I felt happy that her worries over freshwater has been somewhat mitigated, and she can now spend the time needed for fetching water on productive or leisurely activities.

This innovative project is transforming lives one drop of water at a time, ensuring a resilient future for the most climate vulnerable people in Bangladesh.