IUB's COLOCAL Project Hosts Policy Dialogue on Local Climate Adaptation in Barisal

On 27 July 2025, the COLOCAL project under the Department of Environmental Science and Management organised a Policy Dialogue session at the CARITAS Regional Office in Barisal. This was done in partnership with the Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) Programme at the International Center for Climate Change and Development for their launch of an LLA divisional platform in Barisal.

Two students from the 2025 COLOCAL Fellowship cohort, Ragib Mahmood Shuvo and Syed Irfan Uddin, presented their research proposals to local GO/NGO representatives, academicians, youth leaders, and others participating at the event. The session was facilitated by Fahmid Mohtasin, Project Officer for COLOCAL.

Thinking of the ecosystem as a living entity, Syed Irfan Uddin’s research idea focused on how cyclones impact the surrounding regions and how the local community can take anticipatory actions to reduce, restore, and revive the essential services the ecosystem provides. A mixed-methodology approach, incorporating Machine Learning models and a community survey, would be used to identify the most vulnerable ecosystems by considering the extent of community reliance on them. Participants in the policy dialogue provided valuable feedback on integrating policy and utilising the assessment and prediction tool to better support the community in developing locally led adaptation strategies.

Ragib Mahmood Shuvo presented his proposed MSc thesis as well, which aims to investigate groundwater salinity intrusion in coastal Bangladesh to inform locally-led adaptation. The study integrates three key methods: geospatial modeling to map salinity pathways, future risk scenario analysis to project climate impacts, and a community-based assessment to understand local adaptive capacities. This comprehensive approach aims to provide actionable insights for developing sustainable and community-supported solutions. The presentation sparked thoughtful feedback from the local stakeholders, who emphasised the need for preventative groundwater protection and technology-driven yet locally supported solutions.

The COLOCAL project is under the NORHED programme of NORAD with IUB as an implementing partner.

Photos: Md Shahadat H Shahal