A strong alliance: Swiss NGOs join forces to tackle the climate crisis in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is one of the countries most affected by climate change worldwide. Rising sea levels have put a fifth of the country's land area at risk of permanent flooding, food security and access to clean water are also at risk, and cyclones are becoming more frequent and intense. To meet these challenges, nine Swiss NGOs and their local partners in cooperation with SDC are now joining forces in the Climate Action at Local Level (CALL) programme.
Climate change is one of the greatest global challenges, exacerbating inequalities and disproportionately affecting vulnerable countries and populations. Its impacts are far-reaching, from unpredictable weather that threatens food production to rising sea levels that cause catastrophic flooding. In Bangladesh, a nation of 174 million people, poor rural communities, indigenous minorities, and women are among those most affected, facing risks to their livelihoods, health, and safety. Ranked as the 7th most vulnerable country on the Global Climate Risk Index, Bangladesh is beset by extreme weather events frequently, highlighting the urgent need for collective action.
No single organisation can contend with these challenges alone. Recognising this, the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh partnered with nine Swiss NGOs and their local counterparts to explore how best to support the most climate-vulnerable communities. This collaboration led to the creation of a new consortium – Climate Action at Local Level (CALL). CALL is a collaborative programme that brings together Switzerland, Swiss NGOs, and local partners to address climate-related challenges in Bangladesh's most affected areas.
Sharing knowledge, skills, and resources
Climate change is an inherently complex issue, with interconnected challenges ranging from health impacts and migration to livelihoods and environmental degradation. Addressing these multifaceted challenges requires a comprehensive approach that draws on the expertise of different organisations, each bringing specialised knowledge and skills to tackle various dimensions of the crisis. By working together, the NGOs can develop a more robust, integrated response that covers all aspects of climate change and its effects on vulnerable communities.
Before this new approach, the Swiss NGOs worked separately, each focusing on a specific part of the climate change problem, such as livelihoods, migration, clean energy, or health. With this new consortium, however, the NGOs will combine their expertise across all these areas, sharing knowledge, skills, and resources. This collaboration will create a more holistic, coordinated response that covers many different aspects from disaster risk management to building climate-resilient infrastructure and sustainable livelihoods. The aim is to provide a more potent and comprehensive package of support that will help communities more effectively – by addressing the many interconnected issues of climate change together, rather than in isolation.
A promising model
What unites the various organisations within the consortium is a human-rights based approach grounded in a joint commitment to designing and implementing solutions that are not imposed from the outside but are co-created with local communities. By building solutions with communities, not just for them, CALL aims to create a more inclusive and just response to climate change – one that integrates local human rights concerns while addressing the multifaceted challenges of the climate crisis. This combination of coordinated expertise, human rights grounding, and local ownership could serve as a model for other regions or countries with similar vulnerabilities, in turn driving deeper, more resilient climate action globally.
Supporting the ‹untouchables› in the fight against climate change
In northern Bangladesh, the ethnic minorities of the Dalit and Adibashi live on the margins of society. They face social, economic and political discrimination and hardly benefit from the country's economic growth. These hardships are further exacerbated by the impacts of climate change. In the framework of CALL, HEKS implements the THRIVE project; the objective is to empower these communities to grow more resilient to climate change through knowledge and skill transfer, input support and systemic access to rights and entitlements. As a whole, the communities will be capable not only of combatting climate change impacts, but also of striding towards sustainable development.
GAIN is a Swiss-based foundation launched at the UN in 2002 to alleviate the human suffering caused by malnutrition. Working with governments, businesses and civil society, GAIN aims to transform food systems so that they deliver more nutritious food to all people, especially the most vulnerable. The projects RAINS (Diversified Resilient Agriculture for Improved Food and Nutrition Security) and CRAFTS (Climate-Resilient Agro-Food Transformation Systems) develop climate-resilient and nutrition-sensitive food systems by transferring technology and building the capacity of local communities to engage in planning and implementation processes with local authorities.
Climate resilience through locally led development
The climate crisis is currently threatening the lives and livelihoods of many communities. Through the programme ACCESS and the project SHINE, Helvetas is providing support for the Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh.
The ACCESS intervention is based on three main pillars:
improving climate change adaptation and disaster risk management
promoting climate justice and good governance
ensuring inclusive access and resilient water services
SHINE activities strengthen the resilience of the Rohingya and local communities to natural disasters, improve their economic opportunities and promote social cohesion.
There are 3.5 million working children aged 5–17 in Bangladesh, including 1.8 million who are considered child labourers. Among them, 1.1 million have been found in hazardous working conditions. In the areas of Chattogram and Cox's Bazar, many people have migrated over the past twenty years due to the 1991 Bangladesh Cyclone and other disasters. As a coping mechanism to address the impacts of climate change and disasters, families are increasingly involving their children in hazardous labour.
Solidar Suisse, in collaboration with the local partner YPSA, has launched the Free Kids project to sustainably combat child labour. This project aims to protect children in the dried fish and metal factory sectors from dangerous working conditions. The project not only promotes the protection of children but also supports them through educational programmes and awareness campaigns to improve their future prospects in the long term.
Sports For Protection, Resilience and Transformation
Bangladesh, highly vulnerable to climate change, faces severe threats. Additionally, limited access to physical activity and outdoor sports hinders the well-being of children and youth, especially girls. Tdh's Sports For Protection, Resilience and Transformation (SPiRiT) project addresses these challenges by using sports to empower displaced children and youth, providing them with the knowledge and skills needed to cope with climate vulnerabilities. It fosters youth-led initiatives to contribute to sustainable local solutions and raise awareness around child protection, displacement, and climate vulnerabilities. Additionally, the project builds the capacity of local sports actors to create an enabling environment for safe and inclusive sports participation.
Reduce carbon emissions by achieving energy efficiency
The PROGRESS project, financed by Sweden and implemented by Swisscontact, supports garment factories in improving environmental, social and governance standards. With additional funding from Switzerland, PROGRESS will support other climate-affected sectors to reduce carbon emissions by achieving energy efficiency. Swisscontact has been promoting sustainable development in Bangladesh since the 1970s, and it aims to strengthen the impact of individual actions in addressing climate change by joining forces with other Swiss NGOs.
The SRC-project supported through the consortium is entitled Joint Action for Mitigating Climate Uncertainties and Natural Adversities. It aims to empower local actors and contribute to the resilience of communities to climate change along the Jamuna River basin. Jamuna River is the second-largest river in Bangladesh. It is highly susceptible to flooding, which causes significant loss of life and enormous damage to crops and settlements. The project is strengthening the resilience of the communities to climate-induced uncertainties and disasters in the region.
It will contribute to disaster and climate resilience by:
Strengthening community resilience and adaptation through acquired knowledge.
Preparing communities to effectively anticipate, respond to, and recover from climate-related disasters.
Supporting local actors in shaping climate policy dialogue.
In the climate-vulnerable Satkhira district, Enfants du Monde (EdM) addresses health risks for women and children caused by water salinity, heatwaves, and inadequate healthcare. Initiatives include renovating freshwater sources, providing minor infrastructure support, launching mobile health services, and building the capacity of public health workers through training. Since 2023, the Eco-Social Development Organization (ESDO) and Enfants du Monde have been partnering to improve resilience in Bangladesh. Long-term support and knowledge-sharing are crucial for sustaining climate adaptation efforts.
For the rights and protection of people with disabilities
Persons with disabilities are disproportionately affected by climate-related disasters such as cyclones, storm surges, salination and tidal flooding. CBM Global works with the most marginalised to break the cycle of poverty and disability and build inclusive communities. The disaster risk reduction (DRR) programme in Bangladesh focuses on DRR measures that include persons with disabilities, such as repairing cyclone shelters and adding ramps and slopes based on findings from accessibility audits.
CBM Global improves the resilience of vulnerable community members, including persons with disabilities, to adapt to and cope with climate-related disaster risks. The programme provides capacity-building support to ensure the rights and protection of persons with disabilities, including livelihood activities, value chains and market linkages, climate adaptation measures, accessibility to government activities and participation in decision-making.
DEZA ends bilateral cooperation with Bangladesh
Based on the Federal Assembly's cuts to the international cooperation budget made in its 2024 winter session, three bilateral development cooperation programmes will be phased out by the end of 2028: Albania, Zambia and Bangladesh. Switzerland will implement a responsible exit plan from its bilateral cooperation activities so that its partners and the authorities in the affected countries have enough time to take over the projects themselves or find other donors. The goal is to make the progress achieved to date sustainable.
Bangladesh has seen political, social and economic progress in recent years, including poverty reduction. According to the World Bank, Bangladesh reached lower-middle income status in 2015. The Swiss embassy in Bangladesh will continue to operate, and the SDC will maintain its humanitarian aid efforts for Rohingya refugees as well as programmes aimed at reducing climate risks and migration.
