Bangladesh is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, where rising sea levels, erratic rainfall, and frequent natural disasters drive poverty and displacement for millions. The Climate Bridge Fund (CBF), established by BRAC in collaboration with the Government of Germany through KfW in 2019, sought to strengthen the resilience of climate-vulnerable communities by financing targeted interventions across seven projects — covering distinct target groups including ultra-poor women, urban slum dwellers, youth, returnee migrants, climate-vulnerable farmers, and small enterprise owners — through interventions ranging from vocational skills training and climate-smart agriculture to financial literacy and psychosocial support. Using panel data collected at baseline and endline, the evaluations combined difference-in-differences and propensity score matching methods to estimate the causal impact of each intervention, finding that participants saw meaningful gains in individual income relative to comparison groups, with the largest impact recorded at BDT 8,038 for business incubation participants and BDT 5,981 for returnee migrants; women’s participation in household decision-making improved by up to 20 percentage points across multiple projects; and climate awareness exceeded 80% in several projects, though adoption of adaptive practices remained limited, ranging from 3% to 26%. The findings show that income growth is the primary mechanism through which these interventions build household resilience, and that poorer households require more intensive support, with expanded access to formal financial services, deeper climate-resilience training, and sustained follow-up mechanisms identified as essential steps for maximising long-term impact.
Author: Sharan, Md. Mahbub Ul Hassan
Type: Evidence and Insights
Publisher: BIGD
Year: 2024
