& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Rethinking social safety-net

Adapt to climate change

Radyan Rahave and Azmarina Tanzir
PRESENT Social Safety Net Programmes (SSNPs) protect vulnerable people against economic shocks and have a bias for the economic approach towards livelihood, more preciously in the form of grants in kind or cash or some work provisions for food or cash, it has been conceptualized keeping in mind the economic issue like income generation, overshadowing other equally important aspects of life like water, sanitation, nutrition, education and health (psychosocial care) that are frequently affected by climate change. The solution is to redesign safety nets in Bangladesh in ways that would increase their benefit for poor and vulnerable households coping with disasters and climate change. Addressing new vulnerabilities from climate change requires diversification of safety nets in order to reduce risk and increase resilience of people across the country.
In Bangladesh almost 75 percent of the people are dependent on agriculture as their source of livelihood, either by land and crop or physical labor as means of income and employment. Considering the climatic hazard map of Bangladesh, 60 percent of the land area is exposed to large scale floods, which is almost certain at two years interval. 35 percent of the country is exposed to cyclones, which is also almost certain at similar interval. Tidal flooding and flash floods are almost certain every year on 30 percent land in coastal and hilly areas. Drought in northwest and southwest is almost certain each year and increasing its trend in 35 percent country area.
Excessive rainfall and drainage congestion create water logging in southwest Bangladesh and some other parts including Dhaka and Chittagong city, which covers almost 20 percent of the land. Salinity intrusion to freshwater zone is also a slow onset hazard and almost 30 percent of the coastland is saline and it is expanding towards the central zone of the country.
Analyzing the climatic hazard portfolio, this is evident that almost 95 percent of the area of Bangladesh is exposed to at least one climatic hazard and in many areas multiple hazard is very common. The exposure of these climatic hazards on fragile agricultural system poses great risk for the whole of the country and thus the need of safety net is increasing.
The need for social protec-
tion to take a long term approach is increasingly recognised while climate risks heighten this need. Climate change also threatens the effectiveness of social protection measures in reducing consequences as Bangladesh is highly exposed to intense and recurrent climatic hazards like flood, cyclone, tornado, drought, salinity, water logging, river bank erosion, heat and cold waves, hailstorms and nor’easters. Poor and marginal people, especially agriculture dependent rural population are extremely vulnerable to such climatic hazards.
People of Bangladesh have demonstrated resilience to the floods and cyclones, more
preciously in the area of reducing loss of life. However, the flood 2004, flood 2007 and cyclone SIDR 2007 indicate increasing economic loss, which posed severe impacts on the development gains of the people. Food security of poor and marginal people in the context of such high exposure climatic hazard is identified as critical concern. Therefore, the resilience of people's livelihood and
wellbeing to climatic hazards in a changing nature (due to climate change, frequency has increased) is at risk.
Social safety net initiatives are as much at risk from climate change as other development approaches. The safety net is regarded as a means to achieve some goals like poverty alleviation, reduction of vulnerability, decrease of disparity, crime reduction, recovery from illness, home for the shelterless, human development, opportunities to earn a livelihood etc. It is unlikely to succeed in reducing poverty if we do not consider both the short (3 months to 6 months) and long-term (lypar to five year) shocks and stresses
associated with climate change. (Yamin, E and Huq, S, (2005), 'Vulnerability, Adaptation and Climate Disasters', IDS Bulletin 36.4). As approaches to minimizing the risks faced by the vulnerable people, social safety net and climate change adaptation have much in common, as they both seek to protect the most vulnerable and promote resilience. Yet they remain somewhat disparate fields of research, policy and practice.
While social safety-net aims to build resilience to some climate-related disasters in medium term range (6 month-lyear), insufficient attention has been placid in the social safety-net sphere to the long-term risks posed by climate change. Likewise not a single safety net programme has got nationwide coverage although the problem prevails across the country. Inclusion of the ineligible or exclusion of eligible persons for senior citizens programme is a common experience. Why do we not use RPA in that regard for finding most deserving person in the community? At present, there are 47 well recognized SSNPs which have been implemented by different ministries or agencies but no linkage can be found among them. For smooth implementation all small programmes those should be brought under one umbrella.
The safety net programme was designed to sustain critical lifeline in threat condition, which was historically linked with relief and rehabilitation 'niches'. Removing its bias for economic approach towards livelihood and addressing new vulnerabilities from climate change requires redesigning and diversification of the existing safety net programmes. The programmes should concentrate on nationwide coverage a n d a d p p t long-term approach to build resilience and reduce poverty.
Radyan Rahave is a development worker and social entrepreneur.
E-mail: radyanbd@gmail.com
Azmanna Tanzir is a development worker.
E-mail: tanzir15@gmail.com.
***Social safety net initiatives are as much at risk from climate change as other development approaches. The safety-net is regarded as a means to achieve some goals like poverty alleviation, reduction of vulnerability, decrease of disparity, crime reduction, recovery from illness, home for the shelterless, human development, opportunities to earn a livelihood etc. It is unlikely to succeed in reducing poverty if we do not consider both the short (3 months to 6 months) and long-term (1 year to five year) shocks and stresses associated with climate change.****