Climate Change Adaptation through Multi-level Governance:Perspectives from Coastal Areas of Bangladesh

Shahadat Hossain Shakil

Postgraduate Student – MSc. Environmental GovernanceSEED, University of Manchester, UK

ID: 9297731

1

Key Debates/Literature the Dissertation Engages with

Multi-level environmental governance can address the multi-scalar character of

environmental problems like climate change adaptation (Lemos and Agrawal 2006;

Ostrom 2010; Keskitalo 2010; Termeer et al. 2010; 2011).

Challenged due to complex and fragmented policy context characterised by a

diversity of interacting climate and non-climate strategies (e.g., programs, plans,

policies and legislation).

Interaction between and among those strategies can create both synergetic and

conflicting outcomes (Adger et al. 2005; Young 2006; K. Urwin and Jordan 2008).

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Research Aim

To explore the effectiveness

of multi-level governance of

climate change adaptation in

Coastal Areas of Bangladesh.

To identify how this process

can be improved for future policy

formulation and integration.

Source: Banglapedia (2012)

3

Research Questions

Whether formulating and implementing

policies, plans and programs at different

administrative and operational hierarchy by

different actors helping Bangladesh in adapting to

climate change successfully ?

What is the advantage and disadvantages of

this multi-level governance process of climate

change adaptation?

Source: Anonymous (n.d.)

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Case Study

Mapping adaptation strategies (what are

the existing adaptation policies and

strategies?) and responsibilities (who has

been developing/adopting such strategies?)

Examining strategies in terms of type of

adaptation, its manifestation,

purposefulness, drivers and triggers, and

geographic and temporal scope.

Interactions between strategies

horizontally and vertically. Source: Fidelman et al. (2013)

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Methodology

Exhaustive review and critical analysis of

existing literatures.

Theoretical and methodological framework

used in similar studies will be scrutinized to apply

in the context of Bangladesh.

Different actors will be delineated from

government strategies (i.e. NAPA 2005,

BCCSAP, 2009 etc.), prior research and grey

literatures.

Interaction and cross-relation between them

will be analyzed to fulfil the research aim and to

answer the subsequent research question.

Source: Anonymous (n.d.)

6

Contribution of the Dissertation Project to Existing Research

Despite recent constructive efforts (Juhola and Westerhoff 2011; Keskitalo 2010;

Termeer et al. 2011; Urwin and Jordan 2008; Westerhoff et al. 2011), multilevel

adaptation is still under-researched.

Adaptation research has focused on a single level of governance (particularly,

the national level) and has paid limited attention to cross-level interactions

(Bulkeley and Betsill 2005).

This will be the pioneer study regarding environmental governance in Bangladesh

with a special focus on climate change adaptation.

ReferencesAdger, W.N., Brown, K. and Tompkins, E.L. (2005). The Political Economy of Cross-Scale Networks in Resource Co-Management.

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Banglapedia.(2012). Natural Hazard. National Encyclopaedia of Bangladesh. [online]. Available from:

http://www.banglapedia.org/HT/N_0136.htm [Accessed: February 10, 2013].

Bulkeley, H. and Betsill, M. (2005). Rethinking Sustainable Cities: Multilevel Governance and the ‘Urban’ Politics of Climate Change.

Environmental Politics, 14(1), pp.42–63.

Juhola, S. and Westerhoff, L. (2011). Challenges of adaptation to climate change across multiple scales: A case study of network

governance in two European countries. Environmental Science and Policy, 14(3), pp.239–247.

Keskitalo, E.C.H. ed. (2010). Developing Adaptation Policy and Practice in Europe: Multi-Level Governance of Climate Change.

Dordrecht; Heidelberg; London; New York: Springer.

Lemos, M.C. and Agrawal, A. (2006). Environmental Governance. Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 31(1), pp.297–325.

Ostrom, E. (2010). Polycentric Systems for Coping with Collective Action and Global Environmental Change. Global Environmental

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Environmental Change, 23(4), pp. 800-812.

Termeer, C. et al. (2011). The Regional Governance of Climate Adaptation: A Framework for Developing Legitimate, Effective, and

Resilient Governance Arrangements. Climate Law, 2(2), pp.159–179.

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Available from: http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol11/iss1/art27/ [Accessed: February 10, 2013].