Mainstreaming Climate Change Adaptation through Technology Transfer in Developing Countries: A Climate Hotspot Case from Coastal Bangladesh

Countries in the South-Asian region like Bangladesh are extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change for a number of reasons. These include extreme weather events such as tropical cyclones, monsoons, temperature variation and higher risk of sea level rise. Rapid and unplanned human settlements also aggravate the degradation of its self-sustaining natural environment. Furthermore, these countries also suffer from limited financial resources and capacity, extreme poverty, and inadequate technology. This study explores the technological solutions for climate change adaptation in the coastal areas of Bangladesh in four highly vulnerable sectors including water resources, coastal protection, livelihood and health. The study suggests that using innovative and cost-effective technology could help minimise the climate change induced vulnerability of these sectors. The study also highlights the importance of coordinated trans-country cooperation to minimise conflicts in sharing water resources in the region and preventing saline intrusion in the coastal regions, by using the adaptation fund declared for the developing and small island nations in COP15 in Copenhagen. The study provides some solutions to the economic and policy barriers to technology transfer and implementation, while also drawing conclusions on how to create a stable platform to mainstream climate change adaptation in the region and lessons learned from other regions that are experiencing a similar problem.