Environmental Rehabilitation and Improving Livelihoods in Cox's Bazar

The project aims to secure a safe and healthy environment for the affected host community population in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh. It aims to do so by: (1) addressing their urgent cooking fuel needs; (2) improving their economic livelihoods and food security; and (3) rehabilitating the natural resource base while preventing further environmental degradation in the region. Being one of the world’s largest refugee camps Cox’s Bazar has hosted an unprecedented number of Rohingya since August 2017. This is putting immense pressure on scarce natural resources in the area resulting in degraded natural forests barren hills and an emerging water crisis. This situation calls for responses in order to help restore the environment and ecosystem as well as measures to prevent further degradation and to support early restoration. The project objectives include supplying alternative clean cooking fuel and technology to women-headed households; providing livelihood and income generation support particularly to vulnerable women and girls; and fostering environmental practices to reduce pollution and encourage sustainable natural resource management. Project activities include: (1) distributing liquid petroleum gas (LPG) stove kits including burners hoses regulator and gas cylinders; providing monthly refills of LPG; training on safe usage best practices in cooking methods and fire safety; raising awareness on community fire safety and prevention through distributing outreach material (for example radio communication leaflets posters); and providing fire service and civil defence training on safe usage and management of the LPG cook-stoves; (2) providing training and start-up support for fostering livelihoods and income-generation; establishing gender-inclusive climate-sensitive farmer field schools for improving food production and post-harvest storage of high demand and high nutrition crops; promoting the adoption of climate-sensitive farming and fishing technologies

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) increased provision of alternative clean cooking fuel and technology to host community households particularly those headed by women; (2) increased empowerment and livelihood opportunities for the most vulnerable especially women and girls in host communities; and (3) enhanced natural resource base and reduced environmental impact of the refugee influx.