Written evidence submitted by the Natural
Environment Research Council (NERC)
1. The Natural Environment Research Council
(NERC) is one of the UK's seven Research Councils. It funds and
carries out impartial scientific research in the sciences of the
environment. NERC trains the next generation of environmental
scientists.
2. Details of NERC's Research and Collaborative
Centres and Major programmes are available at www.nerc.ac.uk.
3. NERC's comments are based on input from
the international project office of the NERC funded Global Environmental
Change and Food Systems project, the British Geological Survey
and Swindon Office staff.
4. NERC works closely with DFID in a number
of areas and is currently co-designing the next phase of the Ecosystem
Services for Poverty Alleviation (ESPA) programme,[32]
with other partners such as the Economic and Social Research Council
(ESRC) and Defra. This programme, with a total value of over £40
million, has already begun reporting findings. NERC is also working
with DFID and ESRC on relevant climate impacts scoping work by
the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED)
in Bangladesh. This project has been facilitated by the UK Collaborative
on Development Sciences and is funded by DFID, NERC and ESRC.
The work of this partnership forms part of the overall effort
on Living With Environmental Change (LWEC)[33]
which has a strategic objective addressing poverty alleviation
and well-being.
1. The appropriate size and scope of DFID's
programme in Bangladesh
1.1 NERC cannot comment on the size and
scope of DFID's programme as these issues are outside the remit
of NERC. NERC and DFID are developing a common understanding of
how they can best work together to help meet the UK's commitments
and responsibilities to nations such as Bangladesh. NERC regards
DFID's research strategy as helpful in deciding on its own research
priorities and a useful guide to the UK research community as
to DFID's research needs.
2. DFID's support for more effective governance
and institution building in Bangladesh
2.1 In co-designing research relevant to developing
countries with DFID it is clear the department supports research
and delivery that will strengthen the evidence base on governance
and institution building. Investments in such issues are certainly
worthwhile and necessary. A case can be made to indicate that
this should go beyond the existing support which is concentrated
at a national level. Increasing governance skills and processes
and building institutional capacity is required particularly at
the district and sub-district level. This may be especially important
in a nation that is very vulnerable to environmental change.
3. DFID's strategy for reducing poverty and
inequality, including gender inequality
3.1 Many aspects of DFID's strategy here are
researchable only through a multi-disciplinary effort. Of the
aspects relevant to NERC perhaps the most important is the sufficiency
of supply of potable water and access to it. This is key to poverty
alleviation and reduction and, especially, gender inequality.
This is because access to water reduces disease and improves productivity
provided that water collection is not a prime occupation. The
complexities of groundwater contaminated with arsenic and non-potable
surface waters should continue to be a focus of investment at
all levels.
4. The management of climate change impacts
and support for disaster risk reduction
4.1 Current Climate Change activities are predominantly
focused on disaster reduction relief, given the risk profile of
the country this seems wise, but if this were over-emphasised
it might reduce resources available for raising the profile of
adaptation activities related to gradual changes, as opposed to
extreme events. This is a difficult balance to strike and research
on the nature of environmental change (eg under LWEC) may be applicable
to Bangladesh.
4.2 There are current activities from within
the Government and the Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme[34]
aimed at raising the profile of climate change adaptation needs
and creating focal points in each ministry. This good initiative
may need to be better supported. Not all the relevant factors
are necessarily within DFID's control. Greater clarity may be
needed, regarding mandates, between the Ministry of Planning and
Ministry of Environment. This may need to be resolved before some
DFID activities can be moved forward in a meaningful manner.
4.3 Components of Food Security and Climate
Change are addressed through a number of separate activities;
eg the National Adaptation Programme of Action.[35]
A more strategic approach that takes a "holistic" or
"systems" approach to food would provide an improved
framework for achieving food security. Discussion on food security
through the LWEC partnership may help here, because LWEC has a
remit to help partners and stakeholders realign existing activity.
For example, the NERC Changing Water Cycle[36]
programme will include a focus on SE Asia. Clearly, alignment
of this programme's climate prediction and hazard mitigation aims
with DFID projects on agriculture could form a stronger basis
for achieving ongoing food security.
4.4 DFID is widely understood to be the most
actively engaged of the bilateral donors in climate change. The
EU fund the Food Security for Sustainable Livelihoods project.[37]
There are potential linkages between these two programs that could
be explored.
4.5 With increased climate variability and global
warming, the intensity and frequency of events leading to pluvial
flooding and storm-surges may increase; strategies for flood risk
prevention and mitigation therefore need to be supported, including
an understanding of the role of groundwater flooding. Support
is also needed for actions designed to support the development
of adaptation strategies. These will need to include so-called
"adaptive management" approaches that are able to cope
with a changing environment that may tend to make parts of Bangladesh's
land and people increasingly vulnerable over time. There will
be opportunities for DFID to be a partner in and undertake relevant
research, and speed its uptake, as a partner in LWEC. This may
include work on disaster prediction and early warning, as well
as work on risk reduction, and, where necessary, impacts, management,
and recovery from such events. Research needs to cover events
that affect Bangladesh from beyond its own borders, such as events
in the more distant Himalayas and in northern India—both
of which may be linked to regional issues and could affect regional
security.
5. The role of community-led initiatives in
reducing poverty and increasing access to basic services
5.1 Community-led initiatives are to be desired
and supported. In all cases, the communities need to have access
to and the means to understand and interpret the information on
which to base decisions and make choices. For example, a community
could be faced with a well producing water contaminated with arsenic.
The problem could be resolved in various ways, eg treatment to
remove arsenic from the supply, providing a surface supply or
supply from a deep well, etc. A community would be faced with
a complex choices and need to debate with experts what option
best meets their needs, now and in the future. Public engagement
and knowledge transfer arrangements need to be in place to enable
a community to make a sustainable choice from amongst available
options. DFID and the research councils are aware of the multi-disciplinary
skills needed to address these issues, which are as relevant in
developed economies as they are in developing ones. Through LWEC,
they are engaged in the practice of co-designing research that
has the necessary engagement and knowledge transfer steps built
in at the outset rather than bolted on at the end.
NERC
September 2009
32 http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/programmes/espa/ Back
33
http://www.lwec.org.uk Back
34
http://www.cdmp.org.bd/ Back
35
http://unfccc.int/national_reports/napa/items/2719.php Back
36
http://www.nerc.ac.uk/research/programmes/cwc/ Back
37
http://www.foshol.org/about_foshol.htm Back
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