Bangladesh coastal districts like Khulna, Satkhira, and other adjacent ones are highly vulnerable to climate change. Living by the Bay of Bengal makes the residents of these regions susceptible to rising sea levels, frequent cyclones, and increased salinity in water and soil.
The local population, particularly women, struggles to secure livelihoods and access safe drinking water. Despite the challenges, they have shown remarkable resilience and adaptability.
Mira Sarker grew up by the Kapotaksha River, which is in the southern belt of Bangladesh.
Her earliest childhood memories include the whirlwind of cyclones, wave splashes, disasters, and displacement. According to her, she might not know the big words like climate change, but she knows how to survive in adverse weather.
Her husband is a fisherman, and for most of the year, he is away at sea fishing. However, his income is inadequate for a family of three. On the climate-prone coast, life never gets any easier for many, like Mira.
Women are usually considered to be the primary caregivers of the family. In these areas, the surrounding salty water is unsuitable for irrigation, drinking, washing vegetables, or cooking food. So, women often skip meals to fetch clean water for daily chores.
"We have to buy water or walk 1.5 kilometers to fetch it from a pond. Each trip takes over an hour from our daily work," said one of the women residing in a coastal village.
They keep walking, defying security concerns, having a grave impact on their reproductive and mental health.
However, women here refused to conform to the difficulties. They felt that the challenges did not define them; instead, the fight they waged represented the resilience of society.
Women on the coast have decided to adopt alternative livelihood options due to the increasing adversity caused by climate change. As they always run the risk of being washed away by natural disasters, hydroponic vegetables and salinity-resilient crab and fish farming turned out to be game changers for them.
For example, Khukumoni, a 42-year-old lady who used to work in others' shrimp farms for income, learned crab farming in saline water.
"I recently learned that Crab is salinity tolerant and decided to learn crab farming. And I am utilising every open space around my house, including the aisles, to grow vegetables," she said.
Gender-responsive Climate Adaptation (GCA), an initiative of UNDP, played a massive role in making these innovations accessible to women in coastal areas. In partnership with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Government of Bangladesh (GoB), empowers coastal women through multiple interventions.
They have installed safe drinking water facilities in the localities, so women do not have to walk miles. At the same time, they have built their capacity on crab and fish farming and salinity-tolerant vegetable farming.
So far, the project has directly benefited 337,103 women and indirectly impacted 655,582 people. It equips women as 'agents of change' to adopt and sustain resilient livelihoods, strengthen market linkages, and ensure sustainable water security.
The project addresses key barriers- institutional, technical, financial, and institutional- to ensure sustainable solutions for resilient livelihoods and safe drinking water in coastal regions.
By reducing the burden of unpaid care work and challenging gender norms, GCA is driving gender-transformational change, enabling women to contribute to household income, education, and community resilience.
With these interventions, women like Mira and Khukumoni are proving that resilience is not just about surviving but thriving. Their determination and newfound skills shape a future where coastal communities stand firm against climate change.
© 2026 UNDP Bangladesh
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