Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund (BCCRF)

Quarterly Update(January 22, 2013)

Overview of the Reporting Period (October 1-December 31, 2012)
During the reporting period,two contributing Development Partners made a supplemental contribution of approximately US$14.6 million in total:Sweden (SEK 40 million) and Switzerland (CHF 8 million).
Two projects initiated disbursement: the Secretariat project (P128445) began disbursement in October, and the Afforestation project (P127015) disbursed US$200,000 through retroactive financing. In addition, the Community Climate Change Program (P125447)became effective, while the Solar Irrigation Project (P131263) proceeded to the final preparation stage.
BCCRF significantly improved visibility through the UNFCCC Doha side event (Dec. 7) and the preparation for the Doha conference such as the delegation briefing in Dhaka (Nov. 12). For both events, the Honorable Minister of Ministry of Environment and Forests Dr. Hasan Mahmud elaborated on how Bangladesh is addressing climate change, which includes activities through BCCRF. During the reporting period, the momentum to reach an agreement on BCCRF results framework resulted in two Vision Statement Workshops (Oct. 21/Dec. 12) attended by Development Partners (DPs) and Management Committee (MC) members.
  1. Multipurpose Cyclone Shelter Construction Project(BCCRF grant US$25 million/ Co-financed with IDA P111272 Emergency 2007 Cyclone Recovery and Restoration Project (ECRRP))
  • 93% construction progress of 8 new shelters (NW-12, -13)included in contracts signed in August 2011 stands at approximately 69% completion, which is 11 percentage points higher than the last quarterly report (Oct. 3). As of Dec. 31, construction progress of 29 new shelters (NW-14, 15, 16) included in contracts signed during March 2012 stands at approximately 31% completion.
  • As of Dec. 31, construction progress of 1 road package consisting of construction of 11.57 km stands at 52% , which is 2 percentage points higher than the last quarterly report (Oct. 3).
  • The contract for 24 new shelters (NW-20) was signed in December 2012. Having signed this contract, the total committed amount stands at BDT 1908.08 million (=US$23.27 m), which is 93% of BCCRF grant US$25 million allocated for this Cyclone Shelter Project.
  • Under this project, as of Dec. 31, $6.139 million out of $25 million is disbursed, which is disbursement rate 24.55%. This is 6 percentage points higher than the last quarterly report.

The tables below show contract-wise information and disbursement status:

Contract Number / Location / Volume of construction / Contract Amount (BDT) / Signing Date
LGED/NW-12: Cyclone Shelter in Patuakhali / Bauphol, Galachipa / 4 New Shelters / 66,922,821.04 / 3-Aug-11
LGED/NW-13: Cyclone Shelter in Pirojpur / Nesarabad, Motbaria, Bhandaria / 4 New Shelters / 74,600,673.00 / 4-Aug-11
LGED/NW-14: Cyclone Shelter in Barguna / Sadar, Amtoli, Bamna, Betagi & Pathorghata Upazila in Barguna District / 10 New Shelters / 305,005,494.54 / 1-Apr-12
LGED/NW-15: Cyclone Shelter Patuakhali / Bauphal, Dasmina, Mirjagonj, Golachipa / 10 New Shelters / 299,966,685.12 / 12-Mar-12
LGED/NW-16: Cyclone Shelter Satkhira / Asasunu, Kaligonj, Kolaroa, Shamnagar / 9 New Shelters / 255,947,274.62 / 28-Mar-12
LGED/R-02: Road construction in Barguna / Amtoli, Pathorghata / 11.57 km Road / 80,556,239.00 / 22-Nov-11
LGED/NW-20: Disaster Shelters in Khulna / Dakop, Koira / 24 New Shelters / 825,076,892.00 / 12-Dec-12

  1. Climate Resilient Participatory Afforestation and Reforestation Project (BCCRF grant $33.8 million/ Stand-alone project P127015)
  • Technical discussions were held between the Bank and the Government of Bangladesh on Dec. 17, 2012, which was subsequently upgraded to negotiations on Dec. 27, 2012.
  • The grant agreement is expected to be signed in early 2013, but preparation for afforestation is initiated already through retroactive financing of US$200,000.
  • Project Implementation Manual: The drafting of the project implementation manual which includes the nursery & plantation manual and alternative livelihood support guidelines was completed in Dec. 2012. The manuals are expected to be finalized by Feb. 15, 2013.
  • A technical mission of the World Bank has been planned from Feb. 2 to 12, 2013.
  1. Community Climate Change Program (BCCRF grant US$12.5 million/ Stand-alone project P125447)
  • Legal conditions for project effectiveness were satisfied in Dec. 2012.
  • All PMU staff came on board on or before Oct. 1, 2012.
  • The Operational Manual is finalized and the selection criteria for proposal screening areset already.
  • PKSF launched the first call for project concepts on Nov. 17, 2012, and after an initial screening, 490 concepts notes were short-listed. For the short-listed concept notes, PKSF is expected to launch the call for proposalsby Feb. 28, 2013.
  • Project website:
  1. Agricultural Adaptation in Climatic Risk Prone Areas of Bangladesh (BCCRF grant US$22.8 million/ Potential co-financing with IDA P111272 Emergency 2007 Cyclone Recovery and Restoration Project (ECRRP))
  • The WB team has been meeting regularly with the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), and updated status after the end of the reporting period is as follows:

On Jan. 9, 2013, the Bank task team had a meeting at the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), and on Jan. 17, met representatives from MoA, the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) and the FAO. The revised proposal for the Agriculture Project to be funded from BCCRF would provide US$8.4 million for implementation to the DAE and US$14.4 million to FAO.

Next Steps: The MoA will prepare the revised development project proposal (RDPP) in line with recent discussions and will obtain requisite approvals. The revised RDPP will be sent to the Planning Commission for their approval. Once the RDPP is submitted, legal documents between the Bank, ERD and FAO will be prepared/modified accordingly.

Project Dates: The ECRRP Additional Financing is in the process of being extended to Dec. 31, 2015. With the assumption that the extension to ECRRP is granted, the Agriculture Adaptation project end date will be Dec. 31, 2015.

  1. Modern Food Storage Facility Project (Silos) (BCCRF grant US$25 million/ Potential co-financing with IDA P111272 Emergency 2007 Cyclone Recovery and Restoration Project (ECRRP))
  • Detailed feasibility designs have been finalized. The environmental and social safeguards assessments are ongoing. The project is preparing for appraisal and delivery by June 2013.
  1. Solar Irrigation Project (BCCRF grant US$24.5 million/ Co-financed with KFW, USAID, and IDA P131263 Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development II Project)
  • The Bank Board approved Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Development II (RERED II) project on Sept. 20, 2012 for increasing access to clean energy in rural areas and to promote more efficient energy consumption in Bangladesh. RERED II is co-financed by IDA (US$155 m), BCCRF (US$24.5 m), KfW (US$12.9 m), and USAID (US$7.6 m). BCCRF funds will be used solely for the solar irrigation component. The credit agreements for the IDA funds have already been signed. Grant agreements for BCCRF and USAID funds are currently being prepared. The Bank team is awaiting the Governing Council’s approval of the BCCRF funds. Immediately after approval, the Grant Agreements can be signed.
  1. Establishment of the BCCRF Secretariat(BCCRF grant US$200,000/ Stand-alone project P128445)
  • Among the two consultants to be employed for the BCCRF secretariat, Dr. Rezaul Karim was recruited as the Project Management Advisor position. The recruitment of a consultant for the Technical Advisor post is currently being reviewed by the Procurement Evaluation Committee.
  • As one of the withdrawal conditions under the grant agreement, a financial management specialist (Mr. Nirmal Kumar Sarkar) has been engaged in the project since Oct. 9, 2012.
  • Under this project, as of December 31, US$30,788 out of US$200,000 is disbursed, which is disbursement rate 15.3%.
  • The table below shows the disbursement status:

  1. Analytical and Advisory Assistance (AAA)

8.1Urban Flooding of Greater Dhaka Area in a Changing Climate: Vulnerability, Adaptation and Potential costs (BCCRF grant US$0.5 million)

During Dec. 5 to 11, the task team leader visited Dhaka to confirm/discuss the progress of the work allocated to Dhaka-based experts, and the status is as follows:

(1)Hydrological modeling component:

Dr. Asif Zaman (BUET) has

  • simulated the Basin (Ganges-Brahmaputra, Meghna basin) model from 1998 to 2008,
  • simulated the Greater Dhaka (NC Regional model) with the 2004 extreme monsoon data and conducted sensitivity tests with different upstream flow changes,
  • updated the Detailed Area (DhakaUrban Flood Models) models for four regions: Eastern Dhaka, Western Dhaka, Dhaka-Narayanganj-Demra (DND) area and Narayanganj and validated the model using the 2004 extreme weather event,
  • estimated location-specific inundation depth and duration in the current climate,
  • beencompiling geo-coded information on planned changes in land use and drainage by 2050 from Dhaka development authority "Rajdhani Unnayan Kartipakkha (RAJUK)", Dhaka WASA (Water Supply & Sewerage Authority), BUET (Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology) and other sources.

(2)Vulnerability and Damage Assessment:

Dr. Subhendu Roy (Freelance consultant) has started compiling geo-coded socio-economic data.

(3)Assessment of local capacity to deal with urban flooding component:

Dr. Sarwar Jahan (Freelance consultant) has modified the Climate Disaster Resilience Index developed by the Climate and Disaster Resilience Initiative of the Kyoto University to fit the context of Dhaka, Bangladesh as a framework to quantify the local capacity to deal with urban flooding in current climate and adaptation deficit; and has started collecting data.

8.2Detailed Design of Environmental Studies for Construction of Urir Char Noakhali Cross Dam (BCCRF grant US$0.7 million)

The preparatory studies and detailed design for the Urirchar-Noahkhali Cross dam has been approved by the Management Committee in June, 2012. However, since the design of the cross dam requires detailed understanding and analyses of different complex processes, the consultation phase around the Terms of Reference (TOR) continues with experts within and outside the Bank as well as with the BWDB to develop a detailed and encompassing TOR. (The call for Expressions of Interest (EOIs) for consultancy was uploaded on Development Business website on January 17, 2013)

8.3Approval of AAA proposals/modification

After a 10-day virtual review within the MC members, the AAA proposals/modification below were approved on November 12, 2012. MC members made no objection to reviewing the proposals virtually, taking into account that the task team leaders for the four AAAs are all based in Washington DC.

Date / Proposals / US$ million $
Approved in Nov. 2011
Modified in Nov. 2012 / Impact of climate change on vector-borne diseases and implications for the health sector / Original 0.2
Modified 0.3
Approved in Nov. 2012 / Eco-Engineering, Climate Adaptation and Innovations in Flood Risk Mitigation / 0.3
Approved in Nov. 2012 / Scaling up Innovation in Disaster Risk Management in Bangladesh: A Proposal to Support Human and Financial Resilience to Natural Hazards / 0.2
Approved in Nov. 2012 / Making Climate Data Relevant to Decision Making in Bangladesh: Spatial and Temporal Downscaling / 0.3
  1. General Update
  • Doha side-event by Bangladesh and Maldives: During the 18th UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP18/CMP8) in Doha (Nov. 26 – Dec. 8, 2012), a side event was held at the EU pavilion on Dec. 7 in which the Honorable Ministers of Environment of the Governments of Bangladesh (Dr. Hasan Mahmud) and Maldives (Dr. Mariyam Shakeela) discussed how their nations are prioritizing climate change issues as a key developmental challenge. At the side-event, in addition to the national programs such as the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund, Dr. Hasan Mahmud elaborated on the achievements of BCCRF, and emphasized that Bangladesh is already a global hotspot for tropical cyclones and other climatic events. Mr. Michael Starbaek Christensen (EU Deputy Head of Cabinet) made remarks at this side event, and Rachel Kyte (World Bank Sustainable Development Network Vice President) moderated the event. A BCCRF newsletter and one-pager were prepared and circulated (newsletter attached) ahead of the Doha COP, and a press-release about the side-event was issued.
  • BCCRF Briefing for Bangladesh Delegation to Doha: Prior to the Doha Conference, the Government of Bangladesh and the Development Partners organized a briefing session on Nov. 12 in Dhaka to increase understanding of climate change programs in Bangladesh and to share details of BCCRF progress with the Bangladeshi delegates who were scheduled to attend the Doha Conference. The main speakers of the briefing included Dr. Hasan Mahmud (MOEF Minister), Mr. Md. Shafiqur Rahman Patwari (MOEF Secretary), H. E. Mr. William Hanna (Ambassador of the EU), and Ellen Goldstein (World Bank Dhaka Office Country Director). Dr. Mohammad Nasiruddin (MOEF Joint Secretary) moderated the Q&A session. The briefing was attended by almost 100 participants which included the GOB delegation, mass media, DPs, and CSOs.
  • Development Partners Meetings:

Bank South Asia Disaster Risk Management and Climate Change (SASDC) Sector Manager (Oct 4): The DPs welcomed Bernice Van Bronkhorst, Sector Manager for WB SASDC Unit, who visited Dhaka the first time after this new unit was created on July 1, 2012. In her introductory comments, the Sector Manager explained that the newly created unit emphasizes the enhanced focus that climate change now has within the WB. The discussion focused on the progress of issues raised in the Nov. 3, 2011 letter from the DPs to the Bank Dhaka office which listed the actions to be prioritized for BCCRF.

Results Framework (Oct. 15): Ms. Sayeeda Tauhid, Bank Senior M&E Specialist, made a presentation on the possible BCCRF results framework. Options of the expected results framework were discussed, and donors were requested to give feedback on what they prefer as the BCCRF Results Framework. Subsequently, Development Partners agreed that as a process to reach an agreement on the results framework, consensus needs to be established regarding BCCRF’s vision statement, and thus agreed to hold a one-day workshop on Oct. 21 as described below.

  • Vision Statement Workshops(Oct. 21/Dec.12): As a starting point for agreeing on the results framework, Development Partners discussed BCCRF’s vision statement at a one-day workshop on Oct. 21. Building on the outcome of this workshop, a similar discussion with the MC members was held on Dec. 12 to finalize the vision statement (given below). Both workshops were moderated by a DFID consultant (Mr. Lars Mikkel Johannessen).

By 2020 the BCCRF will be a government led, owned and managed collaborative and sustainable climate change financing mechanism, which is transparent and accountable, aimed at developing capacity and resilience of the country to meet the challenges of climate change.
BCCRF will support the implementation of the BCCSAP through an institutional framework by:
  1. Providing a platform for coordination of BCCRF stakeholders and acting as a catalytic agent for wider coordination
  2. Serving as a climate fund, which also brings innovation, harmonisation and added value to the GoB's climate change initiatives
  3. Serving as a financing mechanism to bring global climate change funding to Bangladesh
  4. Supporting implementation of prioritized, results-oriented climate change interventions that deliver sustainable outcomes particularly targeting the least resilient

  • Communications Strategy: In November 2012, USAID volunteered to work on the technical pieces of the communications strategy draft which was discussed at the DP task team meeting on Oct. 1. The intention was to be prepared for the finalization of the communications strategy, subsequent to the finalization of the results framework. The Bank intends to invite an international communications specialist to Dhaka in early 2013 to refine and finalize the communications strategy, in consultation with the GOB and DPs.
  • Independent Website: On Nov. 22, an independent website for BCCRF became operational. The website will be maintained jointly by the Bank staff and MOEF BCCRF secretariat.
  • BCCRF Bank team staffing: The BCCRF Program Manager (Akiko Nakagawa) who came on board in July 2012 left Dhaka in early December for medical reasons. Ms. Priti Kumar (Senior Environmental Specialist, New Delhi Office) was appointed as the interim Program Manager and the Task Team Leader for BCCRF effective as of January 1, 2013. The recruitment process for the new Program Manager has been initiated at the Bank HQ already.
  • Replenishment and Administration Agreement Amendment: During the reporting period,two contributing DPs made supplemental contribution of approximately US$14.6 million in total to BCCRF:Sweden (SEK 40 million) and Switzerland (CHF 8 million). The supplemental contribution was made by amending the Administration Agreement, and the amendment became effective when the amendment letters were countersigned (Nov. 22 for Sweden and Dec. 9 for Switzerland).

While replenishment was discussed, the Bank’s legal unit and trust fund office pointed out that the Administrative Cost Recovery article (3.1) in the Administration Agreement needs to be amended upon replenishment because of the following reasons:

-the fee is fixed ($4.148 million), and it was calculated when there were only $97 million from two DPs, and is disproportionate to the current $170m from seven DPs;

-the fixed fee does not have flexibility to allow new donors or replenishment;

-the fixed fee was calculated based on the assumption that there will be 5 projects until 2014 (MC approved 7 projects, and implementation is planned until 2017 at the latest)

-in addition to the above reasons, the fee should be described in percentage to avoid exchange rate risk;

Since the amendment of this article needs to be jointly agreed between all seven DPs, considering the urgency of the Swiss & Sweden replenishment to be completed by the end of the Kyoto Protocol First Commitment Period (Dec. 31), the Bank legal unit approved the amendment for the Swiss & Sweden replenishment under the condition that article 3.1 amendment will be addressed subsequently by amending the administration agreement between all seven DPs. The amendment draft is being prepared at the Bank, and will be discussed between DPs in due course.

  • BCCRF Status of Funds: Status of funds as of Dec. 31, 2012is attached hereto, which captures the replenishmentin the paragraph above and the newly approved AAAs described in section 8.3 above.

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