Governance constraints in building climate resilience: Evidence from coastal Bangladesh

Bangladesh is extensively cited as one of the countries most at risk of the adverse effects of climate change. The coastal zone of this country is extremely vulnerable as people of these areas live in a highly dynamic estuarine setting and often face various climatic hazards. Against this backdrop, effective ‘governance’ is often cited as the key to properly implementing climate actions to build resilience. This study attempts to identify the governance dimensions of coastal community resilience and analyze the deficiencies that hamper their capacity to enhance resilience in the face of climate change. The findings of the study revealed some governance constraints in building community resilience to climate change. The study specifically identified that the resilience dimension is absent in the existing climate policy. In addition, the impact of weak institutions, corruption, accountability, and transparency challenges create obstacles to enhancing community resilience. Most importantly, coastal people still tend to lack a voice and representation in decision-making. As a result, it is recommended to improve the current climate governance mechanism, including increasing the participation of the community people.