Components

Component1: Communications Infrastructure

This infrastructure is expected to be the key for the economic growth and development of the region to contribute to poverty reduction by reducing the time on journey, transport cost and easing access to a wide range of opportunities.

The communication infrastructures are to be built by the contractor. Under this component the project will build Upazila and union roads including submersible roads, also build bridges and culverts and boat landing stations. Project has completed 16.63 Km of upazilla & union roads, 35.40 m of bridges & culverts and 2 boat landing ghats.

Component 2: Community infrastructure

The main objective of this component is to enhance mobility, protect villages and markets from erosion and encourage rural growth. To further improve access to markets and services to the Haor area, HILIP will work with communities to build 350 km of village roads,development of 78 small village markets, protection works against erosion for about 78 villages and 52 markets. The village roads will use available technology options including bitumen roads, concrete roads or concrete block roads or a combination of these.

These works will be mostly constructed by Labor Contracting Societies (LCS) which gives preferential treatment to poor women and men to provide them with a source of additional income. The LCS will be supported by project staff based in Upazila offices- A Sub- Assistant Engineer, LCS organizer and a Work Assistant. LCS members will receive training prior to their work and each LCS will operate their own bank account. Provision includes three LCS (each with about 30 members) per km of road – so there would be a total of 960 LCS with 28,800 members, of which at least 50% would be women. It is expected that the project will employ 2.25 million days of labor for this component.

All works under community infrastructure are being implemented by Labor Contracting Society (LCS) and project has completed 13.06 Km of road and one market by using LCS group and created employment for 2462 women and men.

Component 3: Community Resource Management

The project has been working with the beneficiaries on the fisheries activities to provide the poor fishers access to water-bodies, ensure to establish a Beel User Groups (BUG), develop the fish habitat and increase fish production,conservation measures with the development of fish sanctuaries, pen cultures,cage culture and so on. The project has a plan to take over 300 beels from SCBRMP. In addition, the project will have 200 new beels/jalmohals in Habigonj(29), Netrokona (38), Brahmanbaria (38) and Kishoregonj (95).

However, the transfer of 175 nos. Of water bodies from SCBRMP is expected to be completed by January, 2014. Preliminary selection of 144 nos eligible new water bodies out of 200nos has been completed and proposal submitted to the Ministry of Land (MOL).The MOL has written to the concerned Deputy Commissioner of the districts to enable the MOL for their transfer to the project.

Component 4: Livelihood protection

The project has been focusing to promote crops/horticulture and poultry/livestock production technology and to make them available to the beneficiaries for increased income of the community in the haor areas.

The project has been implementing the livelihood activities to enhance production,diversification and marketing of crops/horticulture and poultry/livestock products by developing the capacity of smallholder producers to participate in selected market-based value chain as well as by establishing and supporting markets-based institutions. The initiatives that HILIP has taken will be centered mainly in the areas of field crops and high value horticulture,poultry and livestock including the development of business entrepreneurship.  This initiative of HILIP will increase the access of poor haor people to rural markets as a result of the mobility and improved communication network that will be built. Training is an important area of improving knowledge that will enhance the economic growth of the beneficiaries. The dissemination of the latest technology will greatly help to adopt those for increased production and income. The project has been supporting the CIG with inputs for demonstration of technology that include but not limited to the following.

Winter Vegetable, Summer Vegetable, Sweet Potato, Table Potato, Maize, Pulses/Oil Seed Production, Homestead Gardening, Local Variety Chick Rearing, Duck Rearing,Sheep Rearing, Beef Fattening, Cow Rearing, Fish Processing and Marketing,Dairy Value Chain, Sonali Chick Rearing, Broiler Rearing, High Yielding Rice production, Fruits (Mango, litchi, Jujubee etc), Fodder Production.

Up to November 2013, in crop and horticulture sub sector 1007 womenand1553 men trainees adoption technologies recommended ;2542 women and 886 men trainees adoption technologies recommended in livestock & poultry sub sector. 141 male & 159 female trainees adoption technologies recommended in fisheries sub sector.

In the following years the targeted farmers will get encouraged to join with the increased activities for more income, which will greatly help in the improvement of the livelihood and thereby will reduce poverty. All trainings are being conducted in cooperation with the line Ministries during the reporting period.

Component-5: Capacity and Knowledge for BuildingResilience:

Adverseclimate change impacts are at the roots of livelihood deteriorating factors ofHaor region. CALIP will initiate the process of building community,institutional and ecological resilience to better contend with risks. Thepartner institute will develop various model of Flash Flood Early WarningSystem for dissemination information to the people living in the haor areas andwill also arrange training for enhancing understanding and knowledge foradaptation on climate change, also through action research and advancingclimate sensitive pro-poor policy dialogue involving public institute. ThreeMOUs have been established with BUET, BMD and BWDB.

The component will afford the incremental costs of project management incurred by LGED as well as for the following elements related to project Management: (i)equipment, vehicles and furniture; (ii) staff salaries and the cost for short term specialist and technical expertise; (iii) annual project planning and other related workshops; and (iv) monitoring and evaluation (M&E) related studies and knowledge management.

It was commendable that the project could recruit almost all staffs except few.The project has been giving more focus with equal importance for all components since the project has human resource in place to take up the assignments and get the work done to achieve the objectives. The field staffs have been asked to consult with the senior LGED and project staffs for any kind of assistance without hesitation and loss of time keeping in mind about the seasonality in the haor areas. The District Project Coordinators and Upazila Project Coordinators have been implementing the activities in a timely manner following the plan of work in coordination with other project staffs.

        Ministry of Land (MoL)

        Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE)

        Department of Livestock Services (DLS)

        Department of Fisheries (DoF)

Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute  (BARI)

Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute(BLRI)

Haor Development Board (HDB)

Department of Environment (DoE)

Water Development Board (WDB)

Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI)