Set at the mouth of three great rivers that flow through the low-lying land to pour their waters into the Bay of Bengal, and because of its special geographical feature, Bangladesh is afflicted by a multitude of natural hazards. The Global Climate Risk Index 2010, covering the period 1990–2008, assesses Bangladesh as the most vulnerable country to extreme climate events; it estimates that, on an average, 8,241 people died each year in Bangladesh while the cost of damage was US $ 1,189 million per year and loss of GDP was 1.8 percent during the period. According to the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the country currently loses 1.5 percent of its GDP due to increased frequency and intensity of natural disasters as a result of climate change.

Nevertheless, Bangladesh has proven to be remarkably resilient, developing well beyond initial expectations, and has made very good progress with poverty reduction. Gross National Income (GNI) per capita has grown from around US$100 in 1972 to US$1,314 in 2015, and the country crossed the World Bank threshold for the lower-middle-income group in 2015.

While natural disasters are unstoppable, Bangladesh is a pioneer in disaster risk reduction led by the government, partnered with different development agencies, NGOs and communities. The country has now become a world leader in disaster preparedness. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in his remarks at the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction mentioned the achievements of Bangladesh adding that the country "sets an example on disaster preparedness and management in the world."

The paradigm shift in disaster management began in the 1990s when the Bangladesh government shifted the focus away from the traditional reactive approach of relief and rehabilitation activities to more proactive approaches that included hazard identification and mitigation, community preparedness and integrated response efforts. In 2000, the Government of Bangladesh and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) began exploring opportunities to fast-track the transition from response and relief to comprehensive risk reduction. This resulted in the design of the Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP), with a vision "to reduce the risk of people, especially the poor and the disadvantaged, from the effects of natural, environment and human induced hazards to a manageable and acceptable humanitarian level and to have in place an efficient emergency response management system." The programme precedes the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005–2015 that came out of the World Conference on Disaster Reduction held in 2005. CDMP comprises two phases; Phase I (2004–2009), a pilot phase, laid the foundations for long-term disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Phase II (2010–2015) builds upon and expands Phase-I achievements by ensuring that the institutionalisation of risk reduction and climate change adaptation occurs across all levels of government.

Now the prrogramme is going to end on December 31, 2015, with the following major achievements:

Disaster risk reduction regulations are now included in different ministries and government departments' planning and budgeting processes. Vital policies and frameworks were developed, including the Disaster Management Act, Disaster Management Policy (Draft), Revised Standing Order on Disasters (SOD), National Plan on Disaster Management (2010-2015), Cyclone Shelter Constructions, Maintenance and Management Guidelines 2011 and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Disaster Management Framework.

                The disaster and climate change vulnerability of over 3 million people (half of them are women) of 321 unions under 40 most disaster vulnerable districts have been reduced by 1,865 small and medium scale risk reduction schemes.

                CDMP financed groundbreaking work to map the seismic vulnerability of nine of Bangladesh's biggest cities using the latest remote sensing and statistical analyses techniques.

                CDMP, in partnership with Bangladesh Teleltalk Ltd., Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), and Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC) introduced an Interactive Voice Response (IVR)-based early warning system.

                CDMP in partnership with FFWC has extended flood forecast lead time from three to five days, potentially saving the lives, livelihoods and assets of 88 million people living in four river basin areas. This has a potential to reduce 20 percent of crop loss in case of a severe flooding.

                Seventeen universities, comprising of both public and private and 11 training institutes, including the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC), introduced certificates, diplomas, honours and masters courses in disaster management with support from CDMP.

                CDMP has financed more than 300 individual pieces of research, operational guidelines, training manuals and related knowledge products concerning DRR and CCA. These products have supported the paradigm shift of disaster management practices in the country and contributed to the ongoing professionalisation of government officials and NGO workers.

                CDMP supported Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defence in training and development of 26,465 urban community volunteers. These volunteers have successfully took part in search and rescue operation of fire, landslide and building collapse incidents including catastrophic Rana Plaza (April 24, 2013) rescue operation.  CDMP also supported Cyclone Preparedness Programme (CPP) to expand their operation in South-West coast of Bangladesh through training and development of 6,540 volunteers. CPP played the fore front role during tropical storm Mahasen (2013) response that successfully evacuated 1.1 million people to safe shelters. (Source: UNDP Website).

On November  24-25, 2015, a two-day knowledge fair and workshop on disaster risk reduction and climate change action was organised in Dhaka by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief in association with CDMP, to mark the end of the 10 year programme. The event was held at a critical juncture of global development discourse – it followed the Sustainable Development Goals Summit that took place in September, and preceded the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 21) and also the Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction which was adapted as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, right after the 10-year international disaster risk reduction plan - The Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 (HFA).

But the road to resilience is not ending here in Bangladesh, as a recent scientific report released by the World Bank says, Bangladesh will be among the most affected countries in South Asia by an expected 2°C rise in the world's average temperatures in the next decades, with rising sea levels and more extreme heat and more intense cyclones threatening food production, livelihoods, and infrastructure as well as slowing the reduction of poverty. The report cited Bangladesh as one of the "potential impact hotspots" threatened by "extreme river floods, more intense tropical cyclones, rising sea levels and very high temperatures" (Source: World Bank's website).

While the lives of everyone in the country will be altered by climate change, the impacts of progressive global warming will fall hardest on the poor. Continued action, beyond CDMP, is therefore much needed to "Build Back Better."

The writer is a development communications expert.

Email: Quayyum@gmail.com