Climate Governance and Local Sustainable Development: Institutional Capacity and Policy Implementation in Bangladesh

Abstract

Climate change is a serious problem associated with sustainable development, especially in vulnerable developing countries like Bangladesh. The study investigates the institutional capacity in strengthening local climate governance and local sustainable development, while looking into the condition of the implementation of climate policy. The study is conducted using the qualitative institutional case study approach and has involved 30 key informant interviews, six focus group discussions and documentary analysis with local government officials, government officials, development practitioners, climate experts and community stakeholders. Deductive and inductive themes were used in the analysis of the data. Administrative, technical, financial and coordination capacities are shown to be important influences on the effectiveness of local climate governance. Though Bangladesh has extensive national level climate policy frameworks, the gaps between policy commitments and local implementation are large, stemming from limited resources, technical capacity, inter-institutional coordination and community involvement. The results also indicate that good climate governance plays a role in building community resilience, in safeguarding livelihoods and in enhancing sustainable development, which is dependent on institutional capacity and effectiveness in implementing climate governance. The study underscores the importance of building institutional capacities for long-term, enhancing access to climate finance, strengthening multi-level collaboration, decentralizing and involving the communities in a meaningful way to build sustainable and locally rooted climate governance in Bangladesh.