Samriddhi

Samriddhi Project Document
(DoF), where 2-4 extension workers are assigned for a whole Upazilla. This pressure generally
leads to services only being delivered to larger, more affluent farmers and the poor are not
serviced at all. The level of extension services, especially to the extreme poor, becomes even
worse when considering those living in more remote areas as extension workers often have little
spare time for travelling.
Local Governance
Local self-governance in Bangladesh has existed for centuries in different forms, mostly based
on traditional decision making mechanisms. The modern basis for local government is affirmed
in the Bangladesh Constitution that defines a significant role for elected government bodies at
each administrative unit, i.e. Union Parishad (UP), Upazilla Parishad (UZP) and Zila Parishad.
The Bangladeshi society is highly in-egalitarian, with strongly established power-relations that
mostly exclude the poorest, women and most marginalised people from accessing development
benefits.
There is a growing interest among development partners to support local government and their
initiatives. This creates a favourable environment to strengthen elected local government but
poses as well a challenge in terms of coordination and harmonisation.
Disaster Risks Reduction
In the past two decades, more than 200 million people have been affected worldwide every year
by disasters. The number of reported natural disasters has tripled in the past thirty years. The
rising costs of these events and their disproportional impact on the developing world have
resulted in an increasing awareness of the connection between disasters and development and
explain why disaster mitigation and risk reduction are important aspects of a sustainable
development strategy.
Geographical location and land characteristics make Bangladesh one of the most disasterprone
countries in the world. The country is exposed to a variety of recurrent natural hazards,
including floods, cyclones, droughts and riverbank erosion, which pull down the development
initiatives and progresses. Furthermore, the adverse effects of climate change will be more
severe in Bangladesh than in most other countries and pose a significant threat to the goal of
poverty reduction.
Gender
Gender relations in Bangladesh have been undergoing a process of considerable
transformation over the last two decades as part of the broader process of economic transition
and social change. Various social and cultural values still hamper progress and need to be
taken into account. Gender equality in Bangladesh remains a major challenge in all sectors of
development. Significant disparities in employment and wage rates persist which, combined
with considerable gaps in assets, is the main factor limiting women's equal participation in
economic activities. It has been shown that income generating activities are an important driver
for women's empowerment, both at community and household levels. But because of women's
traditional roles and lower skills they have often been left behind.
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