CPWF Conference 21 – 23 October 2014

The Blue Gold Program

Fact Sheet

Name of Program   Blue Gold Program  Project Start Date   20 February 2013  

Project Completion Date   19 February 2019  

Donors   Government of the Netherlands, Government of Bangladesh  

Contractor   Euroconsult Mott MacDonald  

Implementing Partners   Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB)  Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE)  

Contribution GoN   € 50 mln    

Contribution GoB   € 7,8 mln  

Offices Dhaka, Patuakhali, Khulna

Overall Objective

To reduce poverty for 150,000 households living in 160,000 ha area of selected coastal polders by creating a h e a l t h y l i v i n g environment and a s u s t a i n a b l e s o c i o -economic development.

Specific Objectives

2. Protect the communities and their land (risk reduction)

4. Improve marketing by developing business links with private sector

(value chain development)

1. Organize the communities in water management groups / cooperatives

3. Increase agricultural / fisheries / livestock production

Four Blue Gold Components

Community Organization

1. Community Mobilization &

Institutional Strengthening

2. Water Resources

Management

3. Agricultural Production and Food Security

4. Marketing and Business Development

Gender / Innovations / Governance / Disaster Risk Reduction -

CC

Components of the Blue Gold Program

Links with findings of CPWF

Water resources in the coastal zone are under utilized

‘Water is not the enemy’

‘Mining the Blue Gold’

That is why Blue Gold is called Blue Gold

Message 1

Links with findings of CPWF

Potential to improve food security and livelihoods

•  Component 3 of Blue Gold focus is on agricultural production and food security through FFS (crops, livestock + nutrition and fisheries + nutrition) and innovations

•  Component 4 of Blue Gold focus is on value chain development for selected agricultural products

•  Complementary to SAFAL (Sustainable Agriculture, Food Security and Linkages): aquaculture – dairy – horticulture value chains

Message 2

Example Local Value Chain

Women group for egg production

Market surplus eggs locally

Ensure paravet service and Vaccination/Medicine

Homestead garden P22

Poultry Shed P22

Links with findings of CPWF

Message 3 Invest in water management infrastructure with emphasis on drainage:

q  Main causes for increased water logging in the polders: silting up of outfall rivers, erratic rainfall pattern due to CC

q Blue Gold focus is on khal re-excavation, repair of outlets/sluices and increasing drainage capacity by pumping, using renewable energy (pilot phase)

Khal re-excavation by LCS

•  Put in picture

Links with findings of CPWF

q Pilot on Community Water Management (CWM) in Polder 30

……“The objective of the pilot project is to test the idea that investment in improved community water management (CWM) inside the polders together with adoption of improved cropping systems will increase the value of agricultural production significantly more than the investment cost”……..

Links with findings of CPWF

Maintenance of water infrastructure is crucial

Participatory Water Management Rules (PWMR 2014): Shift of registration of Water Management Organizations (WMO) from DoC to BWDB

Blue Gold focus is on participatory O&M through the new three-tier WMO structure:

Message 4

WMG Village Level

WMA Catchment level

WMF Polder Level

Links with findings of CPWF

Transparent and accountable water governance

There are 3 main stakeholders in the polders:

UP

BWDB

WMO

Message 5

Links with findings of CPWF

Links between stakeholders:

•  O&M agreement between WMO and BWDB: routine maintenance by WMO, regular maintenance and repair by BWDB

•  Union Parishad represented as advisor in Executive Committees (EC) of the WMO

•  Inclusion of WMO representatives in (activated) Union Development and Coordination Committees (UDCC)

Challenges remain……

Thanks