28 March 2011: The Fifth International Conference on Community-Based Adaptation (CBA), organized by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS), and the Ring alliance of policy research organizations, opened in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 28 March 2011.

Organized around the theme “Scaling Up: Beyond Pilots,” the event brought together over 300 participants. During the opening session, participants heard an inaugural speech by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, as well as a plenary discussion on re-establishing the importance of continuing discussions on the key concepts and terms of CBA. Technical sessions addressed adaptive capacity, gender, and water governance and climate change adaptation.

Addressing the inaugural plenary, Youssef Nassef, UNFCCC Secretariat, stressed that the conference could provide key inputs to the new processes and institutions being formed under the Cancun Adaptation Framework. During the technical session on gender, Charles Onyango Nyandiga, UN Development Programme (UNDP), discussed the importance of mainstreaming both genders into all aspects of CBA projects. He underscored that to ensure a gendered approach, practitioners should: carry out an initial analysis of dynamics, including those of power, within the community; foster equitable community participation; use new techniques and technology as entry points and designs that accommodate women’s traditional roles and responsibilities; and provide easy and accessible training to both women and men. The conference will conclude on 31 March. [IISD RS Coverage] [Conference Website]