Community-Centered Adaptation
An example is the Floating Gardens (Baira) of Bangladesh’s Haor region. During monsoon floods, farmers build rafts from water hyacinth and crop residue to grow vegetables above submerged fields.
The plan was designed through community dialogue led by local NGOs and implemented using indigenous knowledge and low-cost, local materials. It embraces community values of self-reliance and ecological harmony. It addresses food insecurity caused by prolonged flooding. Vulnerability was assessed via participatory mapping of flood duration and landless households. Conflict was minimized by cooperatively managing raft space. The initiative meets urgent nutritional and income needs, boosting adaptive capacity by providing a reliable, replicable technique that turns a hazard into a resource.