ACCESS4ALL Group

Based on the development and climate resilience context of Uttar Bedkashi Union under Koyra Upazila, stakeholders can be identified according to their power, influence, and benefits in local resilience and livelihood initiatives. In comparison with a standard stakeholder mapping framework, government institutions and NGOs possess the highest influence over planning and resource allocation, while local communities remain the primary beneficiaries of development and climate adaptation interventions.

The government holds a high-power and high-influence position due to its authority over policy formulation, disaster management coordination, embankment maintenance, social safety net distribution, and allocation of public funds. Institutions under the local administration structure provide regulatory oversight and institutional legitimacy to projects operating within the union.

NGOs and development partners exert substantial operational influence through project design, funding mobilization, technical assistance, and field-level implementation. In climate-vulnerable coastal contexts like Uttar Bedkashi, NGOs often lead livelihood diversification programs (e.g., aquaculture adaptation, saline-tolerant agriculture, alternative income generation), disaster preparedness training, and community-based resilience building.

The local community, including small-scale farmers, fishers, shrimp cultivators, women’s groups, and youth volunteers, are the principal beneficiaries of resilience and development programs. They contribute labor, indigenous knowledge, and community-level coordination. However, their influence over strategic planning and financial decision-making remains comparatively limited, positioning them as high-interest but low-power stakeholders.

Local Union Parishad representatives play an intermediary governance role, facilitating coordination between higher administrative bodies and community members. Their influence depends on political authority, access to resources, and institutional capacity.

Where involved, researchers and academic institutions contribute vulnerability assessments, climate data analysis, and evidence-based adaptation strategies, strengthening planning and monitoring mechanisms.

Different stakeholder groups interact through complementary yet unequal roles:

Government agencies provide the regulatory and financial framework.

NGOs supply technical expertise, funding, and implementation capacity.

Local communities depend on resilience programs for livelihood security while contributing contextual knowledge and participation.

Researchers support adaptive planning and long-term sustainability analysis.

However, structural power imbalances are evident. Strategic decisions regarding funding priorities, infrastructure development, and program design are largely controlled by high-influence actors, particularly government bodies and donor-funded NGOs. This top-down governance dynamic may constrain the integration of local and traditional ecological knowledge, which is critical in a climate-exposed coastal union like Uttar Bedkashi.

Expanding community participation across all project phases—needs assessment, planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation—would enhance local ownership, strengthen accountability mechanisms, and improve adaptive capacity. Participatory governance models would better integrate scientific knowledge with indigenous coping strategies, leading to more sustainable and context-specific resilience outcomes.

Stakeholder power and influence in Uttar Bedkashi Union were assessed based on control over financial resources, institutional authority, regulatory capacity, and the ability to shape development and climate resilience outcomes. Actors holding policy, financial, and technical control were categorized as high-power stakeholders, while those primarily dependent on project benefits but with limited decision-making authority were classified as lower-power yet high-interest stakeholders.