LGED Hosts Climate Adaptation Award Ceremony

To raise awareness and inspire action on climate change adaptation, CReLIC organised the "LGED Adaptation Award 2024," engaging LGED engineers across the country. The award was open to all LGED engineers, aiming to systematise and mainstream climate-resilient knowledge within LGED and its partners, recognise and reward innovative ideas and practices, and encourage engineers to engage in climate change adaptation while sharing their valuable experiences.

The competition featured three categories:

• Innovative Idea: Forward-thinking concepts for climate adaptation
• Lessons Learned: Practical insights from field experiences
• Best Practices: Proven successful approaches to climate challenges

Under the leadership of the Director of CReLIC, Kazi Golam Mustafa, and with inclusive monitoring by the Project Director,  Md. Abdul Khaleque, a committee comprising officials from various levels of LGED, launched a widespread awareness campaign, sending letters and emails to all LGED staff, hosting online stimulation meetings for engineers, distributing posters, leaflets, and user manuals to all 64 district offices, and displaying campaign materials at LGED headquarters. 

An evaluation committee comprising members from LGED, development partners, and external agencies was formed to assess all submissions. Each member reviewed the write-ups independently, guided by category-specific marking criteria, with a total of 100 points distributed across defined sub-points.

The evaluation committee declared 20 winners out of 34 participants, distributed across the three categories: 9 winners within the Innovative Ideas, 5 winners within Lessons Learned, and 6 winners within Best Practices.

The award ceremony was presided over by LGED Chief Engineer Mr. Javed Karim, who distributed crests, certificates, and prize money among the winners. The event celebrated the outstanding contributions of LGED engineers in advancing climate adaptation practices and recognised their dedication to building a more resilient Bangladesh. During the ceremony 3 winners from each category presented their submissions and 2 winners shared their reflection on this award ceremony.

This first-ever climate adaptation competition by the LGED, organised by the CReLIC, marks a milestone in fostering innovation and knowledge-sharing within the organisation. The initiative demonstrates LGED's commitment to mainstreaming climate resilience across all levels of infrastructure development.

The process will continue and is expected to bring valuable insights to strengthen the LGED's climate resilience efforts. By engaging engineers at all levels and encouraging the documentation of innovative ideas, lessons learned, and best practices, the LGED is building a robust knowledge base that will guide future climate adaptation initiatives.

As Bangladesh continues to face the challenges of climate change, initiatives like the LGED Adaptation Award play a crucial role in developing home-grown solutions and empowering local professionals to lead the nation's adaptation efforts. The success of this inaugural competition sets a strong foundation for future editions and reinforces the LGED's position as a leader in climate-resilient infrastructure development.