This policy brief discusses adapting aquaculture practices in coastal Bangladesh to climate change in order to support poor farming households. National policies do not explicitly address climate change impacts. Projections include sea level rise, increased flooding and salinity, higher temperatures, and more extreme weather. These changes threaten aquaculture infrastructure and productivity but some adaptations like raising pond dikes and stocking larger fish have helped households increase production and profits. The brief recommends mainstreaming climate change adaptation into national planning, building capacity, promoting sustainable technologies, and empowering local organizations to support livelihoods under climate change.

1. Policy Brief on Adapting Aquaculture to Climate Change for PoorFarming Households in Coastal Bangladesh Manjurul Karim, William J Collis, Michael Phillips, Neil Andrew, Arif Azad and Golam Hossain

3. National Agriculture Policy, 1999

4. National Water Management Plan (NWMP), 2001

5. Coastal Zone Policy, 2005

6. Coastal Development Strategy, 2006

8. National Forest Policy, 1994

9. National Environmental Management Action Plan, 1995

10. National Energy Policy, 1996

11. Fisheries Policy, 1998

12. National Health Policy, 2000

13. National Land Use Policy, 2001 and

15. Greater temperature extremes (1.4 oC by 2050)

19. Other promising adaptive aquaculture technologies: nutrient dense small fish, rice-fish and cage aquaculture (Adivashi, 2009)

20. Policy recommendations Inclusion of aquaculture in national development planning Capacity building, information accessibility and awareness raising on climate change impact prediction and adaptation Promotion and adaptation of aquaculture technologies to the realities of climate change Increasing focus on technological innovation towards development of sustainable Aquatic-Agricultural Systems (AAS) More priority on small scale aquaculture (>10 million ponds) Develop measures to mitigate the effects of climate change on livelihoods and aquaculture Flexible water storage options and adaptation to climate change Mobilize, develop and empowering community based organizations

22. save millions of vulnerable coastal livelihoods