Fishing boats ready to be digitalized: New hope for the vulnerable fishing community

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In May 2014, all necessary requirements for the NGO-AB of Bangladesh were met and CARE Bangladesh obtained approval for project operations. To gain this approval, some revisions were made including a slight change to the title which is now: ‘A People Centered Early Warning system specifically designed to address the needs of selected fishing communities in Cox’s Bazaar’, partners and the project location. It has been a long process since September 2012 and CARE Bangladesh has faced several challenges to get the approval but now it is underway and activities need to be completed by the revised end date of December 2014.

CARE Bangladesh is updating all stakeholders with new information as necessary. At the field level, the project team is also sharing the current project status with the direct beneficiaries, stakeholders and district administration for preparation of the next phase.

A partners’ coordination meeting was organised at CARE Bangladesh’s Headquarters in Dhaka, where representatives from partners AirTel, CSRL/Oxfam and CARE Bangladesh were present. Officially, this is the first meeting with partners after just receiving the necessary approval for project operation. The meeting was an opportunity to discuss revisions of the project title and documents, budget and activities, extension of project duration in the line with the donor and preparation of an action plan. The meeting led to the following decisions being made: 1) MoU revised/finalisation and signed by both parties by 25 June 25 2014, (2) Project inception meeting will be organised in Cox’s Bazar by 30 June 2014. CARE Bangladesh will coordinate the process. Representatives of all technical and implementation partners, collaborative partners, Government Ministry/Department, local administration, media, project beneficiaries and stakeholders will be participate (3) Life cycle understanding of the digital device. A team will visit the project site by 15 June 2014. AirTel will coordinate the process and report to CARE soon for the necessary action (4) AirTel will develop a Tracking system and ensure network coverage is available in deep sea by 20 August 2014 (5) Device procurement will be completed by 20 July 2014 and (6) Device distribution by 25 August 2014.

The partners will have another meeting soon to discuss partnership management issues including the partners’ individuals’ roles and responsibilities. In addition, a bi-lateral meeting with Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) will be conducted to update on the progress and draw up a plan of action (BMD were unable to attend the last meeting).

Project overview:

The project addresses the need for sufficient lead time on warnings of rough sea events through satellite-based weather signals. The digital tracking of fishing vessels also allows for more efficient and precise rescue missions in the event of capsizing and helps to protect the lives and livelihoods of fishermen who are vulnerable to frequent and severe weather events at sea. Community capacity in early warning and DRR is being strengthened through training and adoption of this system, thereby promoting a proactive rather than reactive approach to disaster.