Jameel Observatory CREWSnet Adaptation Center (AC) is a virtual center that is designed to connect Jameel Observatory CREWSnet principal investigators (PIs) and researchers with senior technical policy makers and planners at key civil-service institutions in Bangladesh. Since its inception, Jameel Observatory CREWSnet AC is envisioned to interact closely with planners in Bangladesh to empower them achieve effective and proactive climate-change adaptation in southwest Bangladesh and at the national level. The AC is designed to offer an umbrella for these interactions.
Membership in the AC is an honor bestowed on a select group of Bangladeshi climate experts. This is a voluntary activity with a minimal time commitment. We seek to share with the AC members our activities and initiatives and solicit their advice and input. Members of the AC will be invited to visit the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for short visits to work closely with members of the Jameel Observatory CREWSnet team. They will also be engaged remotely by invitation to attend some of our meetings and workshops. Members of the AC will also be invited to participate in relevant, in-person workshops in Bangladesh, with a format similar to the Heatwave in Bangladesh Workshop that Jameel Observatory CREWSnet hosted in Dhaka on 23 May 2024.
Our long-term vision is to lay the groundwork and carry necessary research for follow-up implementation projects in some of our areas of focus and initiatives (Adaptation Fortress, Water Entrepreneurship, and Crop Calendars). For this vision to be realized, we plan to engage with national authorities in Bangladesh and empower them to successfully compete for funding of large-scale climate -change adaptation projects (totaling hundreds of millions of dollars), sponsored by one of the regional development banks. The AC offers an umbrella for these engagements. We expect the members of AC to engage in any follow-up large-scale implementation projects that would leave significant impact on the lives and livelihood of the vulnerable population in Southwest Asia.