Using microfinance for flood mitigation and climate adaptation in Bangladesh

This draft paper describes the preliminary outcomes of a model-based investigation of long-term strategies to reduce the impacts of coastal flooding in Bangladesh. Specifically, a system dynamics model was constructed to simulate the effect of flood mitigation methods on the population, rural economy, housing and welfare of Bangladeshis in the coastal district of Cox’s Bazar, if they were to be implemented. The model shows how microfinance-based investments could endogenously contribute to such infrastructures, in the context of policies for climate adaptation and rural development. Additional policy insights were observed by analyzing overall system behavior using techniques for Exploratory System Dynamics Modeling and Analysis (ESDMA).