Haor Area Resilience and Development (HARD) Project

The Haor Area Resilience and Development Project (HARD Project) aims to rehabilitate and construct flood control facilities, improve rural infrastructure, and promote agriculture and fisheries, aligning with both national priorities and community needs. As a follow-up to the HFMLIP, the project is being implemented by the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) and the Local Government Engineering Department (LGED), with JICA as the development partner. The project is expected to enhance food security, strengthen climate resilience, and improve the well-being of Haor communities while safeguarding this fragile ecosystem.

The HARD Project is designed in line with the Haor Master Plan (2012), the Haor Master Plan for 2025, and national priorities on food security, poverty reduction, disaster risk reduction, and climate adaptation. It also advances integrated basin-wide planning by aligning BWDB’s water management investments with LGED’s rural infrastructures and livelihood enhancement programs such as agricultural promotion activities in coordination with the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), fisheries development programs in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries (DoF), and community-based beel management and tenure-related issues in coordination with the Ministry of Land (MoL).