The Universal Environmental Human Rights Foundation (UEHRF) is a leading community-based, non-profit, environment and development-focused non-government organization committed to maintaining ecological balance and harmony between humans and nature. UEHRF was established to solve complex environmental and social problems in Bangladesh together with local people through respecting local knowledge and culture. They have been working with local people to identify and solve complex environmental and social problems of Bangladesh for the past ten years. The grass-roots initiatives are focused on mitigating the harmful impacts of climate change; addressing the unsustainable use of natural resources; monitoring the interaction between humans and the mangrove ecosystem; and tackling the lack of electricity, drinking water crisis, and issues of gender inequity and human rights violations. They do this through research, communication education participation and awareness raising (CEPA) programs, and physical activities in order to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Working Area
Throughout Bangladesh, with a priority focus on coastal regions of Bangladesh.
Environment and Ecosystem
Bangladesh covers diversified climatic zones and experiences an array of climate change impacts in last few decades. Human pressures together with changing hydrology and land resources have distinct impact on the production of food grain and resilience of ecosystems. The most threatened areas are coastal grasslands and ecosystems of the Sundarbans. Mangrove Forest (the Sundarbans) of Bangladesh is one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the planet are getting destroyed due to unsustainable resource harvesting Practices, climate change impact and People’s unconsciousness. Availability of freshwater is highly seasonal in this region, and water supplies become more threatened by higher temperatures, changes in river regimes, and greater incidence of coastal flooding. Major environmental issues here are biodiversity loss, impacts to the marine environment, atmospheric pollution, drinking water scarcity and degradation, soil erosion and land degradation and natural disaster. For all these reasons UEHRF has been working with this thematic area.
Target community
The primary target community of UEHRF is the most vulnerable coastal community, natural resources users such as forest dependent people & marginal farmers, women & youth, ethnic community, teachers-students, researchers, tourist and mass urban and rural people. Beside these, UEHRF has been closely working with local government, administration and civil society.
Disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation
Climate change is the most discussed issue around the globe now a day. Due to climate change, natural disasters are occurring frequently all over the earth. Bangladesh is a South Asian country which is frontline of global climate change due to its geographic location. Sundarbans coastal region is the most vulnerable region of Bangladesh in regards to climate change. People of the Sundarbans coastal region are not very aware of natural disaster. They are very poor and keep themselves busy in income generating activities even when there is high signal of disaster. Moreover, infrastructures including the households of the coastal areas are not very strong. So, loss and damage becomes huge for them. This is why UEHRF has been working in this sector.
Clean/Solar Energy
Clean/solar energy is an eco-friendly energy which is renewable. Unlike the dirty energy, it doesn’t produce carbon which is dangerous for environment. Renewable energy is comparatively cheap than general electricity. In the Sundarbans coastal region of Bangladesh, there are so many areas/villages where electricity is not available yet. But electricity is the precondition of development. So, UEHRF is working in this sector.
Wildlife conservation and protection
Wildlife conservation is a very important issue in respect of maintaining the balance of the ecosystem. Sundarbans is the single largest mangrove forest world having huge biodiversity in which there are endangered and critically endangered species. Climate change, peoples’ unconsciousness and lack of conservation knowledge are the reason why wildlife is in threat. Some greedy people also engage themselves in wildlife hunting activities. These are the reasons why UEHRF has been conducting activities on wildlife conservation and protection.
RELIEF AND REHABILITATION
Relief and rehabilitation is one of the focal thematic areas of UEHRF and the organization has been focused on this work since 2007 in emergency situations like natural disasters or pandemics. So far, UEHRF has supported the