Building democratic governance in the Hill Tracts of Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, UNDEF funds an initiative to advance pro-poor and democratic governance in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The project works in over 200 villages to step up interaction between organizations of poor tribal peoples and local government administration. It recently held a series of activities in the districts of Baghaichari, Rangamati and Kaptai, including courtyard capacity building sessions on democracy and good governance; sharing sessions between villagers and field staff; advocacy facilitation; group work presentation; baseline survey sessions; and social mapping. Because the Chittagong Hill Tracts are governed by dual administrations -- the Ministries for Local Government and for Hill Tracts -- there is often confusion over roles and responsibilities, as well as disputes over rights, resources and services, especially for the poor. The initiative is implemented by Green Hill, a non-partisan local NGO based in the area.