The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) of Bangladesh won the 2012 Earth Care Award, for spearheading the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) project meant to encourage the local community to adopt eco-friendly practices. The LDCF program, "Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change through Coastal Afforestationin Bangladesh," offered a special Earth Care Awards category this year, titled "Community-based adaptation and mitigation." The program is partially sponsored and implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). According to the LDCF's data, the project has benefited 18,269 households in Bangladesh by involving them in afforestation, agriculture, livestock, and fishery-based livelihood adaptation. According to the Global Environment Facility, one of the significant adaptation response measures used is the development the Forest-Fish-Fruit Model (FFF), a mound-ditch model that comprises short and long term resource and income generation, as well as livelihood diversification. "This model is used in barren lands, located behind coastal mangrove forests. By using a combination of protective and productive vegetation, mound and ditch land structures, the FFF model has prevented land encroachment and ensured water security through rain water harvesting in ditches," the GEF said. The model further offers multiple livelihood opportunities such as fish cultivation, irrigation for crops and conversion of barren land into productive land. This model accommodates families in the community with at least $1,000 additional income a year. “Through on-ground projects in over 42 least developed countries, the LDCF has been fulfilling its mandate to address the urgent climate change adaptation needs of the most vulnerable," Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson of the GEF, said. "However, it is only through engaged governments and community ownership, such as in the case of Bangladesh, that the expected adaptation benefits of these projects can be realized. This award honors Bangladesh's commitment and substantiates LDCF's decade-long efforts towards fulfilling adaptation needs." The LDCF project also won the Fifth International Conference on Community Based Adaptation's (CBA5) Knowledge Competition in March. Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter