Abstract
Sea level rise (SLR) and associated saline water intrusion pose significant challenges to agricultural production and rural livelihoods in the low-lying coastal regions of southwestern Bangladesh. While nature-based Solutions (NbS) are increasingly promoted as effective climate change adaptation options, empirical evidence on their local implementation, adoption, and performance remains limited. This study identifies and evaluates NbS for climate change adaptation (NbS-CCA) practiced by coastal farming communities in coastal Dacope Upazila under Khulna district to address SLR-induced agricultural impacts. A mixed-methods approach was employed, combining focus group discussions and community consultations to capture local environmental conditions and adaptation contexts with a structured household survey of 251 respondents. The study identified a range of community-led NbS-CCA measures, including agroforestry, mangrove-based protection, aquaculture-related adaptations, and community-based water management interventions for cooking and drinking. These measures were evaluated using a multicriteria framework encompassing effectiveness, resource availability, accessibility, affordability, profitability, and perceived effects. The findings suggest that locally implemented NbS-CCA measures contribute to reducing vulnerability to SLR-related agricultural challenges while supporting livelihood resilience and adaptive capacity. However, the perceived performance of NbS-CCA measures varied across locations, highlighting the importance of local environmental conditions, resource availability, and livelihood contexts in shaping adaptation outcomes. The study demonstrates that community-driven NbS-CCA measures can serve as practical and locally relevant adaptation options in vulnerable coastal agroecosystems. The findings also underscore the need to integrate locally grounded NbS-CCA within national adaptation initiatives, including the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2,100 and the National Adaptation Plan, while promoting participatory governance, knowledge exchange, and context-specific implementation approaches to strengthen long-term coastal resilience.