Rezaul Karim Chowdhury at present is the Executive Director for COAST (www.coastbd.net) an NGO working for coastal poor in Bangladesh, they work on micro finance plus (e.g., including right based approach) approach, including education, health, disaster management, institution building, climate adaptation and advocacy with micro finance surplus. In respect of advocacy they believe in positive engagement with government and are active both at the national and international level.
He was also board members of several international organizations and networks, including CANSA (Climate Action Network South Asia, www.cansouthasia.net). Since 2007 he is active in doing advocacy for climate migrants and finance in UNFCCC CoP (United Nation Framework for Climate Change Convention, Conference of Parties), he is also the advisory committee member of PDD (Platform on Disaster Displacement, www.disasterdisplacement.org) an UN body with the membership of 30 countries (including EU, Germany and Canada), based in Geneva.
In Bangladesh they have been able to convince the Honorable Prime Minister to construct 26 buildings for climate refugees from Kutubdia Island who were the 91 cyclone survivors, this was the first in kind in the world on government investment. COAST is also promoting climate adaptation technologies in climate hotspots of Bangladesh by own and with partnership with other local NGOs with the help of PKSF and Climate Justice Resilience Fund.
