Introduction:
Nowadays
cliamte change is the biggest problem of the human being. It is already
happening and represents one of the greatest environmental, social and economic
threats facing the planet. At present every country is being concious about
cliamate change.
“Cliamte
change is no longer some far-off problem; it is happening here, it is happening
now.”
Barack Obama
President
of United States of America
“Climate change constitutes a serious injustice and must be
acknowledged by the global community, We are bearing the brunt of the damage
though we made negligible or no contribution to the menace.”
Sheikh Hasina
Honrable Prime Minister
of Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is one of the largest deltas in the
world which is highly vulnerable to Natural Disasters because of its
Geographical location, Flat and low-lying landscape, Population density,
Poverty, Illiteracy, Lack of Institutional setup etc. In other words, the
Physical, Social as well as Economic conditions of Bangladesh are very typical
to any of the most vulnerable countries to Natural Disasters in the world. The
total land area is 147,570 sq. km. consists mostly of Floodplains (almost 80%)
leaving major part of the country (with the exception of the north-western
highlands) prone to flooding during the rainy season. Moreover, the adverse
affects of Climate Change – especially High Temperature, Sea-level Rise,
Cyclones and Storm Surges, Salinity Intrusion, Heavy Monsoon Downpours etc. has
aggravated the overall Economic Development scenario of the country to a great
extent.
Bangladesh
has got a population of around 161 million (2016) with a life expectancy at
birth of around 71 years, and an adult literacy rate of 61.5%. The recent Human
Development Report ranks Bangladesh number 142 of 188 nations. Bangladesh has
an average annual population growth rate of around 1.37% , almost 75% of the
population lives in rural areas and a population density of 1063 (people per
sq. km.). Bangladesh is predominantly Agricultural with two thirds of the
population engaged in farming or Agro-based industrial activity mainly. The
climate of Bangladesh can be characterized by High temperatures, Heavy
rainfall, High humidity, and fairly marked three seasonal variations like Hot
Summer, Shrinking Winter and Medium to Heavy Rains during the Rainy season.
Climatic
Impacts:
Bangladesh
experiences different types of Natural Disasters almost every year because of
the Global Warming as well as Climate Change impacts, these are:
Floods /
Flash Floods (Almost
80% of the total area of the country is prone to flooding).
Cyclones
and Storm Surges (South and
South-eastern Parts of the country were hit by Tropical Cyclones during the
last few years).
Salinity
Intrusion (Almost
the whole Coastal Belt along the Bay of Bengal is experiencing Salinity
problem).
Extreme
Temperature and Drought (North and
North-western regions of the country are suffering because of the Extreme
Temperature problem).
Sectoral
Impacts
Agriculture
and Fisheries:
As already
mentioned earlier, the economy of Bangladesh is based on Agriculture mainly,
with two thirds of the population engaged (directly or indirectly) on
Agricultural activities; although the country is trying move towards
industrialization slowly during the last one and a half decade almost. So, the
overall impact of Climate Change on Agricultural production in Bangladesh would
be wide spread and devastating for the country’s economy. Beside this, other
impacts of Climate Change such as - Extreme Temperature, Drought, and Salinity
Intrusion etc. are also responsible for the declining crop yields in
Bangladesh. Temperature and Rainfall changes have already affected crop
production in many parts of the country and the area of arable land has
decreased to a great extent. The Salinity intrusion in the coastal area is
creating a serious implications for the coastal land that were traditionally
used for rice production.
The
fisheries sector has also experienced an adverse affect because of the impacts
of Climate Change. The fisheries sector contributes about 3.69% of the GDP in
Bangladesh and people depend on fish products in order to meet up majority of
their daily protein requirements. There are around 260 species of fish in the
country and almost all the varieties are sensitive to specific salt and
freshwater conditions.
Water
Resources and Hydrology:
In a high
density country like Bangladesh, the effects of Climate Change on the Surface
and Ground water resources will be very severe and alarming. Changes to water
resources and hydrology will have a significant impact on the country’s
economy, where people mostly depend on the Surface water for Irrigation,
Fishery, Industrial production, Navigation and similar other activities.
Coastal
Areas:
Almost one
forth of the total population of the country live in the coastal areas of
Bangladesh, where majority of the population are some how affected (directly or
indirectly) by Coastal Floods / Tidal Surges, River-bank Erosion, Salinity,
Tropical Cyclones etc. With the rise of Sea-level up to one meter only,
Bangladesh could lose up to 15% of its land area under the Sea water and around
30 million people living in the coastal areas of Bangladesh could become
Refugees because of Climate Change impacts. Agriculture, Industry,
Infrastructure (School, Hospitals, Roads, Bridges and Culverts etc.),
Livelihoods, Marine Resources, Forestry, Biodiversity, Human Health and other
Utility services will suffer severely because of the same. Salinity Intrusion
from the Bay of Bengal already penetrates 100 kilometers inside the country
during the dry season and the Climate Change in its gradual process is likely
to deteriorate the existing scenario to a great extent. Since most of the
country is less than 10 meters above Sea level and almost 10% of the population
of the country is living below 1 meter elevation - the whole coastal area is
Highly Vulnerable to High Tides and Storm Surges. Moreover, the Bay of Bengal
is located at the tip of the north Indian Ocean, where severe Cyclonic storms
as well as long Tidal waves are frequently generated and hit the coast line
with severe impacts because of the Shallow as well as Conical shape of the Bay
near Bangladesh.
Forestry /
Biodiversity:
Bangladesh
has got a wide diversity of Ecosystems including Mangrove forests at the
extreme south of the country. The “Sundarbans” a World Heritage, is the largest
Mangrove Forest in the world, comprising 577,00 ha of land area along the Bay
of Bengal. A total of 425 species have been identified there, the most
significant is the famous Royal Bengal Tiger. Therefore, Climate Change impacts
will have negative effects on the Ecosystem of the Forest recourses in
Bangladesh while the Sundarbans is likely to suffer the most.
Urban
areas:
Cities and
Towns situated along the Coastal belt in Bangladesh are at the Front line of
Climate Change related Disaster impacts and could experience a severe damage
directly because of the Sea level Rise and Storm Surges at any time. Direct
impacts may occur through the increased Floods, Drainage congestion and Water logging
as well as Infrastructure Damage during extreme events. The important Urban
sectors that suffered severely by the previous floods in Bangladesh include
Urban Infrastructure, Industry, Trade, Commerce and Utility services etc. As
consequence, it hampered usual productivity during and after major floods and
hence increased the vulnerability of the urban poor by many folds. It should be
mentioned here that, around 40 per cent of the urban population in Bangladesh
lives in the Slum and Squatter settlements of the major cities which are highly
prone to Disaster risk during Flooding further.
Vulnerable
groups:
The Urban
poor are therefore directly at the risk of Natural Disasters being enhanced by
the impacts of Climate Change - especially in the absence / shortage of the
necessary Infrastructure as well as Employment opportunity for them in the
major cities of the country. In Bangladesh, Women are especially Vulnerable
because of the Gender inequalities in the Socio- economic and Political
institutions. During the 1991Cyclone and Storm surge in Bangladesh, the death
rate in case of women was almost five times higher than the men. Because men
were able to communicate with each other in the public spaces, but the
information did not reach most of the women timely.
Conclusion:
Dear
Global Citizens... and Friends of the Global Village...!
The
Glaciers are Melting, Sea-level is Rising since the World is getting Warmer -
our Coast line, Green Villages, Paddy fields, Schools, Hospitals, Markets are
sinking... Please, come forward and let’s fight our Common Problems
together...!
People are
losing their Homesteads, Agriculture fields, Sweet water Ponds, Fishery,
Poultry, Livestock and every thing... Becoming Homeless - taking shelter in the
roadside Unhygienic Squatters and Slums. Once upon a time – they had Sweet
Families along with all the members - Mom-Dad, Brothers-Sisters, Husband-Wife,
Sons and Daughters...! They were surrounded by Greeneries, Water bodies,
Vegetable gardens and Fruit trees - Cows, Goats, Hens and Ducks were common in
every family... now, all are sweet memories...! Small Boats used to play in the
Canals and Rivers - were the main mode of Transportation That Village was like
a piece of Heaven... they lived for generations...!
Dear
Friends, let’s Protect our Lovely Planet as the Safe Home for our future
Generation...
Please... Let’s not think, Climate Change as an Individual Problem of any country or nation – Let’s think, it’s our Common Issue, we’ve to face efficiently as “Citizens of the Global Village” from now on...!
Please... Let’s not think, Climate Change as an Individual Problem of any country or nation – Let’s think, it’s our Common Issue, we’ve to face efficiently as “Citizens of the Global Village” from now on...!