Bangladesh 

Bangladesh and Climate Change

Dr.Tamanna Afrin, Bangladesh

Bangladesh is trapped between the Himalayas in the north and the encroaching Bay of Bengal to the south. Bangladesh is most vulnerable to natural disasters due to the frequency of extreme climate events and its high population density. Floods are frequent and cause the greatest economic and human losses to the country. The flooding problems are exacerbated by sediment transported by three major rivers- the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna.

Climate change poses significant risks for Bangladesh. The impacts of higher temperatures, more variable precipitation, more extreme weather events, and sea level rise are already felt in Bangladesh and will continue to intensify. The impacts result not only from gradual changes in temperature and sea level but also, in particular, from increased climate variability and extreme events, including more intense floods, droughts, and storms.

These changes are already having major impacts on the economic performance of Bangladesh and on the lives and livelihoods of millions of poor people.

Impact on Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, climate change will affect many sectors, including water resources, agriculture and food security, ecosystems and biodiversity, human health and coastal zones.

- Many environmental and developmental problems will be exacerbated by climate change.

- Predicted rainfall increases, particularly during the summer monsoon, could increase flood-prone areas in Bangladesh.

- Crop yields are predicted to fall by up to 30 per cent, creating a very high risk of hunger.

- Predicted temperature increase will cause the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas.

In the short term, the global warming increases risk of flooding, erosion, mudslides during the wet season. In the longer term, global warming could lead to disappearance of many glaciers that feed many rivers in South Asia.

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

Bangladesh has already achieved one of the key Millennium Development Goals (MDG)

- Gender parity in primary and secondary schooling. The country is on track to achieve most of the MDG goals, even the difficult ones like infant and maternal mortality by 2015.

However, the predicted adverse impacts due to global warming could reverse the recent economic and social gains. The progress towards achieving the MDGs, such as eradicating poverty, combating communicable diseases and ensuring environmental sustainability could be in jeopardy.

Agriculture Growth & Poverty

Agricultural growth is especially effective in reducing poverty. Estimates show that overall GDP growth originating in agriculture is, on average, at least twice as effective in benefiting the poorest half of a country’s population as growth generated in non-agricultural sectors. In sum, agricultural growth can reduce poverty directly, by raising farm incomes, and indirectly, through labor markets and by reducing food prices.

Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture

It is predicted that climate change could have devastating impact on agriculture. Agriculture is a key economic driver in Bangladesh, accounting for nearly 20 percent of the GDP and 65 percent of the labor force. The performance of this sector has considerable influence on overall growth, the trade balance, and the level and structure of poverty and malnutrition.

Moreover, much of the rural population, especially the poor, is reliant on the agriculture as a critical source of livelihoods and employment.

The impacts of climate change could affect agriculture in Bangladesh in many ways:

- The predicted sea-level rise will threaten valuable coastal agricultural land, particularly in low-lying areas.

- Biodiversity would be reduced in some of the most fragile environments, such as Sundarbans and tropical forests.

- Climate unpredictability will make planning of farm operations more difficult.

The effects of these impacts will threaten food security for the most vulnerable people of Bangladesh. The country’s agriculture sector is already under stress from lack of productivity and population growth. Any further attempt to increase productivity will likely to add pressure to available land and water resources.

Parliamentarians say stay course on climate change at Bangladesh meeting

Bikya Masr Staff

March 17, 2012

Bangladesh meeting says stay the course on climate change.

Parliamentarians from over 20 nations have agreed to consolidate efforts in global Climate Change mitigation by unequivocally supporting legislation and relevant policies enhancing disaster risk reduction and early warning systems.

Consequently, the legislators at the just ended ‘International Meeting of Parliamentarians on Climate Change: Durban and Beyond’ have announced the establishment of a global network of Parliamentarians in support of people most vulnerable to climate change.

The grouping known as the Parliamentarians for Climate Justice Network shall focus its resources in communities deemed vulnerable in whichever corner of the world. The Network is to promote strategic alliances of like-minded Parliamentarians working through existing structures where possible – including cross-party groups and parliamentary networks.

A Steering Committee immediately formed constituting of legislators from Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Canada, Scotland, Nepal, Philippines, South Africa and Senegal shall work on the nuts and bolts towards refining the Network’s role and objectives.

The participants further called on governments to develop national action plans on climate change adaptation and to allocate fixed proportion of national budgets to check on the effects of climate.

A fifteen point Dhaka Parliamentary Declaration released at the end of the meeting implores governments to honor commitments by providing new and additional finance for vulnerable countries. As an immediate measure, the Declaration tasks governments to put aside US 30 billion dollars for the start-up of a Green Climate Fund with a view towards growing the fund by three over the next ten years. The fund, participants’ state, should likewise cater for the Least Development Countries.

In addition, engagement in constructive debate on the issues of technology transfer and production transfer were encouraged and deemed vital to enable the affordability of equipment needed for mitigation in the countries of the global south.

With regards to oversight, the Parliamentarians are to gauge and hold to account that their governments on implementation of ratified international agreements. This aspect, Parliamentarians hope shall be accentuated by monitoring disbursal of international climate finance to ensure effective and transparent funding.

Climate change was termed the greatest threat to the lives, livelihoods and welfare of global constituents as well as to the ecosystem upon which humanity depends on. In this regard, a global solution is needed to resolve the global problem. Looking inwards for a start, the legislators have thus pledged to mainstream climate change mitigation and adaptation measures in their respective Parliaments by collaborating across party-political boundaries, formation of dedicated Parliamentary Committees dealing with climate change where they do not exist and creating awareness among Parliamentarians.

The meeting opened on March 14 by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina was attended by Parliamentarians from Bangladesh, Canada, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Mali, Netherlands and Maldives. Legislators from Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Samoa, Scotland, United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda were also in attendance. EALA was represented by the Speaker, Abdirahin Abdi and the Senior Public Relations Officer, Bobi Odiko.

In his remarks on Day 1, the Speaker noted that the entire globe remained vulnerable to climate change.

“It is already evident and widely accepted that the world is warming and that all effort are necessary to stabilize global temperatures,” he remarked, adding that frequency and intensity of extreme events such as cyclones, floods, droughts and variable precipitation and sea level rise were increasingly been felt.

On the Hyogo Framework for Action, a 10-year plan to make the world safer from natural hazards that was adopted by 168 Member States of the United Nations in 2005, legislators underpinned the need for immediate actions to reduce risks associated with climate related hazards.

Mel Sarmiento, MP from Philippines said his country had taken a proactive stand in containing climate change. He mentioned that Philippines had enacted the Solid Waste Act, Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act in response to the Kyoto Protocol (International Agreement linked to the United Nation’s Framework on Climate Change signed in December 11, 1997 with an aim to fight global warming). In addition, Parliament went further to enact the Climate Change Act 2009 and the Disaster Risk Management Act 2010 following the Hyogo Framework Action Plan.

Claudio Monge, MP, Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica and Chair of the Committee on Environment informed delegates that Costa Rica was yet to witness serious problems of Climate Change but that the Executive and Legislature were concerned by the global impact of Climate Change.

In the closing remarks at the end of the conference, EALA Speaker Abdirahin Abdi called for a push towards climate justice between and among the nations.

“There is need to persuade bigger emitters to check the problem, push regional initiatives to stay the course and devote budgets to developing renewable energies if we are to reverse the trends,” Abdi stated.

Speaker of the Bangladesh Parliament Abdul Hamid underscored the need for a global platform that draws attention to the plight of countries suffering from the excesses of climate change.

Robert Jukham, Acting UNDP Regional Representative observed that Bangladesh had played a leadership role in tackling climate change.

”I encourage MPs to position themselves to better influence international agendas in climate change and disaster risk reduction. In this light, I hope the conference shall indeed serve as a platform for Rio+20 conferences on sustainable growth to be held in Brazil in June this year,” Jukham noted.

References:

Chopra, Anuj. "How Global Warming Threatens Millions in Bangladesh." 26 March 2009. US News & World Reoprt. March 2012.

Kempton, Rosemarie. 21 February 2012. www.napavalleyregister.com. March 2012.

Luffman, Laurinda. "SOS Children's Villages." 7 March 2012. SOS Children's Villages. March 2012.

Staff, Bikya Masr. "Bikya Masr." 17 March 2012. March 2012.

Williams, Ian. 7 December 2009. NBC News. March 2012.

Helping rural communities in Bangladesh adapt to climate change

Laurinda Luffman, SOS Children

Mar 07, 2012

Following the Durban talks in December on tackling climate change, the foreign minister of Bangladesh criticized developed countries for failing to distribute funds aimed at helping poorer countries adapt to environmental change.

Industrialized nations promised to provide 30 billion dollars to the world’s most vulnerable countries by the end of 2012. So far, less than 3 billion dollars has been made available and the Bangladesh minister, Dipu Moni, described this as “dismal”.

In an article published in the Guardian, Dr Moni explained how vulnerable countries like Bangladesh were being “ marginalized”, even while they faced ever-increasing dangers from global warming. Around half of worldwide deaths caused by tropical cyclones occur in Bangladesh and, with its low-lying lands and dependence on agriculture, communities are extremely vulnerable to long-term damage from flooding and storm surges. For example, in 2009, cyclone Aila destroyed many homes and livelihoods when it struck the south-western coastal region of Bangladesh. 4,000km of roads and embankments were damaged, many of which have yet to be repaired.

Dipu Moni has called on rich industrialized nations to adhere to their commitments to provide financial support to developing countries. Unless the pledged 30 billion dollars is provided, countries like Bangladesh will be made even more vulnerable to the impact of climate events. “[Developing] countries are having to make all the difficult.... [and] very expensive choices,” she said, when it came to investing in infrastructure and other methods of protecting citizens. Bangladesh is already doing what it can to safeguard the livelihoods of communities for the future, such as funding research and development into crop varieties which are resistant to flooding or salinity.

Rising sea levels and storms threaten many agricultural communities. In a Guardian article this week, one Bangladeshi shrimp farmer describes how a huge surge in the Kholpatua river caused by cyclone Aila drove water over 30 feet-high embankments to completely destroy his village and their shrimp ponds in 2009. Nobody from his village was killed, but the sludge left by the water ruined their shrimp farms.

With around 15 million Bangladeshis living around the Bay of Bengal and areas vulnerable to climate change, migration to other parts of the country is not a realistic option. Villagers therefore depend on support from the government or non-governmental organisations (NGO) to help them rebuild their homes and livelihoods. One NGO in the region is BRAC, which is working in conjunction with the UN Development Programme to build storm and flood-resistant buildings and promote alternative activities such as crab farming and growing salt-tolerant rice and maize. Such targeted local initiatives are desperately needed to get communities back on their feet. The promised funding from the international community would be one way to widen access to such help.

Teenage environmental crusader tours Bangladesh

Rosemarie Kempton, Napa Valley Register

February 21, 2012

When the federal government picked 16-year-old Anna Yip for a global warming tour of Bangladesh, they picked the right girl.

Her family tries to live a low-impact life — no plastic bottles, lots of bicycling. She attends New Technology High School, which, among many sustainability features, collects rainwater for irrigation.

“I’m very avid about the environment,” said Yip, who returned last month from a month-long trip to Bangladesh sponsored by the U.S. Department of State in partnership with World Savvy, an organization that educates youth in community and world affairs.

Thirty students from all over the U.S. visited Bangladesh because it is facing some of the worst effects of climate change, Yip said. It is a low country in south Asia, with a high vulnerability to flooding. In a typhoon, as much as 70 percent of its land can be underwater, she said.

Global warming is expected to raise sea levels, increasing the flood risk while also contaminating fresh water supplies, Yip said. This can harm agriculture while reducing the availability of drinking water, she said.

It’s sadly ironic, Yip said, that the people of Bangladesh contribute relatively few greenhouse gases that cause global warming, yet their low-lying country is affected among the most.

Students spent a week on a boat in the Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world, where they learned about how rising salt levels are causing trees to die, Yip said.

Another week was spent working on a char (pronounced like “chore”), an island that gets completely washed away every five to 10 years. This forces the inhabitants to continually move and start their lives over, Yip said.

While there, the students helped raise the ground level around a local school and planted banana trees.

Yip said the Bangladeshi people are both hardworking and poor. Pedestrians would bang on the group’s car windows begging for money. She stayed with a host family most of the time. When the group toured, they were accompanied by security guards.

The month was packed with memorable experiences, Yip said. Christmas Day was spent on a boat cruising through the Sundarbans. She met Mohammad Yunis, who won the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize for establishing a bank that makes small loans to people in the lowest economic stratum.

She met students from a Madrasah, an Islamic school, and got to ask them about their religion and lives. “I have never met a sweeter group,” she said. “They know three languages and held conversations with us.”

Her most unforgettable memory was the welcome with flowers by students and local people when she first walked into the village on the char.

“All the children were dressed in their best clothing and with their hair slicked back and smiles. … I was blown away by all of the farm animals just scattered around, rice laying out to dry, the lack of electronics and the stares. We couldn't go anywhere without a mob following us,” Yip said.

Students were cautioned to expect culture shock when they reached Bangladesh, a densely populated country of nearly 150 million people, but for her that didn’t happen until she returned to Napa, Yip said.

It was “the silence,” Yip said. “I did not go a single minute in Bangladesh with silence. It was impossible.”

Upon returning home, participants were expected to find projects to improve their communities and the world. For Yip, that means working with Napa Valley CanDo on the group’s mission to implement a plastic bag fee in Napa County. She expects to make presentations in local classrooms.

The daughter of Julie and Chino Yip, Yip is a junior at New Tech, where she is student body vice president. She is also the student representative on the Napa Valley Unified School District Board of Education.

Yip, who intends to pursue environmental studies in college, knows that many people deny man-made global warming is occurring.

“To accept the fact that climate change is happening, is to accept that the human race has made a mistake,” Yip said. “It’s difficult for some to accept that.”

To ward off harmful environmental changes, she said humanity needs to mobilize.

“It comes down to people being willing to sacrifice and change for the benefit of others,” Yip said.

Come Hell with High Water

Bangladesh has the unique moral authority to convince big polluters to change their ways: it is especially vulnerable to climate change and cannot be blamed for causing it. Scientists say that a one-meter rise in sea level could inundate 17 percent of its land mass.

Meanwhile, its annual carbon dioxide emissions are a paltry 0.3 metric tons per person (compared with 19.34 for the United States).

The regional security consequences of rendering uninhabitable this densely populated country of 158 million people would be severe. Where will Bangladeshis go? Not to India. That country has already ringed the border with barbed wire and machine guns. Australia? I don’t think so.

According to the Bangladeshi government’s climate change action plan, as many as 20 million Bangladeshis may need to be resettled as early as 2050. “Preparations in the meantime will be made to convert this population into trained and useful citizens for any country,” the plan says. How many more will be displaced later this century or in the next one?

Unfortunately, Bangladesh’s sense of urgency isn’t felt elsewhere. One problem is that, despite media reports featuring supposed climate-change refugees, many effects of global warming aren’t obvious. Migration has multiple causes, and the erosion of riverbanks is a fact of life here, at the delta of three major rivers. A recent British government report cites just three mild “climate observations” in its summary on changing conditions in Bangladesh over the past few decades: “widespread warming” during both the hot season and the cool season since 1960, fewer cool nights and more warm ones and “a small increase in total precipitation.”

To its credit, Bangladesh’s action plan doesn’t make dramatic claims about the present effects of climate change. But the future perils are real. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the Earth’s temperature is likely to increase by between 2 and 4.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. According to the I.P.C.C., sea levels are expected to rise by between 0.18 and 0.59 meters during that time. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency goes further, noting that if polar ice continues to melt “in step with global average temperature,” sea levels could increase by 0.49 to 0.79 meters by 2100.

Bangladesh can adapt to this increase in sea levels at moderate expense by repairing, extending and better maintaining its 7,000 kilometer-long system of coastal dikes. The country is already conducting research into saline-resistant rice varieties.

But an increase in temperature of four degrees or more would likely unlock a series of so-called “positive feedbacks” that would speed the melting of Arctic ice and raise sea levels at rates that current computer modeling can’t predict. Disappearing ice reveals the dark ocean surface, which in turn attracts more solar radiation, leading to increased warming. Melting permafrost could release long-stored greenhouse gases, and that, in turn, could bring greater warming, more melting and even higher sea levels. These positive feedbacks are immune to human effort: at some point, dikes and canals aren’t enough to keep the ocean at bay.

That’s why Bangladesh should take charge now, not to get money for adaptation, but to convince the United States, China, Europe and India to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Its leaders shouldn’t be pacified with adaptation money. They should be raising hell.

How Global Warming Threatens Millions in Bangladesh

Bangladesh tops the climate ate Risk Index, a ranking of 170 countries most vulnerable to climate change compiled by German Watch, an international nongovernmental organization that works on environment and development issues. The nation is particularly at risk because it is a vast delta plain with 230 rivers, many of which unstably swell during the monsoon rains. This geology, combined with river water from the melting Himalayan glaciers in the north and an encroaching Bay of Bengal in the south, makes the region prone to severe flooding. The situation is made worse by the prevalence of intense storms, a marker of climate stresses.The United Nations warns that a quarter of Bangladesh's coastline could be inundated if the sea rises 3 feet in the next 50 years, displacing 30 million Bangladeshis from their homes and farms. If that happens, the capital, Dhaka, now at the center of the country, would have its own sea promenade.

The IPCC estimates that the production of staple foods could drop steeply by 2050 because of soil salinity. This would be devastating in a country where agriculture is the key economic driver. This sector accounts for about 22 percent of the nation's economic output, with an additional 33 percent derived from the rural non farm economy, which is also linked to agriculture, according to the World Bank. Around 65 percent of the population is employed in agriculture.

Rice is the country's lifeblood. Rice purchases often constitute 30 to 40 percent of the total expenditures of an average Bangladeshi family, according to the International Rice Research Institute. Even a small increase in price can have a serious impact on the household food security of the poor. According to a study by IRRI, a 25 percent increase in the price of rice translates into a 7 to 10 percent drop in the real income of Bangladesh's poor.

As is well known Bangladesh is the most climate vulnerable region in the world