Industrialisation bi-products enhance climate change and this impacts most severely people living in coastal regions and especially hits hard those in the less developed economies and the burden in particular falls on our women. This is becoming apparent following studies on the phenomena and effects of the ever changing climate situation that is causing concern at all levels and in all places today.
By Niamat Ullah Sarker* and Priangka Das*
Climate Change, in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) usage, refers to a change in the state of the climate that can be identified (e.g. using statistical tests) by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer (IPCC, 2007). Thus climate refers to any change in meteorological conditions over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity. This usage differs from that in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), where climate change refers to a change of climate that is attributed directly or indirectly to human activities that alter the composition of the global atmosphere and that is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time period.
Climate change is the ultimate consequence of increasing concentration of ‘greenhouse gases’ in the earth’s atmosphere mostly induced by human activities. It is considered that this concentration of ‘greenhouse gases’ gives rise to extreme alterations in weather patterns where extreme weather events of flood, drought, tropical cyclones, irregular rainfall, and temperature rises take place with a greater frequency and intensity.
Climate-induced risks, including sea level rises, salinity intrusion, drought, unusual temperature , and rainfall variations are becoming serious threats to food, water, energy, and health security for humankind. Climate change threatens the livelihoods in many regions of the world by increasing both in frequency and intensity the extreme climatic events that in turn heighten the vulnerability of populations and their livelihoods.
Environmental degradation may afflict many regions of the world, but the developing countries are very much more vulnerable in terms of impacts on lives and livelihoods disrupted.
Bangladesh, as a developing country, is highly vulnerable because the lives and livelihoods of the people of this region are dependent on the vagaries of nature where-in agriculture is the primary and major source of livelihoods for millions of people.
The IPCC, in its 4th Assessment Report documented a tendency in the direction of cumulative climate variability accompanying more deadly weather events that are likely to have a direct and unavoidable consequence on rural livelihoods, mostly in less developed economies (LDEs) (IPCC, 2007).
The impacts of climate change through water will also be felt across inherently linked sectors of ecosystems, agriculture, energy, and human health. For LDEs, environmental degradation will bring a devastating and life-threatening consequence as most of the habitants of these countries are highly dependent on the weather and physical conditions.
The coastal countries are highly vulnerable to climate change; because of the geographic location and topography, many of these coastal areas are especially endangered. Bangladesh and Vietnam, for example, are predicted to be among the most substantially affected countries in the world.
Bangladesh is the most disaster prone country. It is one of the most vulnerable countries where natural disasters like flood, drought, storm, and tidal affecting cyclones occur. A recent report of the World Bank estimated that with an increase of 2-4°C temperature, Bangladesh would be badly affected and 29% of the total land area would be flooded. Similarly, if there is an increase of 2.5°C in the temperature, the intensity and severity of droughts will increase and the south-western region would be mostly affected due to drought. It is said that before 2050, tropical cyclones will hit with a tidal surge of three-meters. Another estimation states that before 2080, the sea level in the coastal areas of Bangladesh will increase to 65cm and consequently 40% of the agricultural land of the south-western region will go under sea water.
With the Bay of Bengal to the south and the Himalayas to the north, Bangladesh is located at the edge of two specific and particular geographic situations. The geographical location and geo-morphological conditions of Bangladesh have made the country highly vulnerable, particularly to sea level rises. These particular natural features of Bangladesh triggered not only life-giving monsoons but also terrible ravages of natural disasters; human made climate change induced disaster has added a new dimension to this problem. In Bangladesh, for millions of people, environmental degradation is a major challenge for agriculture, food security and rural livelihoods.
Bangladesh is now considered as one of the most vulnerable countries due to climate change as people of this country will be affected directly or indirectly in all regions more or less. Impact of this environmental degradation on the livelihoods of coastal people is very severe and acute. The fishermen are even now being displaced from their localities and the farmers are losing their lands and thus they are being turned into “climate refugees”. The number of climate refugees is increasing in the coastal areas of Bangladesh and as a result they have been forced to migrate to big cities. Despite the increase in population growth rate, the total number of population in coastal areas is decreasing.
Women, particularly rural women, are facing difficulties adapting to the dislocating shock of climate change. In this circumstance, the maternal and child malnutrition rates are increasing and their mortality rates are also rising. Experts view that women are the main victims due to climate change induced impact. The responsibilities for women over their families have increased as they have to do more hard work to prepare food, collect fuel and water in an ever more adverse environment.
Coastal livelihoods are highly dependant on natural resources and subject to the climate change. Coastal livelihoods embrace agriculture, agricultural related activities like fishing and other activities in the cottage industry and small business categories. In the coastal areas, sustainable livelihood assets and capital are affected by climate change. As a result factors incorporated into livelihood sustainability like those of the environmental, economic, social, and institutional sustainability, invade the coastal areas.
As people are the core issue in development then livelihood sustainability should be the primary concern for any government. In fact, developing countries are not mainly responsible for the climate change but they have to pay for it, in terms of livelihood disrupted. So, all parties should do their utmost to halt greenhouse gas emissions and this is the only way to achieve livelihood sustainability of the coastal community.
Niamat Ullah Sarker* (nusarker.du.dds@gmail.com)
Priangka Das* (priangka.ds.du@gmail.com)
* Students and research fellows prepared their thesis concentrating on ‘Climate Change’ under the supervision of Professor Niaz Ahmed Khan (niaz.khan@yahoo.com) and Dr. Mahfuzul Haque (drmahfuzulhaque@yahoo.com) at the Department of Development Studies, University of Dhaka.
