[🇧🇩] Save the Rivers/Forests/Hills-----Save the Environment

[Saif]

Fire in the Sundarbans: How can we stop it from happening again

Repeated fires in the Sundarbans cannot be overlooked.

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Fire in the Sundarbans: How can we stop it from happening again

PHOTO: COLLECTED

People in Bangladesh, and even the rest of the world, view the Sundarbans with a certain reverence. But, unfortunately, policymakers and those who are responsible for taking care of the mangrove forest do not view it the same way.

For Bangladesh, the Sundarbans is its protector. It protects our land from various natural disasters. Particularly, cyclones coming from the southwest are impeded by the Sundarbans. However, although the forest protects us, we do nothing to protect it. Whether it is through deforestation, or polluting the waters around it, or building industrial plants around it—we have continued to take on activities that severely harm this natural body.

Now, speaking of the fire that we learnt of on Saturday, this is not something that has happened for the first time. This sort of incidents have been common during this time of the year for quite some time. So this fire should not be viewed as an accident that could not have been prevented. Firstly, as this is something that keeps happening every year, we need to figure out the underlying reasons that cause it. And the process through which this investigation is to be conducted should be made transparent and inclusive. Furthermore, it should be communicated to the local people. Without transparency and decisive action, this would become yet another administrative exercise in our country that serves no purpose other than lining the pockets of a select few. Thus, the first thing that must be done is to identify the problem, and the second thing should be making sure that those who were responsible for it are held accountable before the public.

As activists who have been working in and around the Sundarbans for years know quite well, fires can start naturally. It could also be because of intruders who enter the forest. It could be from the cigarettes they smoke. It could be done intentionally by poachers who want to attack wild animals. In fact, there may even be particular reasons for starting fires. There is a fish called Kain Magur (Black eeltail catfish) that is prevalent in the Sundarbans area, which is difficult for fishermen to catch due to the vines and leaves sprouting from the forest floor. So, some fishermen start fires to clear off these vines and leaves so they can catch the fish easily.

It is also important to note that we did not get to know immediately about the fire in question. In this era of information technology and instant communication, this is an anomaly. It is also not like Bangladesh is behind in terms of technology. We are advancing on par with the world. We have a science and technology ministry. We regularly allocate budget for technological advancement in various areas. We are trying to become Smart Bangladesh and have become so in many aspects. The important point to note is that we do have the capability to protect the 6,500 square kilometres of this mangrove forest, and we do keep watch. If a university student flies a drone even 70 kilometres deep into the forest, then he is caught using technology. Yet, when there has been a fire, technology suddenly fails us. In truth, we lack the mindset and the determination to protect the Sundarbans. We are unable to properly use the technology available to us. There is no proper monitoring in place.

As the Sundarbans is a World Heritage Site, upon UNESCO's repeated requests, the Bangladesh government eventually undertook its Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in 2020. But following on from this assessment, the goal of which was to see if the Sundarbans was being harmed in any way, what remedies have been taken? In the end, these goals were not achieved. To make sure that the Sundarbans is not brought into consideration, they called it the SEA for the southwest region. They did not cover Barguna in it, nor did they cover Patuakhali. Here, the intention was to find out loopholes. Thus, we could not get the benefits from this assessment that we could have gotten. This is only helping those who are making investments in industry around the area and harming the Sundarbans and our country.

In order to show a strong commitment to protecting the Sundarbans, the government must identify exactly why this fire started and take preventative measures so similar incidents does not occur again. We must take actions against those who are responsible for it. Then, if there is a fire again, we should analyse it again to see what steps should be taken.

Sharif Jamil is coordinator of Waterkeepers Bangladesh and member secretary of Dhoritri Rokhhay Amra (DHORA).​

 

[Saif]

Is the last stronghold of Bangladesh’s tigers at risk?

The increased disturbances of the Sundarbans such as Saturday's fire will force the wildlife to venture out and into human habitats for food.

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Is the last stronghold of Bangladesh's tigers at risk?

Firefighters spraying water on a smouldering fire at the Amurbunia forest of eastern Sundarbans in Bagerhat yesterday. The fire was spotted Saturday afternoon but the firefighting was initially delayed due to a lack of water sources nearby. PHOTO: TANJIR H RUBEL

The fire that broke out in Amarbunia, under the Chandpai range in the eastern region of the Sundarbans in Bagerhat on Saturday afternoon (May 4), continued to burn for nearly three days before rain doused it completely. On top of that, several units of the Fire Service, Bangladesh Navy, police, district administration, upazila administration, public representatives, and locals worked to control the fire in the Sundarbans during this time, according to the latest update from the chief conservator of forests.

It harks back to May 3, 2021, when a fire broke out in Bharani under the Sarankhola range, which is not far from Amarbunia. Before that, in 2016, there were four different incidents of fire in the eastern part of the Sundarbans.

This time, the distance of the fire from the nearest water source—almost two kilometres—proved to be a particular challenge, hindering the efforts to extinguish the fire. Along with the Forest Department, the Fire Service, Community Patrolling Groups (CPG), Village Tiger Response Team (VTRT), and members of the navy, air force, police, and coast guard joined the operation, helping to cut off the fire line the next day.

We understand that in the past 22 years, the Sundarbans East Forest Division has faced 32 fire incidents. And every time, the community joined the Forest Department and fought against the fire risking their lives. They are driven by a sentiment, which is Sundarban Mayer Moton (motherly Sundarbans). The Sundarbans protects them from cyclones, gives them food and shelter, and nurtures them the way a mother would.

I had the opportunity to become one of the founders of WildTeam, a national conservation organisation that engages the community through its Village Tiger Response Teams (VTRT), BaghBandhus (friends of tigers), Tiger Scouts, and Forest Tiger Response Teams (FTRT) to protect the Sundarbans and its biodiversity, including the majestic Bengal Tiger. Today we have about 450 such volunteers spread around the 76 villages of the Sundarbans. We believe people are the solution. Under the leadership of the Forest Department, we successfully engaged these volunteers during any natural or anthropogenic crisis in the Sundarbans. Our friends in the Indian part of the forest have replicated our model.

Our slogan is "Save Tigers, Save Sundarbans, Save Bangladesh." Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in one of his speeches in 1972, said that were it not for the Sundarbans, we wouldn't be able to protect Bangladesh (he was specifically talking about natural catastrophes, meaning the Sundarbans acts as a shield—as we saw during a number of cyclones in recent times). Tigers are the natural guards of the Sundarbans. Thus, they are the guardians of the Sundarbans.

The increased disturbance of the forest cover caused by fires such as the one this week will force the wildlife to leave the forest in search of food inside the villages, which will enhance the chances of human-wildlife conflict.

We used to have tigers in almost all the forests in Bangladesh. Today, Sundarbans is the last stronghold of Bangladesh's remaining tigers. According to the last tiger survey in 2018, Bangladesh has 114 tigers. However, we feel concerned about the fact that three tigers have reportedly died in the last five months.

On November 25, 2023, the Forest Department recovered a tiger's carcass from the Kachikata area adjacent to the Raimangal River in Satkhira range. On February 12, 2024, a dead tiger was spotted in the Kachikhali area of the Sarankhola range located under the Sundarbans East Forest Division. On April 30, 2024, the forest guards recovered a floating carcass of a tiger from the Karamjal area in the Sundarbans east.

The Forest Department is the custodian of the country's forests and wildlife. They are forced to work with huge limitations in the Sundarbans. We need to focus on these foresters by increasing their capacity and facilities—the sooner the better. At the same time, we need to engage the community as well and build up their social capital, before we lose our national pride: the Sundarbans and the Bengal Tiger.

Then again, on April 20, 2024, we lost one of the honey collectors in the Sundarbans. He was attacked by a tiger at Notabeki under Satkhira range. The tiger attacked Maniruzzaman and tried to drag him into the deep forest. His fellow honey collector rescued him from the clutches of the tiger, but he died soon after. Maniruzzaman was a resident of Gabura, where most of the "tiger widows"—whose husbands died in tiger attacks—live. He, too, left behind two wives.

Most of the breadwinners living around the Sundarbans largely depend on the forest resources. Infertile and inhabitable land, habitat loss, dense population and climate change make the situation complex. Researchers predict that due to climate change and sea level rise, there will be no remaining tiger habitats in the Sundarbans by 2070. About 3.5 million people live on the fringes of the Sundarbans, where fishing, honey and wood collection are their mainstays for living.

More than 40 percent of the people are on the edge of poverty. Salinity, siltation, and climate emergencies make people's lives much harder. Poison fishing, unsustainable fishing, and many other anthropogenic threats are on the rise. These days, the fish catch has gone down, which forces the community to venture inside the forest, making them easy prey to tigers.

The Forest Department is the custodian of the country's forests and wildlife. They are forced to work with huge limitations in the Sundarbans. We need to focus on these foresters by increasing their capacity and facilities—the sooner the better. At the same time, we need to engage the community as well and build up their social capital, before we lose our national pride: the Sundarbans and the Bengal Tiger.

Enayetullah Khan is founder of WildTeam and editor-in-chief of the United News of Bangladesh (UNB) and Dhaka Courier.​

 

[Saif]

Strict oversight is vital to end the tree-cutting bonanza

Latest incident saw the startling transformation of Altadighi National Park

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Strict oversight is vital to end the tree-cutting bonanza
Latest incident saw the startling transformation of Altadighi National Park

VISUAL: STAR

The High Court's nod on reining in tree-cutting practices by forming supervisory committees at the district and upazila levels could not have come at a more appropriate time. Despite the recent heatwave that turned out to be the longest in 76 years, tree felling by both public and private entities continues unabated, setting the stage for an even warmer future. You hear news of Bashundhara mowing down trees along the main road of its residential area. You hear of the forest department moving to cut down 2,044 trees on four roads in Jashore, similar to previous attempts targeting century-old trees on the Jashore-Benapole highway. You hear of the LGED felling trees in Patuakhali in the name of canal restoration.

These developments represent a dangerous disregard for trees and forests that keep temperatures down, among other things. One particularly disturbing development of late, as reported by this daily on Wednesday, saw over 1,000 trees felled at the Altadighi Lake in Naogaon as part of a government project. The multi-crore undertaking—initiated by the forest department three years go—aims to restore and conserve biodiversity at the historic lake and surrounding areas that now form part of the Altadighi National Park. Part of the plan is draining and re-excavating the lake, which is almost done. The forest department says the trees were removed to facilitate excavation, adding that those were invasive species harmful to the environment.

That may be the case, but why was it done without any prior environmental assessment? And why were those trees planted in the first place? Locals say the forest surrounding the Altadighi lake once boasted diverse wildlife. Subsequently, however, native trees were replaced by invasive or exotic varieties while the pond itself became shallower, causing the disappearance of many native species and even migratory birds.

The whole episode once again highlights how harmful policies and practices, often by government agencies, have contributed to the growing devastation of wildlife, biodiversity and ecosystems in the country. The time has come to put an end to this. While the High Court's assessment is rooted in the principle of engaging local experts in decisions to fell trees, if necessary, we feel it will require strict central supervision to limit harmful tree-cutting practices. For that, the relevant authorities must first be made accountable for their activities.​

 

[Saif]

Dealing with climate change in a capitalist world

Why we should care about remote others in time and space.

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Dealing with climate change in a capitalist world
Why we should care about remote others in time and space when combating climate change

In order to combat climate change, we need to cultivate a mindset driven by the need to care about remote others in time and space. FILE PHOTO: AFP

The moral world is concerned about climate change, the capitalist world less so. Much of the current discourse is about technological solutions, especially in energy production and distribution. Much less comfortable is the discourse about changing present behaviour in the event that our technological luck will run out—exercising the precautionary principle, the sacrificial trade-off over time for the sake of future people and their spaces who are unknown to us, and remote from us and our immediate moral attachments. Many observers like Anthony Giddens (The Politics of Climate Change, 2009) have pessimistically argued that distant threats are too unreal to trigger altruistic sacrifice, with the implication that a regulatory state is needed to enforce behavioural change. Is that possible through democracy reliant on popular voting, where immediate self-interested preferences prevail, whether individual or national? If, therefore, the appeal to altruism is weak, and a strong regulatory state unlikely, where are the human motives to be found to avoid self-destruction of our species?

This can be addressed through thinking about time preference behaviour, concentric circles of moral proximity, elements of well-being, and the problematic of free riding. These are all conceptual ingredients for sustainable development that are not unrealistically altruistic. Our time horizons are before and after us, stretched as a function of moral attachments. My grandfather was born in 1874. I was 30 and just a father when he died in 1975. My grandchildren might just be alive for the next century. That gives me a morally attached and thus meaningful time span of 226 years—Long enough to track significant changes affecting my cognitive bloodline. Everyone on the planet has a version of this story of intergenerational empathy. My grandfather was undoubtedly concerned for me in his future, as I am for my grandchildren.

In that way, we are time traders with a set of discount preferences which determine how we allocate behaviour between the present and future, determined by moral attachment that can be understood in terms of concentric circles of moral proximity. Our moral commitments to immediate and then wider kin are usually stronger and more comprehensive than to successively outer circles of friends, neighbours and broader identities (communities and nations). Moral attachments within these inner circles are more likely to be over longer periods of time, and thus vertical, not just horizontal, and contemporarily reciprocal. These conditions represent the intergenerational bargain within a vertical line of descendants acting with the interests of others in mind, bound to us by moral attachment. Not purely altruistic, in other words.

As we move to outer circles, attachments are likely to be less moral and comprehensive and more instrumental and specific. While it may be easier to understand intimate intergenerational bargains within inner concentric circles of moral attachments, the greater challenge is to understand such time preference bargains at the outer circles of instrumentality. In other words, why might we care for strangers in the present time but remote space? This is the arena of collective action between strangers and the underpinning for a longer-range institutionalised policy and strategic planning, which gives the concept of sustainability its meaning. Is a propensity for such collective action driven by well-being? Both objective and subjective senses of well-being represent the cognitive and social bases of sustaining behaviours. It is a feature of human and social existence that an individual's well-being is also a function of others' well-being—arranged through these concentric circles of moral proximity.

These questions underpin the case for green economy and green capitalism, another "great transformation" in which excessive commodification and alienation is reset not just for decent work, but for green well-being. We shift from knowing the price of everything to the value of everything, with multidimensional and multi-period values dismantling the present marginal utility determinants of price. A shift driven by the self-interested need to care about remote others in time and space, derived from the link between moral attachments and the common good.

My more immediate sense of well-being is thus a function of securing a sense of well-being not only for myself but for others too: common good as an essential prerequisite for personal well-being. Furthermore, inequality and poverty in those outer circles beyond kin can also convert into the politics of envy and actually threaten my own well-being: an international concern, not just national. So humans are not interactive social beings out of a sense of altruism, but because they have to as a condition of their own security and interests, which underpin well-being. Thus, we do not have to rely upon altruism to save us, or upon utopianism about which Giddens is rightly sceptical.

So far, therefore, we can explain vertical intergenerational behaviour within inner concentric circles. We can also explain horizontal intragenerational behaviour towards outer circles via a combination of interdependent common good and instrumentality reasoning. Crucially though, we have not yet explained diagonal behaviour: i.e. intergenerational behaviour towards morally remote descendant strangers.

By combining these two logics (vertical through time and horizontal within time), we can arrive at the following axiom: the well-being of my intimate descendants is itself dependent upon the well-being of their contemporaries; ergo I have to be concerned about the well-being of remote strangers in the future in order to maintain and protect the well-being of my direct offspring or near kin with whom I have moral attachments. This way of understanding human motivation for sustainable behaviour does not then rely upon altruism, which can only refer to helping those with whom one has no direct interest such as moral attachment. In this path of reason, therefore, we can imagine collective intergenerational bargains embracing outer circles of moral proximity as a precondition for serving inner, more morally attached, circles. This surely has to be the key principle of continuing human existence.

If our realism steers us towards precautionary behaviour but not derived from altruism, then it must also acknowledge free riding, which cannot simply be wished away, nor oversimplified. Precautionary behaviour redistributes harm over time periods, most obviously in the form of immediate consumption sacrifice for future benefit of remote others, as well as between people in present time, usually under conditions of inequality.

Any given population will comprise a demographic distribution across the life cycle, prompting a spread of differential interests in consumption at any one point in time. These distributions entail a variable of "distance" between individual self-interest and immediate as well as longer-term collective interest with respect to climate harmful consumption. At any one time, through these consumption choices, there will always be a proportion of the population (nationally and internationally) which seeks in effect to "free ride" both more than others in the population, and more than at other times in their own lives. Can the net amount of aggregated free-riding resulting from a profile of consumption spreads be managed for sustainability through precautionary action, requiring interference with the prevailing distribution of the propensity for unsustainable consumption? To achieve this requires replacing material consumption as the primary condition for well-being, thereby defined less in terms of status and identity, and more as spiritual and emotional experience. This tunnels deep into the psyche of capitalism.

What if, for example, the pursuit of the principle of sustainability makes it necessary to be motivated by forms of well-being, which send signals to the market in contradiction to incentives for destructive technological innovation, and incentives thereby for profit? Perhaps we are starting on this road with increasing public commitments (US and UK perhaps?) to the green economy, and willingness to envisage longer time horizons. Perhaps the catalytic experience of climate change in these countries and elsewhere—including, for example, Dhaka winter pollution—is finally changing mindsets, lowering discount rates and thereby favouring precautionary behaviour. Can precautionary well-being as a cultural form become the cultural underpinning of sustainable capitalism? Can such mind and behavioural changes send different signals to the market, thus redirecting investment in technology and skill sets?

These questions underpin the case for green economy and green capitalism, another "great transformation" in which excessive commodification and alienation is reset not just for decent work, but for green well-being. We shift from knowing the price of everything to the value of everything, with multidimensional and multi-period values dismantling the present marginal utility determinants of price. A shift driven by the self-interested need to care about remote others in time and space, derived from the link between moral attachments and the common good.

To reach this state of mind and behaviour, capitalism has to be confronted: for its individualism and competition; for rewarding free-riding; for its narrow profit conception of efficiency; for its misuse of the term "welfare"; for its logical necessity to reproduce inequality through the appropriation of the surplus value of labour, thereby inexorably linking growth to poverty; for the subordination of nature and natural resources to upper quintile usufruct, thereby removing the principles of common property and citizens' wealth; and for framing human motives as venal and alienating us all.

In the meantime, in the words of the American poet Frank Scott (brought to my attention by Leonard Cohen):

This is the faith from which we start:
Men shall know commonwealth again
From bitter searching of the heart.

We loved the easy and the smart
But now, with keener hand and brain,
We rise to play a greater part.

The lesser loyalties depart,
And neither race nor creed remain
From bitter searching of the heart.

Not steering by the venal chart
That tricked the mass for private gain,
We rise to play a greater part.​

 

[Saif]

Stop razing hills, discarding imperishable wastes

Speakers tell meeting on Ctg waterlogging

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Stop razing hills, discarding imperishable wastes
Speakers tell meeting on Ctg waterlogging

Hills being cut by a syndicate, led allegedly by a local influential, in Brahmanbaria's Kasba upazila. Locals have claimed that the gang has long been cutting hills in broad daylight and selling the soil for illegal gains. According to the Environment Protection Act, no one is allowed to cut hills without permission from the DoE. However, the upazila administration seems to have turned a blind eye towards this practice that is degrading the environment. The photo was taken recently. PHOTO: MASUK HRIDOY

Razing hills and dumping imperishable wastes on drains and canals need to be stopped to tackle waterlogging, said speakers at a coordination meeting in Chattogram today.

They also emphasised on cleaning dirt and silt from the canals.

The coordination meeting was held at Chattogram City Corporation's conference room where representatives from CCC, Chattogram Development Authority, Chattogram Water and Sewerage Authority, Chattogram Port Authority and Bangladesh Water Development Board were present.

A total of four projects worth Tk 14,389.36 crore are being implemented by CCC, CDA, and BWDB to address the port city's waterlogging woes.

CCC Mayor Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, who presided over the meeting, said the port city residents are worried as monsoon is knocking at the door.

"The few hours of rainfall in a day last week caused waterlogging in Muradpur and different other low-lying areas in the city. People have become aggrieved for this," he said.

"The main task of the four ongoing projects is to extract earth from the canals, but I don't know how much earth has been extracted from the canals so far," he also said.

"Lifting earth from the canals' surface and building retaining walls on both sides is not enough. Earth will have to be lifted from the canals' depths," the mayor further said.

"Another main task is to stop hill cutting. The rainwater washes the loose soil from razed hills which ends up clogging the drains. Silt traps will have to be installed on the hill slopes," he added.

The mayor placed emphasis on forming a quick response team comprising representatives from CCC, CDA, CWasa, BWDB and Chattogram Port to act rapidly in case of any emergency during monsoon.

CDA chairman Mohammad Yunus echoed him.

"The Department of Environment will have to play a pivotal role to stop razing of hills as the CDA does not have the mandate in this regard," he said.

"The third Karnaphuli Bridge has been built as a pillar bridge, thereby causing siltation on the riverbed and also in the adjacent Chaktai Canal. If it was a hanging bridge, there would not have been any problem," he added.

CWasa managing director AKM Fazlullah said there were a total 76 canals in the port city as per the Cadastral Survey, but currently 19 canals no longer exist due to encroachment by influential people.

"We will have to reclaim these canals to ease waterlogging," he added.​

 

[Saif]

Bangladesh could earn billions from carbon trade: experts

Bangladesh could earn a few billion US dollars from global carbon trading each year if carbon reduction projects are properly implemented in the country, according to speakers at a discussion.

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Bangladesh could earn billions from carbon trade: experts

Bangladesh could earn a few billion US dollars from global carbon trading each year if carbon reduction projects are properly implemented in the country, according to speakers at a discussion.

The global carbon trading market was worth $4.5 trillion in 2022 and may reach $8.98 trillion by 2050, they said.

However, Bangladesh is not ready to tap into this market as it lacks the adequate information, legal framework and expertise required from both the public and private sectors, they added.

Carbon trade is the buying and selling of credits that permit a company or other entity to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

In case a company or entity does not need their excess credits, then they can sell it to another company or entity for actual money.

Each carbon credit is measured as 1 tonne of carbon dioxide, with the International Monetary Fund having proposed an average price of $75 per unit.

However, the unit price varies in different parts of the world depending on the demand.

So far, Bangladesh has only earned a few hundred million US dollars from carbon markets.

But as the country is one of the lowest carbon emitters in the world, accounting for only 0.5 percent of global emissions, it has the potential to earn significantly more.

In the proposed Bangladesh Green Growth Framework of the World Bank, Eun Joo Allison Yi, senior environment specialist of the multilateral lender, urged for strengthening environmental governance and accounting systems.

Additionally, YI stressed the need for enabling energy independence through energy efficiency and trade in renewable energy, and to promote inclusive connectivity through green transport and logistic systems.

She also suggested investing in new green industries and human capital to promote job creation and green innovation, fostering liveable green cities through urban regeneration and building new smart cities.

Yi was speaking as a panellist at a discussion on the "Application of Carbon Financing: Challenges and Policy Options for Bangladesh" at the Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) in Dhaka yesterday.

Shams Mahmud, director of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said garment factories can be run with green energy but fabric production requires fossil fuel.

He said many special economic zones (SEZs) are not yet ready for industrial units even though the central bank already said the setting up of new industries will not be allowed outside of SEZs.

State Minister for Finance Waseqa Ayesha Khan said the government aims to generate 40 percent of the country's energy requirement from renewable sources by 2041.

Mahfuz Kabir, research director of the BIISS, presented the keynote paper, titled "Pathways of Carbon Financing: Imperatives for Bangladesh".

In his presentation, Kabir said the existing buyers of carbon credits include Microsoft, Shell, BP, Nestle, Amazon, Delta Airlines, United Airlines, Coca-Cola, JP Morgan, and Goldman Sachs.

Some countries that buy carbon credits include Canada, the US, China, South Korea, New Zealand, Kazakhstan, the UK, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, France, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Iceland.

Besides, garment exporters in Bangladesh are also potential buyers of carbon credits, he added.​

 

[Saif]

Sea-level rise in Bangladesh: Faster than global average

Bangladesh is experiencing a faster sea-level rise than the global average of 3.42mm a year, which will impact food production and livelihoods even more than previously thought, government studies have found.

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Sea-level rise in Bangladesh: Faster than global average
Government studies find

Bangladesh is experiencing a faster sea-level rise than the global average of 3.42mm a year, which will impact food production and livelihoods even more than previously thought, government studies have found.

Twelve coastal districts, where the impacts are expected to be severe, would be subjected to waterlogging, high salinity, crop damage, high temperatures, and excessive rainfall.

People will lose their homes, and poverty will increase, according to forecast studies, which were concluded recently but were yet to be made public.

The average annual sea-level rise for the Ganges tidal flood plain, the Meghna estuarine flood plain, and the Chittagong coastal plain is found to vary from 3.6mm to 4.5mm, 3.7mm to 4.1mm, and 3.1mm to 3.7mm between 1993 and 2019.

"Due to the present rates of local sea-level rise, more than 1 million people may be displaced," found the study titled "Estimation of Sea Level Rise (SLR) in Bangladesh using Satellite Altimetry Data" conducted by the Department of Environment.

Asked whether sedimentation was considered during the study, Prof AKM Saiful Islam, principal investigator of the study, said the study determined the trend of water level on Bangladesh's coast using satellite altimetry data.

He said they considered sedimentation and subsidence and still found the sea-level rise to be much faster than the global average.

He said the faster rate of rising sea-level on Bangladesh's coast will increase the vulnerability of coastal people and their livelihoods.

Salinity, coastal inundation, and storm surge height will increase. It could impact agriculture, food security, disaster management, health, drinking water supply, and coastal infrastructure.

The world's largest mangrove forest and its ecosystem will be affected by rising sea-level and salinity.

The DoE conducted a study on sea-level rise using tidal gauge data in 2016.

Project director of both studies, Mirza Shawkat Ali, director (climate change) at the DoE, said that experts had recommended validating the findings of the 2016 study using satellite altimetry data and assessing the impacts of sea-level rise.

The DoE then went for the study funded by the Bangladesh Climate Change Trust Fund and conducted by the Institute of Water and Flood Management of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology and Centre for Environmental and Geographical Services (CEGIS). Prof AKM Saiful Islam and Motaleb Hossain Sarker, director of CEGIS, led their teams in the study.

Researchers utilised data from satellite missions, like Nasa and the French aerospace agency's Topex/Poseidon, and its follow-up missions like Jason-1, Jason-2, and Jason-3, which track sea levels from space.

Focusing on the Bay of Bengal and Bangladesh, they employed Sen's slope (a non-parametric method used to estimate the magnitude and direction of trends in time series data) to discern overall trends in sea-level rise over time.

"There are a number of meticulously crafted maps that will serve as invaluable tools for policymakers, helping them identify priority areas for both short- and long-term adaptation strategies and risk management along Bangladesh's coastline," Mohan Kumar Das, one of the authors of the study, told The Daily Star yesterday.

IMPACT

The impacts of sea-level rise were also assessed through a study titled "Impacts of Projected Sea Level Rise on Water, Agriculture and Infrastructure Sectors of the Coastal Region".

The study projected the sea-level rise along the coastal belt of Bangladesh for 2030, 2050, 2070, and 2100 and assessed its impact on sectors.

It found that sea level rise induced flooding will cover 12.34 percent to 17.95 percent of areas of the coastal zone by 2100.

The inundation will affect Bagerhat, Barguna, Barishal, Bhola, Chandpur, Chattogram, Cox's Bazar, Feni, Gopalganj, Jashore, Jhalakathi, Khulna, Laxmipur, Narail, Noakhali, Patuakhali, Pirojpur, Satkhira, and Shariatpur, the study found.

"In almost all future scenarios, Jhalakathi, Pirojpur, and Barishal will be most inundated, as most of them are not polder-protected... These districts are affected by the sea-level rise as they do not have a comprehensive flood protection system. The areas flooded are mostly inner coastal areas that are not protected by polders. So, the flood protection for these areas should be considered as a priority."

Polders are areas of lowland that have been separated by dykes to prevent water covering an area.

The study found that salinity levels will rise further inland. "The higher the SLR, the higher the salinity ingress in the coastal areas. This will affect mostly the south-central region heavily and reduce these regions' agricultural productivity."

The study also found that sea-level rise induced flooding will cause a 5.8 to 9.1 percent loss in Aman crop production.

"Barishal, Patuakhali, Jhalakathi, and Pirojpur districts are identified as the most vulnerable and affected areas where most damages occur. Some coastal regions had been saved from flooding by the existence of polders and embankments."

The study predicted that annual rainfall in coastal regions would be five percent to 16 percent higher between 2050 and 2080.

The temperature may increase by 1.4 degrees Celsius to 2.7 degrees Celsius in the 2080s.

The study suggested establishing automated tidal and surge gates to regularly monitor sea-level rise.

Noted climate expert Ainun Nishat said that the sea-level rise resulting from global warming due to the melting of snow in the various mountains and from Antarctica, Greenland, and Iceland will be a major concern for Bangladesh.

Nishat, who reviewed the study "Impacts of Projected Sea Level Rise on Water, Agriculture and Infrastructure Sectors of the Coastal Region", said that in 60-70 years, low-lying deltaic areas of the southwestern region would face high salinity levels and may face higher levels of storm surges.

The districts in the central part of the country, like Gopalganj, Madaripur, Faridpur, Shariatpur, Pirojpur, and Jhalakathi, would need special protection against sea-level rise and increasing salinity.

"Already the water of Madhumati in Gopalganj is saline during the dry season."​

 

[Saif]

Forests must not fall victim to business

Safeguarding nature should be our priority

www.thedailystar.net

Forests must not fall victim to business
Safeguarding nature should be our priority

VISUAL: STAR

Over the years, we have witnessed many forests falling victim to business and development—the one in Chattogram's Tulatoli area is just one of them. It started when 5,000 trees were felled in a five-acre area of the forest, and a ship-breaking yard took their place. But then, the Forest Department fought back leading to the yard being sealed off last year, with the lease agreement cancelled. Unfortunately, however, the department's efforts were then thwarted as the divisional commissioner overruled the order last month, allowing the yard to resume its activities, as per a recent report. This is most certainly a depressing turn of events.

What possible reason could there be for the divisional authority to support the destruction of nature? The lease agreement—signed in February 2022 between the district administration and yard owner Kohinoor Steel—was to use part of a 400-acre mangrove forest developed in 1983-1984 to protect the locality from natural disasters. It's ironic that the administration let the yard authorities cut down 5,000 of these life-saving trees—that too illegally, as they did not take Forest Department's permission. After the latest setback, the department is reportedly preparing to take the matter to court. But until a favourable decision comes, the forestland lies at the whim of businessmen.

A ship-breaking yard operating there will likely lead to severe environmental pollution, as toxic spills from ship-breaking operations are known to contaminate coastal ecosystems and devastate local communities. It is hard to comprehend why a country that pledged to stop deforestation by 2030 would let this happen. But it shouldn't be surprising, as we have seen nature being sacrificed like this countless times: plans to fell 2,044 trees in Jashore, building a safari park at Lathitila forest, efforts to take power lines through a reserved forest—the list goes on. These examples, all government undertakings, reduce its pledges to mere lip service.

If the government is really sincere about keeping its promise, it must put a stop to these incidents. The administration must remind the agencies and bodies working under it that safeguarding the environment, not business, is paramount. No entity, whether public or private, should skirt or break environmental laws, and commercial operations must be assessed and monitored for their environmental impacts. The ongoing heatwaves in the country are a reminder that without forests and trees, we are doomed.​

 

[Saif]

Don’t ruin country, yourself saving a little money of waste management: PM Hasina

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina emphasizes on the need for environment-friendly industrialization and waste management system to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change during her address at the 11th National Small and Medium Enterprises Fair.

en.prothomalo.com

Don't ruin country, yourself saving a little money of waste management: PM Hasina
BSSDhaka
Published: 19 May 2024, 20: 46

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addresses the opening ceremony of the 7-day 11th National Small and Medium Enterprises Fair at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre at Agargaon, Dhaka on 19 May, 2024BSS

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Sunday asked all concerned to build a waste management system while constructing industries for environment-friendly industrialisation to save the country and its people from the adverse impact of climate change.

"We have to construct industries. But all have to build an industrial waste management system. I request you all that don't ruin the country and yourself to save a little money for chemicals (to be used in the waste management system)," she said.

The prime minister made the appeal while opening the seven-day 11th National Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Fair at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) at Agargaon here this morning.


She said they want industrialisation to be environment friendly and for that, the country's industrialisation must have to be planned and worthy for health.

"Wherever you build industry, you have to keep in mind that the waste of your industries doesn't go to the rivers and water. Keep a special eye to ensure that the waste doesn't pollute the water and the soil," she added.

Sheikh Hasina called upon all to pay attention so that the country doesn't incur losses by adverse impact of climate change due to any negligence.

Apart from this, she asked the industrialists to ensure proper work environment and safety for workers alongside upgrading their livelihoods aimed at increasing industrial production.

The prime minister said they want mechanisation of the industries with world class machines.

But, she asked all to be cautious that mechanisation of industries doesn't decrease the number of labourers.

The prime minister asked all concerned to build labour intensive industries as they want to employ more workers.


She said Bangladesh is marching ahead so it requires more entrepreneurs.
"I call upon the youths not to run after the jobs (only). ---prepare yourselves as entrepreneurs and give jobs to others," she said.

Sheikh Hasina asked all concerned to make more opportunities for the womenfolk to make them entrepreneurs in large numbers.

She said the men can take initiatives bringing their wives and sisters in the SME business by enjoying opportunities of SME facilities that include taking loans at four per cent interest rate.

The prime minister expressed her satisfaction as 60 per cent of the SME entrepreneurs are women.

She said it has been possible as additional facilities are now being given to the women entrepreneurs.

The prime minister stressed the need for mechanisation of agriculture to increase food production for ensuring food security.

She also asked all concerned to produce small and medium machines for agriculture as it has local and foreign demand.

The prime minister instructed all to build locality-based agro-processed industries across the country keeping in mind which food grains are largely produced where.

She called for increasing production of exportable products alongside creating local markets for produced products.

She also instructed Bangladesh missions abroad to find out the most demandable products of the respective countries as Bangladesh can export those products there.

The prime minister said she has already asked Bangladesh missions abroad to work for economic diplomacy alongside the politics to increase export, business and trades.

She said her government has established rights on a vast maritime area which has huge resources.

The SME entrepreneurs can also invest in maritime resources to exploit its maximum benefits, she said.

The prime minister expressed her satisfaction over unveiling the work plan for 2024-28 by the Industries Ministry and said if all the ministries can do it; the country's development will be quickened.

After opening the SME fair, Sheikh Hasina said the fair will encourage others to be entrepreneurs.

She described the SME entrepreneurs as driving forces of the country's development, saying, "We want to create more SME entrepreneurs to foster the country's development".

The prime minister recalled the contribution of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for taking measures for the first time for industrialisation in Bangladesh.

At the same function, she handed over the National SME Award-2023 to seven small, medium and start-up entrepreneurs that includes a crest and accreditation certificate.

Industries minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, its senior secretary Zakia Sultana, president of FBCCI Mahbubul Alam and SME Foundation Chairperson Dr Md Masudur Rahman spoke at the function.

The fair will continue till May 25 under the aegis of the SME Foundation as it will remain open for visitors from 10:00 am to 9:00 pm daily.

More than 300 entrepreneurs are taking part in the fair as almost 60 per cent participants are women entrepreneurs.

The SME fair will showcase 100 per cent local products. More than 350 companies will participate in this year's fair.

This year's fair will see the largest number of 75 participants from the garment sector. Besides, 42 participants will showcase jute products, 38 will display handicrafts, 32 to showcase leather products and 27 to present processed agricultural products.

Moreover, 23 will display light engineering products, 14 to present food products, 13 to display IT-based services as 12 SME cluster entrepreneurs will take part in the fair from different parts of the country, 5 participants will showcase herbal industry products and 5 more will display jewellery products.

Four stalls will display plastic products, three to showcase electrical and electronics items, 3 to present furniture items and 19 others will display various government organisations products.

Besides, 30 banks, 15 public-private organisations, business clubs of 5 universities and about 50 other organisations will provide services to participants in the fair.​

 

[Saif]

Danger of faster sea level rise

American south is witnessing an alarming rise in sea level affecting coastal communities across eight US states, says a Washington Post analysis reported last month (April 29). The tide gauges of the water level monitoring stations at more than eight points from Texas to North Carolina found that s

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Danger of faster sea level rise
SYED FATTAHUL ALIM
Published :
May 20, 2024 21:47
Updated :
May 20, 2024 21:47

Photo- UNDP

American south is witnessing an alarming rise in sea level affecting coastal communities across eight US states, says a Washington Post analysis reported last month (April 29). The tide gauges of the water level monitoring stations at more than eight points from Texas to North Carolina found that sea levels were 6 inches higher than they were about a decade and a half ago (in 2010, to be specific). And that was equivalent to the amount of sea level rise the area under study saw in the past five decades, the report further said. Scientists, according to the report, said that the Gulf of Mexico had experienced twice the global average rate of sea level rise since 2010 as revealed from the analysis of satellite data. Scientists are learnt to have been working to decipher what lay behind such accelerated rise of the sea level. But it is not the US south coast alone that has been witnessing the phenomenon of faster sea level rise.

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.​

 

[Saif]

Developed countries failed to fulfil commitments on climate change: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today expressed frustration that the developed countries are not fulfilling their commitments on climate change issues

www.thedailystar.net

Developed countries failed to fulfil commitments on climate change: PM

Photo: PID

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today expressed frustration that the developed countries are not fulfilling their commitments on climate change issues.

The prime minister said this to visiting Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong during a meeting at her official residence Gono Bhaban, according to PM's speech writer M Nazrul Islam.

"She was a bit frustrated (due to the non-fulfillment of developed countries commitment on climate change issue)," Nazrul said.

The premier told the Australian minister that the Bangladesh government has formed the Climate Trust Fund with its own resources.

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.​

 

[Saif]

Half of mangrove ecosystems at risk

Half of the world’s mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapse due to climate change, deforestation and pollution, according to a study published on Wednesday...

www.newagebd.net

Half of mangrove ecosystems at risk
Agence France-Presse . Geneva 22 May, 2024, 22:23
Half of the world's mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapse due to climate change, deforestation and pollution, according to a study published on Wednesday.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature, known for its red list of threatened species, has for the first time taken stock of the world's mangroves, evaluating 36 different regions.

IUCN director general Grethel Aguilar said the assessment 'highlights the urgent need for coordinated conservation of mangroves — crucial habitats for millions in vulnerable communities worldwide'.

Mangroves are trees or shrubs that grow mainly in seawater or brackish water along coastlines and tidal rivers, in equatorial climes.

Released on the International Day for Biodiversity, IUCN said its findings show that '50 per cent of the mangrove ecosystems assessed are at risk of collapse' — categorised as either vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered.

According to the assessment, 20 per cent were at severe risk of collapse.

Mangroves are threatened by deforestation, development, pollution, and dam construction.

However, the risk is increasing due to sea-level rise and the greater frequency of severe storms associated with climate change.

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.​

 

[Saif]

Sea level rising, coast under threat

Discover how rising sea levels in Bangladesh are threatening coastal areas, with studies showing 8-15% of land may go underwater and salinity levels could rise, impacting ecology and livelihoods.

en.prothomalo.com

Sea level rising, coast under threat
Partha Shankar SahaDhaka
Published: 24 May 2024, 17: 15

Average rise in sea levelProthom Alo illustration

The sea level along Bangladesh's coast is rising at a rate higher than normal. This has been revealed in three different studies. The studies say that the rate at which the sea level is rising, there are apprehensions that further areas will be inundated or face excess salinity.

Around 8 to 15 per cent of land area of 4 coastal districts may go under water. Salinity in the coastal areas may see an abnormal rise too. This could have a harmful effect on the ecology, people's lives, agriculture, groundwater and infrastructure in the coastal regions.

These three studies were recently conducted by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET)'s Institute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM) and the government's Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS). The results of these studies were published on 8 May.

These studies were carried out at the initiative of the Bangladesh Department of Environment, with funds from the Climate Change Trust Fund project.

BUET carried out the study, 'Estimation of Sea Level Rise in Bangladesh Using Satellite Altimetry Data'. For the first time here the sea level rise was observed by means of satellite. The remaining two studies were carried out by CEGIS to determine the sea level rise and its possible future impact on water and agricultural infrastructure.

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.​

 

[Saif]

Fewer but fiercer since the 90s

Though Bangladesh is experiencing fewer cyclones than in the 1960s, their intensity has increased, a recent study has found.

www.thedailystar.net

Fewer but fiercer since the 90s
Says DoE study

Though Bangladesh is experiencing fewer cyclones than in the 1960s, their intensity has increased, a recent study has found.

In the 1960s, the number of cyclones hitting the Bangladesh coast was 24, which came down to 13 in the 2010s, according to a study conducted by the Department of Environment with the help of the Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS).

The country did not experience any super cyclones -- a cyclonic storm which at least packs wind speed of 222kmph -- between 1960 and 1989. However, between 1990 and 2020, at least three of them hit the coast.

"We had a general conception that the number of cyclones has been increasing in the Bay due to climate change. But it is the harshness or intensity of the cyclones that is increasing, not the numbers," said BUET Professor Rezaur Rahman after reviewing the study titled "Projection of Sea Level Rise and Development of Digital Elevation Models in Support of SLR Decision Making".

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.​

 

[Saif]

Sundarbans cushions blow

Cyclone Remal battered the coastal region at wind speeds that might have reached 130kmph, and lost much of its strength while sweeping over the Sundarbans, Met officials said.

www.thedailystar.net

Sundarbans cushions blow
Remal makes landfall near Khepupara

Locals of Gabbunia village in Khulna's Koyra upazila were going home to collect necessary items before heading to shelters as Cyclone Remal was hurtling towards the southwestern coast yesterday. People in the coastal areas were asked to take precautions ahead of the storm's arrival. Photos: Habibur Rahman and Sohrab Hossain

Cyclone Remal battered the coastal region at wind speeds that might have reached 130kmph, and lost much of its strength while sweeping over the Sundarbans, Met officials said.

"As predicted, the centre of the severe cyclone fell between Khepupara in Patuakhali and Sagar Island in West Bengal," said Abul Kalam Mallik, a meteorologist at Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

He said Bangladesh was on the east of the cyclone's eye which means Bangladesh took the main blow because the east side of a cyclone always causes more damage than the west side in the sub continent.

To read the rest of the news, please click on the link above.​