UNB, Dhaka :
About 30 percent of the floating people in the capital are the worst victims of riverbank erosion, said Water Resources Minister Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud on Thursday.
“About 30 percent of the floating people of Dhaka city come from the areas affected by riverbank erosion, losing their homesteads and all belongings,” he said.
The minister was speaking at the inaugural session of a three-day Gobeshona Conference at the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) in the capital.
The Gobeshona Conference for Research on Climate Change in Bangladesh is an annual conference that showcases research on climate change in Bangladesh. Gobeshona is a knowledge sharing platform for climate change research on Bangladesh.
It aims to bring together the national and international research community to encourage sharing, enhance quality and, in doing so, make climate change research on Bangladesh more effective.
Speaking as the chief guest, Anisul Islam Mahmud said Bangladesh is one of the biggest deltas with the estuary of three river systems- the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna (GBM).
The three river systems bring around 1.5 billion tonnes of silt, which run through Bangladesh each year accelerating the riverbank erosion, he said, adding that 93 percent of GBM catchment is outside the country while only seven percent of catchment is located inside Bangladesh.
“Water of the 93 percent catchment areas of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna flow through only seven percent narrow catchment,” the Water Resources Minister said.
Terming climate change one of the biggest threats to Bangladesh, he said the problems of climate change cannot be addressed by Bangladesh alone as the world’s rich nations are responsible for global warming.
Anisul Islam said: “So many negotiations, so many conferences are going on. What is the international community doing to address climate change? This is a big question.”
He said unless the international community thinks their consumption and starts reducing carbon emission, the climate change could not be addressed.
Deputy Minister for Environment and Forests Abdullah Al Islam Jacob, France Ambassador in Dhaka Sophie AUBERT, water expert Prof Ainun Nishat, executive director of Bangladesh Centre for Advance Studies (BCAS) Dr Atiq Rahman and director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) Dr Saleemul Huq, among others, spoke on the occasion.
About 30 percent of the floating people in the capital are the worst victims of riverbank erosion, said Water Resources Minister Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud on Thursday.
“About 30 percent of the floating people of Dhaka city come from the areas affected by riverbank erosion, losing their homesteads and all belongings,” he said.
The minister was speaking at the inaugural session of a three-day Gobeshona Conference at the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) in the capital.
The Gobeshona Conference for Research on Climate Change in Bangladesh is an annual conference that showcases research on climate change in Bangladesh. Gobeshona is a knowledge sharing platform for climate change research on Bangladesh.
It aims to bring together the national and international research community to encourage sharing, enhance quality and, in doing so, make climate change research on Bangladesh more effective.
Speaking as the chief guest, Anisul Islam Mahmud said Bangladesh is one of the biggest deltas with the estuary of three river systems- the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna (GBM).
The three river systems bring around 1.5 billion tonnes of silt, which run through Bangladesh each year accelerating the riverbank erosion, he said, adding that 93 percent of GBM catchment is outside the country while only seven percent of catchment is located inside Bangladesh.
“Water of the 93 percent catchment areas of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna flow through only seven percent narrow catchment,” the Water Resources Minister said.
Terming climate change one of the biggest threats to Bangladesh, he said the problems of climate change cannot be addressed by Bangladesh alone as the world’s rich nations are responsible for global warming.
Anisul Islam said: “So many negotiations, so many conferences are going on. What is the international community doing to address climate change? This is a big question.”
He said unless the international community thinks their consumption and starts reducing carbon emission, the climate change could not be addressed.
Deputy Minister for Environment and Forests Abdullah Al Islam Jacob, France Ambassador in Dhaka Sophie AUBERT, water expert Prof Ainun Nishat, executive director of Bangladesh Centre for Advance Studies (BCAS) Dr Atiq Rahman and director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) Dr Saleemul Huq, among others, spoke on the occasion.
