Staff Reporter :
Experts have ruled out any possibility that around 17 per cent of country’s landmass in coastal areas will go under water due to rise in sea level.
“It is untrue that just a one-meter rise in sea level might cause around 17 per cent of country’s landmass to go under water,” Water expert Dr. Ainun Nishat said at a discussion on climate change impacts and coastal floods during the monsoon in the IDP conference room of the National Parliament yesterday.
He said Bangladesh will be able to frame strategies and to way-out plans that how and in what way the country will protect its coastal areas with rise in sea level in the future.
Conducted by Coast Trust Executive Director Rezaul Karim, the meeting was also addressed by Deputy Minister for Environment and Forests Abdullah Al Islam Jacob, Panchanon Bishwas, MP, Sheikh M. Nurul Huq, MP, Pankaj Nath, MP, Didarul Alam, MP and Jebunnesa Afroze, MP. A keynote paper was presented in the meeting.
“Many foreign countries now want to take lessons from Bangladesh to protect their coastal areas as our country is much advanced in this regard,” Ainun Nishat said.
He said many say as Bangladesh does not have high embankment, its coastal districts will go under water.
“We have 12 feet to 15 feet-high embankment across the coastal areas. Only tidal surge can inundate the areas. But it is very much possible for Bangladesh to construct more high and strengthen embankments within coming days,” the water expert said.
According to the keynote paper, out of 35 cyclones formed on the Bay in several times, 16 hit the country and claimed over five thousand people.
Some fifty lakhs people living in coastal areas were displaced due to cyclone between the year 2008 and 2014.
Of them, 70 per cent slum dwellers in the city are the people who were displaced from the coastal regions.
Hasan Mahmud called for coordinated steps by the ministries concerned for facing climate change impacts and protecting coastal areas.
“I’m also calling upon the ministries concerned to be more responsible to protect coastal areas from climate change impacts,” he said.
The meeting made a number of recommendations to protect the coastal areas. Those include building durable permanent embankments, strengthening coastal forestation and building shelter cum houses.
The meeting also recommended developing pro-people attitudes among the officials and employees of Water Development Board and keeping funds at upazila level to work at the time of emergency.
Many experts in different seminars and meetings said just a one-meter rise in sea level might cause around 17 per cent of Bangladesh’s landmass to go under water, displacing some two crore people living in coastal areas.
If the sea level rises 32cm, it would inundate 10,612 square km area in Khulna, Bagerhat, Barguna, Bhola and Pirojpur districts, they frequently warned.
If the sea level rises 88cm, 14,418 square km coastal area will get submerged inundating most parts of Barguna, Patuakhali, Bhola, Bagerhat and some parts of Khulna and Noakhali.
The sea level has risen 0.5m over 100 years because of climate change, eroding 65 per cent landmass of islands Kutubdia’s 250 square km area, Bhola’s 227 square km area, and Swandip’s 180 square km area.
