UNB, Dhaka :
The rising seas are likely to be inundating the coastal lands in Bangladesh by 2140 and much of it is a vast estuarine silt bed fed by one of the world’s great river systems as the country is among those most vulnerable to sea-level rise, says a new study.
But, it says, many of the nation’s 165 million inhabitants may not be forced to become climate refugees.
As salty water seeps into the fertile muds and sands of the estuary of the Ganges-Brahmaputra river system, farmers could lose up to a fifth of their crop revenue each year, according to Climate News Network.
An estimated 200,000 farmers may have to move inland. But, the lucky ones with money to make the change may compensate by switching from rice cultivation to aquaculture, according to a new socioeconomic study in the journal Nature Climate Change.
“The most vulnerable people will be the least resilient in the face of climate change, because they have limited resources to adapt. Unfortunately, this is likely to be most challenging for those farming families who have the fewest resources to begin with,” said Joyce Chen of the University of Ohio.
“My concern is that the most vulnerable people will be the least resilient in the face of climate change because they have limited resources to adapt their farming practices or move longer distances in search of other employment.”
Bangladesh’s low-lying terrain has always been vulnerable to the sea: in 1970, a storm surge propelled by a cyclone drove 10 metres of water over its lowlands, claiming an estimated 500,000 lives.
In 1991, a six-metre high storm surge killed 138,000 and destroyed 10 million homes.
Melting ice caps and expanding oceans threaten coasts everywhere: an estimated 13 million US citizens could be driven from their homes to count as climate refugees.
The rising seas are likely to be inundating the coastal lands in Bangladesh by 2140 and much of it is a vast estuarine silt bed fed by one of the world’s great river systems as the country is among those most vulnerable to sea-level rise, says a new study.
But, it says, many of the nation’s 165 million inhabitants may not be forced to become climate refugees.
As salty water seeps into the fertile muds and sands of the estuary of the Ganges-Brahmaputra river system, farmers could lose up to a fifth of their crop revenue each year, according to Climate News Network.
An estimated 200,000 farmers may have to move inland. But, the lucky ones with money to make the change may compensate by switching from rice cultivation to aquaculture, according to a new socioeconomic study in the journal Nature Climate Change.
“The most vulnerable people will be the least resilient in the face of climate change, because they have limited resources to adapt. Unfortunately, this is likely to be most challenging for those farming families who have the fewest resources to begin with,” said Joyce Chen of the University of Ohio.
“My concern is that the most vulnerable people will be the least resilient in the face of climate change because they have limited resources to adapt their farming practices or move longer distances in search of other employment.”
Bangladesh’s low-lying terrain has always been vulnerable to the sea: in 1970, a storm surge propelled by a cyclone drove 10 metres of water over its lowlands, claiming an estimated 500,000 lives.
In 1991, a six-metre high storm surge killed 138,000 and destroyed 10 million homes.
Melting ice caps and expanding oceans threaten coasts everywhere: an estimated 13 million US citizens could be driven from their homes to count as climate refugees.
