"Planet Earth is our shared island; let us join forces to protect it." UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon cited this quotation last month. This is the earth, a planet, which can be likened to the human body or society. If a part of the body or society is diseased, then the activities of the whole body are hampered. Similarly, the climate changes impact on the whole world.
The World Environment Day on June 05 is the biggest day in view of the positive action on the environment front. The United Nations has chosen the day to raise awareness about environment and draw the political leaders' attention to the environment-related issues. Over the years it has emerged a broad and global platform for public outreach that is widely celebrated by stakeholders in more than 180 countries. It also serves as the 'people's day' for better environment, stimulating individual actions into a collective power that generates an exponential positive impact on the planet.
How the earth will respond to the climate change depends on the human activity. So, the people from all strata of life can contribute to ensuring a better environment to live in. It is our duty as well as responsibility. So, on the World Environment Day, we all have to do something positive. This should be the motto of all citizens in their personal life, because none else except you and me will fall victim to the climate change.
Bangladesh is one of the largest deltas in the world. The country is highly vulnerable to natural disasters because of its geographical location, flat and low-lying landscape, population density, poverty, illiteracy, lack of institutional setup etc. In other words, the physical, social as well as economic conditions of the people in Bangladesh are similar to most of the countries vulnerable to natural disasters in the world. The total land area in the country is 147,570 sq. km. It consists of mostly floodplains leaving a major part of the country prone to flooding during the rainy season. In addition, ours is a deltaic plain with five major river systems there: the Jamuna-Brahmaputra, Padma-Ganges, Surma-Meghna, Padma-Meghna and the Karnaphuli. Although the altitude is up to 105 metres above the sea level in the northern part of the plain, in most of the cases the elevation is less than 10 metres above the sea level.
These geographical features also make Bangladesh vulnerable to floods and cyclones and the high level of poverty exposes the country to the challenges posed by climate change.
The world scenario is also similar to that in Bangladesh. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in 2010, about 42 million people around the world were forced to leave home because of natural disasters. The UNHCR report also pointed out that climate change was the most important factor contributing to natural disasters and that the international community must recognise it and do more to help the suffering humanity. In another statistics it is shown that more than a half of the world's population now live within 60 km of sea. Some of the most vulnerable regions are the Nile delta in Egypt, the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh, many small islands such as the Maldives and the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu in the Pacific Ocean.
Moreover, all the adverse effects of climate change cannot be described in words. Factors including high temperature, sea-level rise, cyclones, tidal surges, salinity, heavy monsoon downpours etc. darken the prospects for overall economic development of the country and the world to a great extent.
Let's protect our lovely planet as the safe home for our next generation. Let's not take the 'climate change' as a problem for any particular country or nation. It's our common issue. We have to face the challenges as 'citizens of the global village' from now on.
The writer is a journalist and adjunct faculty of a private university. smfaisalasia@gmail.com
The battle we face on climate front
FE Team | Published: June 05, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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