Bangladesh coasts face increased salinity
Wednesday, 5 December 2007
The Khulna power plant is water-cooled, requiring thousands of gallons of fresh water daily to keep it operative. To make this happen boatloads of river water must be hauled from the upstream, reports bdnews24.com.
This process has turned into an odyssey, as freshwater becomes a rare commodity with tidal waters of the sea intruding further north everyday.
The flow of freshwater from the Ganges River has been stemmed, especially during the lean months, since the Farakka Barrage was built in the state of West Bengal just 10km from the Bangladesh-India border.
As a result, tidal waters are spreading inland turning the coastal environment more saline. The estuarine brackish waters-where sweet and salt-water meet-which at one time nurtured numerous unique fish species are also turning more saline, gradually killing this once distinctive aquatic ecosystem.
A recent SRDI (Soil Resource Development Institute) study established that the rate of salinity intrusion in the coastal areas surged during the period 1970-2000.
While salinity in Jessore and Noakhali soils increased by 11.5 per cent and 7 per cent respectively, in coastal areas such as Borishal and Borguna salinity increased 100 per cent and 124.33 per cent respectively in the last 30 years.
Dr Imamul Huq, chairman of Dhaka University's soil science, water and environment department, told the news agency that damming of water in upriver regions was a major cause of increase in salinity and tidal water intrusion.
Reduction in rainfall was another phenomenon that has aggravated the salinity levels of water and soils in certain areas, Dr Huq said, adding that less rainfall also caused upriver nations to withdraw more water to meet their needs for irrigation and other purposes.
The highly saline soils do not allow crops to grow and raising salt beds are the only option in utilising such lands.
This process has turned into an odyssey, as freshwater becomes a rare commodity with tidal waters of the sea intruding further north everyday.
The flow of freshwater from the Ganges River has been stemmed, especially during the lean months, since the Farakka Barrage was built in the state of West Bengal just 10km from the Bangladesh-India border.
As a result, tidal waters are spreading inland turning the coastal environment more saline. The estuarine brackish waters-where sweet and salt-water meet-which at one time nurtured numerous unique fish species are also turning more saline, gradually killing this once distinctive aquatic ecosystem.
A recent SRDI (Soil Resource Development Institute) study established that the rate of salinity intrusion in the coastal areas surged during the period 1970-2000.
While salinity in Jessore and Noakhali soils increased by 11.5 per cent and 7 per cent respectively, in coastal areas such as Borishal and Borguna salinity increased 100 per cent and 124.33 per cent respectively in the last 30 years.
Dr Imamul Huq, chairman of Dhaka University's soil science, water and environment department, told the news agency that damming of water in upriver regions was a major cause of increase in salinity and tidal water intrusion.
Reduction in rainfall was another phenomenon that has aggravated the salinity levels of water and soils in certain areas, Dr Huq said, adding that less rainfall also caused upriver nations to withdraw more water to meet their needs for irrigation and other purposes.
The highly saline soils do not allow crops to grow and raising salt beds are the only option in utilising such lands.