Climate change, our activities and vulnerability of Dhaka

Shafiqul Alam Bangladesh is likely to be one of the worst sufferers due to climate change -- an apprehension that grips many. According to a recent global survey, based on factors such as over-population, poor governance, corruption, poverty and other socio-economic factors, Dhaka is at the highest risk of adverse climate change due to its inability to absorb the shock of any severe natural disaster. Be that as it may, we do seem to be biased in many cases. For example, when the city's lifeline, the Buriganga river, has become polluted, we blame "climate change" as the culprit; when water-bodies die due to illegal grabbing, we treat it as the impact of climate change; when the percentage of forest areas decreases due to deforestation, we blame it to climate change etcetera. Is this correct? No doubt people are largely liable for global warming and its induced climate change, and there is no end to other activities that degrade the environment. Just imagine the city of Dhaka which is one of the most unplanned and fastest growing mega-cities in the world. According to different research studies, the capital city of Bangladesh might be affected in different ways such as flooding, drainage congestion and heat stress. It is also predicted that the negative consequences of climate change are likely to be felt by a large number of people, especially the urban poor who live in flood-prone and water-logged areas. A significant per cent of the slums in the city have poor or no drainage system and are very much prone to frequent flooding and the problems are being increasingly compounded, given that the quality of housing is poor in all such overcrowded slums. Floodwaters in slums can mix with sewerage and breed various water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, typhoid etcetera. Water supplies may become contaminated as well. Mass migration might be the greatest impact of climate change due to several reasons. Climate change might adversely impact the potential for agricultural growth in many areas. Heavy precipitation might result in worst flooding. The sea-level rise might be a threat to millions of people who live in the low-lying areas. As a result, more and more people from various parts of the country might migrate to Dhaka. But the city is already over-burdened beyond its capacity to absorb the fall-out -- more pressure on the slums and the already stressed civic amenities. The demand for various infrastructural facilities will increase with the growing number of migrants to the cities, particularly Dhaka, from the rural areas of the country. The capital is already unable to meet the demands of existing population, let alone the increased migrants. So, a daunting challenge looms large. Certainly, it will take "time to build" the infrastructural facilities that are necessary for a city, ranging from housing to commercial buildings, transportation infrastructure, sewerage systems, electricity generation etc. Can we move the city overnight? Certainly, we cannot. Under such circumstances, mitigation and adaptation are the options available, though mitigation and adaptation are the opposite sides of a coin. Adaptation implies that individual actors, i.e. the people, communities and states, can and will pursue their own specific strategies. In many cases, adaptation will be based on self-interest at various levels. About mitigation, by contrast, installing more efficient energy and modes of transportation, planting trees and the like will benefit not only the individual doing it but also the world at large. Mega-city Dhaka seems to be growing in all directions but hardly in a planned way. Lack of vision and long-term planning has created today's problems. If the issues are not addressed with due importance, it will not be an overstatement to say that within a short span of time the situation might become unmanageable. The high growth rate of population is the primary cause of all sorts of environmental degradation. To accommodate the high growth of population, buildings are also growing fast amongst various other supporting infrastructural facilities. However, building codes are flouted and as such, a poor situation is prevailing in the development of drainage facilities. The majority of the newly developed areas are lacking in sanitary drainage system. The existing drainage system is also not performing due to faulty planning. Likewise; water scarcity in the coming days may become severe, given that ground water level is going down day by day. Climate change is not a fiction; it is, rather, a real problem. There is a possibility that the sea level will rise. Rainfall pattern might be more erratic in the coming days; this can lead to the worst kind of flooding in many areas. If all these assumptions become true, the number of migrants in the city will certainly increase. We blame all these on climate change but are we not largely responsible? So, only adaptation and mitigation measures will not help much unless and until unplanned activities are checked. The writer can be reached at email: shafiqul0032@yahoo.comBangladesh is likely to be one of the worst sufferers due to climate change -- an apprehension that grips many. According to a recent global survey, based on factors such as over-population, poor governance, corruption, poverty and other socio-economic factors, Dhaka is at the highest risk of adverse climate change due to its inability to absorb the shock of any severe natural disaster. Be that as it may, we do seem to be biased in many cases. For example, when the city's lifeline, the Buriganga river, has become polluted, we blame "climate change" as the culprit; when water-bodies die due to illegal grabbing, we treat it as the impact of climate change; when the percentage of forest areas decreases due to deforestation, we blame it to climate change etcetera. Is this correct? No doubt people are largely liable for global warming and its induced climate change, and there is no end to other activities that degrade the environment. Just imagine the city of Dhaka which is one of the most unplanned and fastest growing mega-cities in the world. According to different research studies, the capital city of Bangladesh might be affected in different ways such as flooding, drainage congestion and heat stress. It is also predicted that the negative consequences of climate change are likely to be felt by a large number of people, especially the urban poor who live in flood-prone and water-logged areas. A significant per cent of the slums in the city have poor or no drainage system and are very much prone to frequent flooding and the problems are being increasingly compounded, given that the quality of housing is poor in all such overcrowded slums. Floodwaters in slums can mix with sewerage and breed various water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, typhoid etcetera. Water supplies may become contaminated as well. Mass migration might be the greatest impact of climate change due to several reasons. Climate change might adversely impact the potential for agricultural growth in many areas. Heavy precipitation might result in worst flooding. The sea-level rise might be a threat to millions of people who live in the low-lying areas. As a result, more and more people from various parts of the country might migrate to Dhaka. But the city is already over-burdened beyond its capacity to absorb the fall-out -- more pressure on the slums and the already stressed civic amenities. The demand for various infrastructural facilities will increase with the growing number of migrants to the cities, particularly Dhaka, from the rural areas of the country. The capital is already unable to meet the demands of existing population, let alone the increased migrants. So, a daunting challenge looms large. Certainly, it will take "time to build" the infrastructural facilities that are necessary for a city, ranging from housing to commercial buildings, transportation infrastructure, sewerage systems, electricity generation etc. Can we move the city overnight? Certainly, we cannot. Under such circumstances, mitigation and adaptation are the options available, though mitigation and adaptation are the opposite sides of a coin. Adaptation implies that individual actors, i.e. the people, communities and states, can and will pursue their own specific strategies. In many cases, adaptation will be based on self-interest at various levels. About mitigation, by contrast, installing more efficient energy and modes of transportation, planting trees and the like will benefit not only the individual doing it but also the world at large. Mega-city Dhaka seems to be growing in all directions but hardly in a planned way. Lack of vision and long-term planning has created today's problems. If the issues are not addressed with due importance, it will not be an overstatement to say that within a short span of time the situation might become unmanageable. The high growth rate of population is the primary cause of all sorts of environmental degradation. To accommodate the high growth of population, buildings are also growing fast amongst various other supporting infrastructural facilities. However, building codes are flouted and as such, a poor situation is prevailing in the development of drainage facilities. The majority of the newly developed areas are lacking in sanitary drainage system. The existing drainage system is also not performing due to faulty planning. Likewise; water scarcity in the coming days may become severe, given that ground water level is going down day by day. Climate change is not a fiction; it is, rather, a real problem. There is a possibility that the sea level will rise. Rainfall pattern might be more erratic in the coming days; this can lead to the worst kind of flooding in many areas. If all these assumptions become true, the number of migrants in the city will certainly increase. We blame all these on climate change but are we not largely responsible? So, only adaptation and mitigation measures will not help much unless and until unplanned activities are checked. The writer can be reached at email: shafiqul0032@yahoo.com