New lands emerging from the sea
Saturday, 25 July 2009
Mizanur Rhman
THERE is good news waiting for Bangladesh. Although many experts say that a part of Bangladesh's coastal areas may sink into the sea in the near future from the greenhouse syndrome, satellite imageries and other tangible supporting evidence suggest that Bangladesh is rather about to receive the gift of a huge landmass from the Bay of Bengal. The size of this landmass could eventually be as big as the present size of Bangladesh or even bigger. But it will depend considerably on what the Bangladeshis themselves do -- like the people of Holland did -- for lands to rise from the sea and for the same to be joined to the mainland.
Unfortunately, nothing has been noted so far in the country's annual development programmes (ADPs) to show that the government is paying attention to this issue. No allocations have been made over the years to build dams and other structures to accelerate the process of accretion of coastal lands. This attitude, undoubtedly, is a serious neglect of a vital national interest. Successive governments should have done all in their power to help the land accretion process which holds out so much promise for this land-hungry country. The governments should have also been proactive in seeking foreign assistance for this purpose.
A substantial amount of territories has already surfaced in the coastal areas. Some of these places have completely surfaced and have human habitations on them while others remain submerged during high tides to emerge with the ebbing of the tide. The latter types of accreted lands are likely to gain in elevation to be permanently joined to the mainland. Indeed, much of the present-day Bangladesh, including the districts of Faridpur, Barisal, Noakhali and Patuakhali, was formed in this manner over time.
The natural process of land accretion is a long one. It can be hastened and the technology for it is not prohibitively costly or complex. For Bangladesh, it involves only quickening the process of accretion by constructing structures like cross-dams to speed up the rate of deposition of silt in areas that have accreted or nearly accreted.
The country is likely to get a generous response from the international community in matters of fund availability and technical supports if it can show that it is really keen to accrete more lands and has put the endeavour under a systematic policy framework. Holland is one country which has the richest experience in getting lands out of the sea. It was in a situation which was worse than that of Bangladesh in the sense that much of it was so low-lying and below the sea level that even high tides and storms in the sea led to severe flooding and continuing inundation. Today, the Dutch have not only solved these problems through sophisticated engineering works but also have permanently reclaimed vast stretches of lands from the sea and are keeping them dry within secure barriers or sea walls.
Human settlement in the coastal areas or accreted lands in large numbers will ease the pressure of population and play a big role in the national economy. The example of the Maldives shows that the coastal areas -- especially the offshore islands - have a great prospect of developing as tourist destinations.
Shrimp is a major item in our export trade. The coastal areas are highly suitable for shrimp cultivation. Planned shrimp cultivation in the coastal areas may largely increase earnings from this sector. Not only shrimp, but also the catches and cultivation of sea fishes, crabs, etc., can be remarkably increased in the coastal areas with infrastructure developments by the public sector to promote more private sector investments into such activities.
Valuable deposits of minerals like zircon, rutile and titanium generally exist in the sandy beaches of the. It is quite possible to extract such minerals and earn large amounts in foreign currency. The coastal areas are also known to have substantial deposits of hydrocarbons like oil and gas. Only a limited exploitation of these resources has started with the offshore drilling at Sangu for gas. Much more can be achieved in this field.
THERE is good news waiting for Bangladesh. Although many experts say that a part of Bangladesh's coastal areas may sink into the sea in the near future from the greenhouse syndrome, satellite imageries and other tangible supporting evidence suggest that Bangladesh is rather about to receive the gift of a huge landmass from the Bay of Bengal. The size of this landmass could eventually be as big as the present size of Bangladesh or even bigger. But it will depend considerably on what the Bangladeshis themselves do -- like the people of Holland did -- for lands to rise from the sea and for the same to be joined to the mainland.
Unfortunately, nothing has been noted so far in the country's annual development programmes (ADPs) to show that the government is paying attention to this issue. No allocations have been made over the years to build dams and other structures to accelerate the process of accretion of coastal lands. This attitude, undoubtedly, is a serious neglect of a vital national interest. Successive governments should have done all in their power to help the land accretion process which holds out so much promise for this land-hungry country. The governments should have also been proactive in seeking foreign assistance for this purpose.
A substantial amount of territories has already surfaced in the coastal areas. Some of these places have completely surfaced and have human habitations on them while others remain submerged during high tides to emerge with the ebbing of the tide. The latter types of accreted lands are likely to gain in elevation to be permanently joined to the mainland. Indeed, much of the present-day Bangladesh, including the districts of Faridpur, Barisal, Noakhali and Patuakhali, was formed in this manner over time.
The natural process of land accretion is a long one. It can be hastened and the technology for it is not prohibitively costly or complex. For Bangladesh, it involves only quickening the process of accretion by constructing structures like cross-dams to speed up the rate of deposition of silt in areas that have accreted or nearly accreted.
The country is likely to get a generous response from the international community in matters of fund availability and technical supports if it can show that it is really keen to accrete more lands and has put the endeavour under a systematic policy framework. Holland is one country which has the richest experience in getting lands out of the sea. It was in a situation which was worse than that of Bangladesh in the sense that much of it was so low-lying and below the sea level that even high tides and storms in the sea led to severe flooding and continuing inundation. Today, the Dutch have not only solved these problems through sophisticated engineering works but also have permanently reclaimed vast stretches of lands from the sea and are keeping them dry within secure barriers or sea walls.
Human settlement in the coastal areas or accreted lands in large numbers will ease the pressure of population and play a big role in the national economy. The example of the Maldives shows that the coastal areas -- especially the offshore islands - have a great prospect of developing as tourist destinations.
Shrimp is a major item in our export trade. The coastal areas are highly suitable for shrimp cultivation. Planned shrimp cultivation in the coastal areas may largely increase earnings from this sector. Not only shrimp, but also the catches and cultivation of sea fishes, crabs, etc., can be remarkably increased in the coastal areas with infrastructure developments by the public sector to promote more private sector investments into such activities.
Valuable deposits of minerals like zircon, rutile and titanium generally exist in the sandy beaches of the. It is quite possible to extract such minerals and earn large amounts in foreign currency. The coastal areas are also known to have substantial deposits of hydrocarbons like oil and gas. Only a limited exploitation of these resources has started with the offshore drilling at Sangu for gas. Much more can be achieved in this field.