The sea can be tamed, lands can rise from the sea
Enayet Rasul | Saturday, 24 May 2008
"All the inhabitants of the world should know that the power of kings is vain and trivial, and that none is worthy the name of king but He whose command the heaven, earth and sea obey by eternal laws"
- King Canute, King of England, Denmark and Norway (11th century)
The above quote is from King Canute the strongest Viking monarch of the middle ages who founded an empire in Northern Europe. The quotation refers to the incident of how this Viking monarch of the middle ages who felt omnipotent from his sense of power and authority, was humbled from a feeling that the power of God was so much the greater and everlasting.
As the story goes, the king went to the shores of the sea and commanded the waves to roll back and not to touch his feet. When the command went unheeded and the tide sank his feet and part of the mobile throne where he sat, Canute then realized the might and majesty of the supreme Creator, Almighty God, who created the elements and before his wishes the endeavours of all earthly mortals were but futile.
Canute's saying used to be frequently mentioned in the centuries that followed to describe how mankind was so helpless before nature which could not be tamed or controlled in the way Canute could not control the waves. But over recent centuries and from the evolution of modern man, is it relevant to think that mankind is destined to submit so helplessly to nature ? The answer must be a negative one as there are so many examples to prove that humans today indeed have powers to try and successfully conquer nature, control it to its advantage or abuse nature to its disadvantage. When there is so much concern about a large part of Bangladesh sinking into the sea in the near future, there is also the exciting possibility that the reverse thing can happen along with Bangladesh gaining rather large tracts of lands from the sea if only it applies its huge manpower and existing technologies to this end.
Regularly received satellite imageries and other tangible supporting evidences suggest that Bangladesh can receive the gift of a huge land mass from its adjoining sea. The size of this land mass, eventually, could 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 plans (ADPs) to the effect that the government is paying attention to this issue. No allocations have been made over the years to build dams and other structures to put a pace on the process of accretion of coastal lands. This attitude, undoubtedly, is a serious neglect of the vital national interest. Successive governments should have done all in their powers to help the land accretion process which holds out so much promise for this land hungry country. Not only doing everything locally to aid the process of land accretion and consolidation, the governments should have been proactive in seeking foreign assistance to realise the same objective.
Already, substantial territories have surfaced in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. Some of these places have completely surfaced and have human habitations on them while others remain submerged during 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 present day Bangladesh including the districts of Faridpur, Barisal, Noakhali, Patuakhali, etc., were formed in this manner over time.
Lands have already emerged from the sea in the coastal areas and more lands from the sea will hopefully rise in the future. But the natural process is a long one. It can be hastened and the technology for it is not so prohibitive or complex either. For Bangladesh, it involves only quickening the process of accretion by establishing 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 most experience in getting lands out of the sea. It had a situation worse than 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 its severe flooding and continuing inundation. Today, the Dutch have not only solved these problems through sophisticated engineering works, they have permanently reclaimed vast stretches of lands from the sea and are keeping them dry for various uses within secure barriers or sea walls.
Bangladesh may not have to embark on projects on the same scale as were carried out in Holland because of its relatively better elevation. It can use its huge reservoir of cheap manpower to build simpler projects to get the same kind of results as were achieved in Holland. But for this purpose it needs to engage in a time-bound and result oriented framework of assistance and consultation with that country. Besides, the government of Bangladesh ought to also appeal to the international community to provide funds to it for the purpose.
The developed countries, specially the United States, are the main contributors to the greenhouse syndrome which could affect Bangladesh. Therefore, it would be only conscionable for these countries to help out Bangladesh in projects designed to secure its coastal areas and for their enlargement. Even if external aid is not forthcoming, the government can proceed with dams and other structures where these will yield almost immediate benefits in the form of lands rising from the sea on a sustainable basis. The taking up of such projects and their successful execution are quite possible for Bangladesh by mobilising its own resources and applying its own expertise.
One may say that the cyclone hazards can be serious in the coastal areas. But these hazards are not as these used to be in the past. Deaths from these cyclones in recent years have been far less in number and much less resources were destroyed from cyclones . The creation of a network of cyclone shelters and other forms of preparedness for disasters have led to such favourable developments. With the establishment of a greater number of cyclone shelters and extending the system of preparedness, there would be no reason for a far bigger number of people than at present not to be living and working safely in viable occupations in the coastal areas including the already accreted lands and the about to be accreted lands. This would only disprove predictions about the displacement of some 5.5 million people from Bangladesh's coastal areas by 2050 from sea level rise.
Apart from greater human settlement in the coastal areas or accreted lands to ease the pressure of population, the same areas can play a far bigger role for the national economy. Tourist resorts established in the coastal islands-- like in the Maldives-- can be very paying in terms of foreign tourist arrivals. The same prospects are also there in many places in our coastal areas.
Shrimp has been a major item in our export trade in recent years. The coastal areas are exclusively suitable for shrimp cultivation for the export market. Extension of planned shrimp cultivation in the coastal area is possible to many times increase earnings from this sector. Not only shrimp, but sea fishes, crabs, etc., that are generally described as frozen food and exported from Bangladesh, the catches or cultivation of these can be remarkably increased in the coastal area with infrastructure developments to promote more private sector investments into such activities.
Valuable deposits of minerals exist in the sandy beaches of the coastal areas such as zircon, rutile, titanium, etc. It is quite possible to extract these minerals and earn huge amounts in foreign currency. The coastal areas are also known to have huge deposits of hydrocarbons like oil and gas. Only limited exploitation of these resources have started with the offshore drilling at Sangu for gas. But gradually, over time, these energy resources can be tapped extensively for the benefit of the country.
- King Canute, King of England, Denmark and Norway (11th century)
The above quote is from King Canute the strongest Viking monarch of the middle ages who founded an empire in Northern Europe. The quotation refers to the incident of how this Viking monarch of the middle ages who felt omnipotent from his sense of power and authority, was humbled from a feeling that the power of God was so much the greater and everlasting.
As the story goes, the king went to the shores of the sea and commanded the waves to roll back and not to touch his feet. When the command went unheeded and the tide sank his feet and part of the mobile throne where he sat, Canute then realized the might and majesty of the supreme Creator, Almighty God, who created the elements and before his wishes the endeavours of all earthly mortals were but futile.
Canute's saying used to be frequently mentioned in the centuries that followed to describe how mankind was so helpless before nature which could not be tamed or controlled in the way Canute could not control the waves. But over recent centuries and from the evolution of modern man, is it relevant to think that mankind is destined to submit so helplessly to nature ? The answer must be a negative one as there are so many examples to prove that humans today indeed have powers to try and successfully conquer nature, control it to its advantage or abuse nature to its disadvantage. When there is so much concern about a large part of Bangladesh sinking into the sea in the near future, there is also the exciting possibility that the reverse thing can happen along with Bangladesh gaining rather large tracts of lands from the sea if only it applies its huge manpower and existing technologies to this end.
Regularly received satellite imageries and other tangible supporting evidences suggest that Bangladesh can receive the gift of a huge land mass from its adjoining sea. The size of this land mass, eventually, could 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 plans (ADPs) to the effect that the government is paying attention to this issue. No allocations have been made over the years to build dams and other structures to put a pace on the process of accretion of coastal lands. This attitude, undoubtedly, is a serious neglect of the vital national interest. Successive governments should have done all in their powers to help the land accretion process which holds out so much promise for this land hungry country. Not only doing everything locally to aid the process of land accretion and consolidation, the governments should have been proactive in seeking foreign assistance to realise the same objective.
Already, substantial territories have surfaced in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. Some of these places have completely surfaced and have human habitations on them while others remain submerged during 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 present day Bangladesh including the districts of Faridpur, Barisal, Noakhali, Patuakhali, etc., were formed in this manner over time.
Lands have already emerged from the sea in the coastal areas and more lands from the sea will hopefully rise in the future. But the natural process is a long one. It can be hastened and the technology for it is not so prohibitive or complex either. For Bangladesh, it involves only quickening the process of accretion by establishing 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 most experience in getting lands out of the sea. It had a situation worse than 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 its severe flooding and continuing inundation. Today, the Dutch have not only solved these problems through sophisticated engineering works, they have permanently reclaimed vast stretches of lands from the sea and are keeping them dry for various uses within secure barriers or sea walls.
Bangladesh may not have to embark on projects on the same scale as were carried out in Holland because of its relatively better elevation. It can use its huge reservoir of cheap manpower to build simpler projects to get the same kind of results as were achieved in Holland. But for this purpose it needs to engage in a time-bound and result oriented framework of assistance and consultation with that country. Besides, the government of Bangladesh ought to also appeal to the international community to provide funds to it for the purpose.
The developed countries, specially the United States, are the main contributors to the greenhouse syndrome which could affect Bangladesh. Therefore, it would be only conscionable for these countries to help out Bangladesh in projects designed to secure its coastal areas and for their enlargement. Even if external aid is not forthcoming, the government can proceed with dams and other structures where these will yield almost immediate benefits in the form of lands rising from the sea on a sustainable basis. The taking up of such projects and their successful execution are quite possible for Bangladesh by mobilising its own resources and applying its own expertise.
One may say that the cyclone hazards can be serious in the coastal areas. But these hazards are not as these used to be in the past. Deaths from these cyclones in recent years have been far less in number and much less resources were destroyed from cyclones . The creation of a network of cyclone shelters and other forms of preparedness for disasters have led to such favourable developments. With the establishment of a greater number of cyclone shelters and extending the system of preparedness, there would be no reason for a far bigger number of people than at present not to be living and working safely in viable occupations in the coastal areas including the already accreted lands and the about to be accreted lands. This would only disprove predictions about the displacement of some 5.5 million people from Bangladesh's coastal areas by 2050 from sea level rise.
Apart from greater human settlement in the coastal areas or accreted lands to ease the pressure of population, the same areas can play a far bigger role for the national economy. Tourist resorts established in the coastal islands-- like in the Maldives-- can be very paying in terms of foreign tourist arrivals. The same prospects are also there in many places in our coastal areas.
Shrimp has been a major item in our export trade in recent years. The coastal areas are exclusively suitable for shrimp cultivation for the export market. Extension of planned shrimp cultivation in the coastal area is possible to many times increase earnings from this sector. Not only shrimp, but sea fishes, crabs, etc., that are generally described as frozen food and exported from Bangladesh, the catches or cultivation of these can be remarkably increased in the coastal area with infrastructure developments to promote more private sector investments into such activities.
Valuable deposits of minerals exist in the sandy beaches of the coastal areas such as zircon, rutile, titanium, etc. It is quite possible to extract these minerals and earn huge amounts in foreign currency. The coastal areas are also known to have huge deposits of hydrocarbons like oil and gas. Only limited exploitation of these resources have started with the offshore drilling at Sangu for gas. But gradually, over time, these energy resources can be tapped extensively for the benefit of the country.