World must help us confront climate change adversities

Shahiduzzaman KhanbrBritish Minister Douglas Alexander said recently that Britain and other rich countries had a moral duty to help Bangladesh and other poor countries adapt their infrastructure, farming and economies to climate change. The world has now a duty to rise to the challenge and ensure that we support the poorest people of the world -- the least responsible for climate change -- to prevent and prepare for its cruellest consequences, he added. brAgainst the backdrop of international summit on 'UK-Bangladesh Climate Change Conference Bangladesh Facing the Challenge' now in progress in London, the British minister's remark is of great importance. Bangladesh is now in the international spotlight on the adverse impacts of global warming. There is an urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions worldwide and enhance the country's capability to adapt to perilous impacts of climate change. Looking ahead to the new international climate change agreement, likely to be signed in Copenhagen in 2009, the British and Bangladesh governments are trying to highlight the need for global participation in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and support climate change adaptation.brThe adversities stemming from the changing climate under the impact of heavy carbon emission by developed countries are threatening to set back the impoverished nation's efforts to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, particularly through its devastating consequences for agriculture and food security. Bangladesh is trapped between the Himalayas in the north and the encroaching Bay of Bengal to the south. The delta is most vulnerable to natural disaster due to the frequency of extreme climate events and its high population density. The predicted temperature increase will cause the melting of glaciers in the Himalayas. Bangladesh may lose one-third of its landmass due to the rise of sea level, which is the direct outcome of climate change. The impacts of higher temperatures and sea-level rise are already felt. The hazardous climate change will affect water resources, agriculture and food security, ecosystems and biodiversity, human health and coastal zones in Bangladesh. brThese changes are already having major impacts on the economic performance of Bangladesh and on the lives and livelihoods of millions of poor people. It has been predicted by experts that a one-metre rise in sea level would inundate 17 per cent of Bangladesh and the frequency of natural disaster is likely to increase during the present century. Two successive floods and deadly cyclone Sidr that caused heavy damaged to life, property and crops worth about $2.8 billion in 2007 are indications of the climate change.brAccording to Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) the sea-level rise will be in the range of 15 cm to 90 cm by the year 2100. Even 10-cm sea-level rise will inundate about 2500 square kms of land area of Bangladesh. A 30-45cm sea-level rise is likely to dislocate about 35 million people from coastal districts by 2050. The climate change has been blamed as the reason behind the disasters. Crop yields are predicted to fall by up to 30 per cent, creating a very high risk of hunger due to climate change. brMeanwhile an international symposium on climate change and food security in South Asia, that concluded in the city this week, recommended creating South Asian Network on Climate Change and Food Security and establishing South Asia Climate Outlook Forum to combat challenges of climatic changes in the region collectively. It also emphasised the need for stimulating multi-disciplinary research on the burning issue and identifying effective mitigation and adaptation options, including carbon sequestration in different ecosystems.brExperts observed that serious problems of soil degradation and desertification were likely to be exacerbated by climate change through accelerated erosion, fertility depletion, salinisation and acidification and that subsistence agriculture, characterised by low productivity and extractive farming, was extremely vulnerable to such climatic change. In the wake of such threats, the development partners and the private sector should fund implementation of such programmes that affect climate change.brThese two platforms are expected to share information on management of climate change and related science, data, tools and methodologies in South Asia. Those will also generate data on solar heating as it relates to the effects of soot, aerosols and particulate material emissions on radiation balance, rainfall patterns and regional climate change. These will also develop seasonal climate predictions to assist farmers to optimally adjust their planting dates, crop varieties and management practices to reduce agricultural vulnerability to hydro-meteorological hazards. brA study by the World Bank, leading donors and the government of Bangladesh (GoB) had found that the country urgently needed a huge amount of money to ensure its survival. It needs at least $4.0 billion by 2020 to build dams, cyclone shelters, plant trees along the coast and build infrastructure and capacities to adapt to increasing number of natural disasters. brIndeed, a leading environment scientist believes money is not enough and rich countries should feel obliged to offer assistance. Bangladesh is facing devastating disasters, which are occurring through no fault of its own. The world should not stay indifferent while Bangladesh goes under the sea, he said. The GoB had launched an aggressive battle to fight climate challenges, but it should have started many years earlier. It is not too late but the country needs a lot of support -- including funding and technical expertise -- from the global community. The rich nations should open their doors to the millions of Bangladeshis who are on the verge of becoming climate refugees.brszkhan@thefinancialexpress-bd.combr