“Men argue. Nature acts.” – French philosopher Voltaire Blatantly describes the impact world is facing today for climate change, especially Bangladesh. When the world is busy with cherishing capitalism, making more and more profit, and over whelmed with hedonistic pleasure, a child on the banks of mighty Padma awaits to see his identity getting washed away with the river with his house. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable nations to the impact of climate change. In Bangladesh, 8 million people in 32 districts have been affected by floods, with 307,000 people staying in emergency shelters and 103,855 houses had been destroyed. Thousands of families like this are becoming a climate refugee day by day. Those lands that are being vanished were made by their grandfather, father. But where will they move to? Because of their financial restraints, they have no easy escape. What will they do? To save their families almost all the climate refugees are changing their profession – fishermen, farmers of the villages are turning into cheap labors in the urban settlements with full of uncertainty. And while they move to this uncertain future, who will shed a light of hope answering their questions? These people are nonexistent to the people who might have answers. With constant negligence people sitting on top of the food chain has risked the lives and futures of more than 19 million children a linked to climate change in Bangladesh. Those poor people are suffering from impacts of international geopolitics without them even realizing it. That’s why they have no other option except for relying on “God”. But does “God” also live in the world of capitalism and greed ? The people of the margin keep fighting. They keep trying to cope with the changing climate even though the situation is rapidly moving towards the point of no return. They keep dreaming. They keep breathing on the brink.
Riverbank erosion, one of the major natural disasters in Bangladesh. Every year, riverbank erosion leads to millions of people being affected as it results in damage and loss of crops, cattle, housing structures, and farmland. Additionally, it erodes away public infrastructure and communication systems. The unpredictable shifting behavior of the rivers and their encroachments not only affect the rural floodplain population but also the urban growth centers and infrastructures. According to the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) the most erosion prone districts are Bogra, Sirajganj, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha and Rangpur, in the country’s north, and Chandpur, Manikganj, Rajbari Shariatpur, and Faridpur in Dhaka zone, with Tangail and Jamalpur in Mymensingh zone, and the coastal areas of Patuakhali.
Bank lines of the Padma River are particularly most unstable. The Padma is wide with major erosion occurring along the left bank near Harirampur upazila of Manikganj district, where an acute erosion problem exists. The right bank of the Padma has also come under threat of extreme erosion, particularly in Shariatpur district.
It is likely that up to 50 million people will have to move from the delta region by 2050 in Bangladesh.
An estimated 6.5 million people have already been displaced due to climate change in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh is prone to flooding due to being situated on the Ganges Delta and the many distributaries flowing into the Bay of Bengal. Coastal flooding, combined with the bursting of river banks is common, and severely affects the landscape and society of Bangladesh. 80% of Bangladesh is floodplain, and it has an extensive sea coastline, rendering the nation very much at risk of periodic widespread damage. Flooding normally occurs during the monsoon season from June to September. The convectional rainfall of the monsoon is added to by relief rainfall caused by the Himalayas. Meltwater from the Himalayas is also a significant input.
Floods in Bangladesh can be divided into three categories: (a) monsoon flood – seasonal, increases slowly and decreases slowly, inundates vast areas and causes huge losses to life and property; (b) flash flood – water increases and decreases suddenly, generally happens in the valleys of the hilly areas; and (c) tidal flood – short duration, height is generally 3m to 6m, blocks inland flood drainage.
Each year in Bangladesh about 26,000 sq km, 18% of the country is flooded.
During severe floods, the affected area may exceed 55% of the total area of the country.
The 2017 flooding in Bangladesh has been described as the most serious in 40 years by the IFRC.
The organization estimates that 700,000 homes have been partially or totally destroyed and up to a third of its terrain – much of it farmland – left submerged.
According to government estimates, in 2017 a total of 61,877 hectares of cropland, mostly rice, have been “completely damaged,” while 531 million hectares have been “partially damaged.”
