29 July 2021, NIICE Commentary 7222
Debtanu Majee
Across the planet, global climate change is liable for escalating the crisis of human security. Currently, the flood in Europe and the heat waves in the Canadian Province, British Columbia exhibited the calamitous impact of global climate change. Bangladesh, the land of rivers is at high risk because of global climate change and is least able to afford its consequences. The country is bearing the greatest climate burden regardless of its relatively lower level of carbon emission.
Outrageous climate occasions like cyclones, dry seasons, and floods hurtfully affect human security in Bangladesh. In 2020, just after the Amphan cyclone hit the country, a flood erupted and due to it, one-third of the country was underwater. Consequently, destroyed the crops and wedged the fishing trade. It is estimated that the cyclone Amphan has ruined crops of Taka 6.72 billion and engendered a production shortfall of two million tonnes. In addition, the farmers associated with the aquaculture suffered a loss of Taka 900 hundred million due to cyclone Amphan and the flood. It is expected that the country can encounter three to fifteen storms together with high tides at the tip of the century due to sea-level rise. Because of climate change, Bangladesh is going to be susceptible to additional cyclones which can eventually impact the livelihoods and the human security of the people. The rising sea level happening because of environmental change involves genuine worry for the country. As different studies have suggested the rising sea level will ultimately lead to the disappearance of many islands in the country, later on inflicting forced migration.
Experts believe eighteen million of its citizens will be internally displaced as seventeen percent of Bangladesh can sink by 2050 as a consequence of sea-level rise. Already the coastal areas of Bangladesh are facing the problems of land erosion; the outcome of which is the movement of the people of these regions to the nearby towns or Dhaka. After arriving at Dhaka most of the climate migrants are ending up their lives in the slums of the city, where they are living a pathetic life with no economic, food, and health security. Many people have lost their house, land, and livelihoods due to land erosion further enlarging their economic hardships forcing them to move to Dhaka despite of several discomforts that awaits them. As observed, Dhaka has turned out to be one of the most polluted cities in the world, and the overpopulation of the city is responsible for increasing pollution.
In the coming decades, it will be not possible for Dhaka to accommodate the climate migrants due to the unavailability of space and this can generate new tensions in the country. Climate change is also responsible for causing drought in several districts of Bangladesh and if it continues, the consequences will be severe for the food security of the country. Climate change has also impacted the Sundarbans forest extensively. This forest plays an important role to protect Bangladesh from cyclones and reduces the rise of temperature by absorbing carbon dioxide.
However, cyclones Aila and Sidr have massively destructed the forest. As a result, the economic security of the local people dependent on the forest resources for their livelihoods has been jeopardized. Increased salinity in the drinking water, especially in the coastal region has increased the cases of high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases which has impacted the health security of the citizens. Furthermore, people are forced to live in unhygienic conditions due to floods and cyclones; as a result, communicable diseases are disseminating easily and threatening their health security. In this time of the pandemic, when physical distancing is necessary, the floods and cyclones in 2020 forced the people to gather in the shelter houses which made them more vulnerable to COVID-19. More importantly, climate change has been a hurdle for children to pursue their education which will also upset the Human Security conditions in Bangladesh. Without education, the children will be unable to develop the much-needed capabilities to secure their human security. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has also admitted the fact that climate change is one of the greatest threats to the sustainability of human civilization. According to World Bank, Bangladesh has reduced the poverty level from 44 percent in 1991 to 15 percent in 2016. This has become possible only due to the rapid economic development in Bangladesh, made possible through expansion of the exports earnings in the garment sector and the remittances. However, the recent pandemic has endangered the economic security of the country and it is also estimated that the economy of the country will be impacted due to climate change profoundly. Economic insecurity is increasing in the Brahmaputra-Jamuna basin. In such a scenario, the government of Bangladesh has started several initiatives like Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (2009) to tackle climate change, and the country is also considered as a role model for innovatively fighting climate change. But the reality is that the lack of proper implementation of the rules and regulations related to the environment is hurting the environmental governance of the country and it is endangering human security.
To conclude, it must be noted that the government of Bangladesh has to implement the policies associated with environmental governance more effectively and expeditiously. There is a requirement to involve the local people in policy development. For a protracted time, they have followed a top-down approach while deciding the environmental policies, however, currently, they have to emphasize decentralization. The country needs the support of civil society groups, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, and specialists to strengthen environmental governance.
