Category: Coastal

The effects of climate change, such as cyclones, storm surges, sea waves, tidal surges, tidal flooding, sea level rise, and increased storminess, pose growing threats to marine ecology and biodiversity. According to the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, the climate of South Asia is altering, and its effects are already being felt. Bangladesh, a country with a large coastline, is significantly impacted by saltwater intrusion. Hilsa is primarily a deep-sea fish that inhabits salty water. It migrates to freshwater for reproduction. However, the migration of Hilsa fish can be attributed to an increase in salinity and river water pollution. According to the Soil Resources Development Institute (SRDI), due to the rise in sea level, the salinity of coastal regions is increasing, which harms the reproduction of marine species. There is a strong correlation between salinity, temperature, and conductivity that affects water quality and the solubility of dissolved oxygen in water, which are related to fish migration. Muhammad Abdur Rahaman, Director of the Center for People and Environ (CPE) said Hilsa eggs hatch after 23 to 26 hours at an average temperature of 23°C in In freshwater rivers. To hatch Hilsa, it needs Salinity <0.1 ppt, PH 7.70-8.30, DO 5.0-6.8. But due to sea level rise and rising temperature in the sea surface, river surface temperature, and salinity increased. He also added that water pollution has changed DO, and PH in the river and seawater.  As a result, the Hilsa egg hatch is decreasing which is responsible for declining Hilsa production. In the capital city (Dhaka), a national dialogue was organized by Bangladesh Environment Movement (BAPA), Waterkeepr, and Sundarban Rokkha Andolon on 17 May 2023 at National Press Club on “Coastal Hilsa and Fishermen”. In the dialogue, Mr. Mir Mohammad Ali, Associate Professor of the Aquaculture Department of Sher-E-Bangla Agriculture University presented a concept note. Mr. Ali said, in the Bay of Bengal, the fishing restriction period is not similar in Bangladesh and India which is responsible for low fish catching in the coastal rivers of Bangladesh. Mr. Ali also added that Bangladesh is the source of over 80% of the world’s total production of Hilsa. But the Climate and Environmental changes have endangered both the lives of fishermen and the fishing industry. Hilsa, Bangladesh’s national fish, embodies the country’s character in many ways. 20-25 lakh individuals are involved with hilsa resources directly and indirectly, resulting in about 7 lakh people’s engagement in the country. Hilsa has a remarkable contribution to our national economy and more than 1% of the GDP comes from Hilsa. The experts say the migratory routes and reproductive grounds of the Hilsa are disrupted, displaced, or even destroyed as a result of various anthropogenic activities, climate change effects, increased siltation, and rising river basins. Hilsa fish are migrating from rivers to deep sea regions as a result of pollution, and the increased movement of trawlers and other water vessels is also contributing to the Hilsa shortage. The fishermen participants of the dialogue mentioned that though vast quantities of Hilsa are being captured in the deep sea, insufficient Hilsa in rivers for fishermen to catch. Major Hilsa to catch has progressively migrated from freshwater to saltwater. Hilsa is difficult to catch for fishermen with tiny boats and inadequate gear. Mr. Md. Ataur Rahman, a fisherman from Kalapara upazila of Patuakhali who was fishing in the Ramnabad channel for the last 18 years, stated that he can still recall the first time he caught enormous Hilsa fish in the channel, however, he cannot catch Hilsa in this channel and nearby rivers for the last 4–5 years. When recounting the events of his life as a sailor, Mr. Abdus Sattar, a fisherman from Taltali, Barguna, stated, “I have been fishing in the deep sea for the previous 30-35 years. In my Trawler, 18–20 people used to work to earn their living. However, 8–10 individuals are now working to cut back on fishing. The rivers are no longer full of fish as it once was. Fishing in the deep sea is more expensive”. Women in Mongla engage in fishing with their spouses in addition to male fishermen. In the Pasur River, Chandrika Mondal spent 10 years fishing with her husband. She said there is no sufficient Hilsa in the Pasur River though there were abundant Hilsa a couple of years ago. She also said that the majority of fishermen gave up fishing and started working as day laborers. The thought of Mr. Abdur Rashid Hawladar, a fisherman from the Bagerhat district, water pollution and waste from nearby mills, dirty oil from ships, and coal is responsible for destroying Hilsa fish in the Pasur River. In the dialogue, S.M Shahzada, Honorable Member of Parliament Patuakhali along with other policymakers urged the importance of Hilsa for the national economy. Professor Md. Abdul Wahab, Bangladesh Agricultural University said, everyone seems to have forgotten that there is no Hilsa in the Andharmanik River. We have a law that fishing boats are not allowed to fish within 40 meters coastline but most of the fishing boats don’t obey this law. So government should take proper initiative in the implementation of this law. Professor Dr. Syed Ali Azhar, a fisheries researcher, emphasized the importance of ensuring fishermen’s insurance, citing the vulnerability of fishermen to various natural calamities, robberies, and security. Sultana Kamal, President of Bangladesh Environment Movement (BAPA) said, “We must coordinate with India for a similar ban period of fishing in the Bay of Bengal.” She also urges the importance of cultural development along with infrastructural development for the national interest. In this dialogue, Mr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman MP, Honorable Member of Parliament, Khulna 6, Prof. Gulshan Ara Latifa, Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Prof. Dr. Md. Shahidul Islam, Chairman, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Dhaka, Masuda Ara Momi, Deputy Director, Directorate of Fisheries (Hilsa Management Branch) also delivered their valuable speech.

Temperatures have risen at a rate of 0.0201 degrees Celsius per year in Teknaf, where the national temperature has risen by 0.0228 degrees Celsius over the last 30 years. Most importantly, the wind speed of national level, the average wind speed is increasing by 0.0279 m/s every year, butt in micro-level climate analysis, Teknaf station’s windspeed pattern also showed a drastically increasing trend, even more than the national level, with a rate of 0.0613 m/s. Center for People and Environ organized a workshop on climate vulnerability and resilient livelihoods in Teknaf. The workshop was organized with the support of the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) and British Red Cross (BRC) on 23 August 2023 at the Upazila Parishad Conference Hall, Teknaf.  In the workshop, the Director of the Center for People and Environ said, that when we compare the national-level data for overall Bangladesh to narrow it down to Upazilas as a micro-level climate scenario, it might be clear how drastically the local climatic scenario is changing every year. Nationally, the rainfall is decreasing by 3.6365 mm/year, and Teknaf station data shows that every year, the decreasing rainfall rate is 23.09 mm/year. He also added that the populations in Cox’s Bazar are vulnerable to a wide range of natural hazards and frequently experience extreme weather events because of their geographic position, climate, and topography. It is susceptible to cyclones, storm surges, medium-to-high soil salinity, sea-level rise, monsoons, and flash floods because of its funnel-shaped southern coast and its status as a riparian country. Saline water intrusion limited agricultural production and decreased the number of viable livelihood options.  A study was carried out as part of the Vulnerable to Resilience (V2R) initiative by the Center for People and the Environ (CPE) with assistance from the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society (BDRCS) and British Red Cross (BRC) to identify gaps in three unions of Teknaf Upazila peoples’ accessible livelihood options. The Center for People and the Environment (CPE) organized a sharing and validation workshop on “Climate Risk Assessment and Identification of Climate-smart livelihood options in Tekanf” in the Upazila conference room of Teknaf. Md. Arfanul Haque Chowdhury, Additional Commissioner (Land), attended the session as the chief guest. The study’s findings were delivered by Muhammad Abdur Rahaman, the study’s team leader and Director of the Center for People and the Environ (CPE). According to Mr. Rahaman, who presented the study’s findings, the study sorted the vulnerable community’s needs for resilient interventions in the context of current and projected climate change consequences for the poor, women, and women in vulnerable circumstances. The usefulness of various structural and non-structural strategies to increase community resilience to disaster and climate change has been documented in this study, which focuses on three specific unions. The results of the study indicated that fishermen who belong to unions are among the most vulnerable occupational categories. A fisherman who attended the validation course said, “We have been prohibited from fishing in the Naf River for the last five years. I want to ask the authority to permit us to fish in the Naf River through this workshop. The workshop covered a variety of topics about the effects of climate change on various livelihoods, including those of the most vulnerable people in the study area: fishermen, farmers, and day laborers. The floor was open for discussion and a question-and-answer session following the presentation session. Appropriate sluice gate maintenance is necessary to keep out salt water from the sea. The irrigation system at Teknaf’s 27 Jhiri canal needed to be re-excavated. According to Shahidul Alam, SAAO, DoA, and Teknaf, appropriate sluice gate maintenance is necessary to keep out salt water from the sea. He added that the irrigation system at Teknaf’s 27 Jhiri canal needed to be re-excavated. For sustainable agriculture and livestock, Md. Monayem Hossain, project coordinator at RIC, suggested that we should promote indigenous technologies and seeds. The Department of Livestock Officer Md. Nurul Alam advised that all livestock and poultry must be safeguarded through a vaccination program. Local farmers, fishermen, government officials, and representatives from non-governmental organizations were among those present at the session. The objective of this conference was to present and assess the findings of an in-depth assessment of the climate risk that took place over the previous year while also giving participants an environment to share their experiences and thoughts. The presentation of the climate risk assessment report, which identified the most urgent challenges faced by Teknaf, was the workshop’s high point. These included the impact of rising salt on agriculture, the susceptibility of fishing communities to severe weather, and the probable eviction of coastal people as a result of sea level rise. To increase the resilience of local populations, the research additionally highlighted the need to establish climate-smart livelihood options. Participants of the validation workshop came to an understanding of the significance of taking action right away as it was wrapping up. The inaugural speech was delivered by Abonindra Karmaker, BDRCS. He briefly explains the V2R project. Md. Mizanur Rahman, Forest Ranger, BFD, Teknaf, Sayed Hossain Mamun, CA, Upazila Parishad, Teknaf, Shahidul Alam, SUFO, DoF, Teknaf, and some other related persons also provided their ideas in the validation workshop.

“‘A lot of girls are involved in fishing for minnows. Anemia, irregular period, extreme period cramps, nausea during periods, and vomiting are too common among them. Sometimes they suffer from periods for 2-3 months at a stretch to get rid of it they take birth control pills. The family cannot afford doctors, so they also take medicine without a prescription from the local pharmacy to halt it. Continuous period leads to anemia. Again, some have claimed that they do not get adequate and nutritious food due to financial insolvency, and their food has been contaminated by saline water as well which causes anemia and may halt women’s regular periods.” 45 years old Monjo Rani, mother of two sons came to the community clinic of Banishanta Union in Dacope Upazila. This is the 3rd time in this month she is suffering from diarrhea. She is not the only patient visiting the community clinic. Multipurpose Health Volunteers Tanusree and Etika of the community health clinic of Baniashanta Union informed us, the patient burden is increasing day by day and their medicine support exceeds capacity. Every day a lot of locals come to the clinic with problems like diarrhea, allergy, gastric, and hypertension. The number of patients is increasing with time. According to the IPCC’s Fifth Assessment Report, the average global sea level rise by the end of the 21st century would be between 0.44 and 0.74 meters (m) (Church and Gregory, 2019). Even IPCC’s assessment report of the working group (iii) has mentioned the constant rise of sea level. Moreover, they recorded higher sea level rise in Asian coasts than global mean sea level rise. Bangladesh is one of them which has the most exposed coastal populations and is thus most susceptible to disaster-related death (IPCC, 2022). In recent years, frequent extreme, and severe cyclones along with storm surges have reshaped the region and caused saline water to spill into the streams, soil, and yield all around the low-lying people of the southwest coastal zone. Consumption of extremely saline water leads to diarrhea, hypertension, allergy, gastric, and even unbearable pain in the reproductive health of women. As a result, due to lack of supplies and increasing numbers of patients community clinics are running out of medicines and people like Monjo Rani are suffering. Monjo Rani is not just a victim of Diarrhea, she is also suffering from a hysterectomy since she was around 26 years old. To support her family, she had to go to work on the sixth day of each week. She stated that “My husband and mother-in-law did not give me food to eat. They had asked me to earn my bread.” She was forced to go to catch minnows. There she had to stay in the salt water for the whole day to catch minnows. This results in an infection in her uterus. Monjo Rani utter that she needs to spend a huge amount of money, so she decided to remove her uterus. She also added that she is not alone, many other women and adolescents are suffering from such uterus problems for a long time. Though they are suffering but don’t have access to medical facilities. She also said that they don’t have nearby hospitals and they need to travel more than 1.5 hours for treatment. Even a huge number of mothers and their unborn children lose their life because of inadequate health facilities, roads, and transport systems.” Monjo Rani utter that she needs to spend a huge amount of money, so she decided to remove her uterus. She also added that she is not alone, many other women and adolescents are suffering from such uterus problems for a long time. Teenage girls also have to contribute to family earnings. Girls get married early because of their poor financial background. Mim is an 18-year-old girl who came with pre-eclampsia. Her father lost their house due to cyclone Amphan. On the other hand, he does not have an income source, so he has chosen to marry off his girl. A lot of girls are involved in fishing for minnows. Anemia, irregular period, extreme period cramps, nausea during periods, and vomiting are too common among them. Sometimes they suffer from periods for 2-3 months at a stretch to get rid of it they take birth control pills. The family cannot afford doctors, so they also take medicine without a prescription from the local pharmacy to halt it. Continuous period leads to anemia. Again, some have claimed that they do not get adequate and nutritious food due to financial insolvency, and their food has been contaminated by saline water as well which causes anemia and may halt women’s regular periods. WHO has stated that the greatest threat to human health in the twenty-first century is climate change (WHO, 2021). Women are especially vulnerable to problems with their reproductive and sexual health as well as rising incidence of domestic and sexual violence, in addition to the general effects of natural hazards and a lack of disaster-resilient health care. Again, due to gender stereotypes, women are expected to take care of people affected by catastrophes, including children, the ill and injured, and the elderly, which adds to their mental and material burden. Here, all women are too strong to fight but not too healthy to live.