1 Population
Bangladesh
is the 8th largest country in the world with a population of 142.3
million in 2011 (BBS, Population and Housing Census 2011, Preliminary Results)
living in an area of 147,570 sq km. The population density of the country is
964 per sq km that makes it the most populous country in the world with the
exception of island nations/territories such as Singapore and Hong Kong. Early
policy makers of the country identified population as the number one problem of
the country and devised policies and strategies to control population growth.
Consequently, the population growth rate declined from 2.48 percent per annum in 1974 to 1.34 percent per annum
in 2011.
TFR has decreased from 5.04 in 1981 to 2.15 per woman in 2009 with
2.28 in rural and 1.65 in urban areas (BBS, Report on Sample Vital Registration
System – 2009). These are commendable achievements for a least developed
country like Bangladesh but it is far from what the country needs to achieve
for sustainability particularly social sustainability.More
2 Poverty and Inequality
Poverty
reduction has been a priority objective of development of Bangladesh since its
emergence as an independent nation in 1971. Starting from the First Five Year
Plan (1973-1978) which emphasized poverty reduction through employment
generation, all development plans as well as the two poverty reduction strategy
papers recognized the importance of poverty reduction and developed policies
and strategies for poverty reduction. Consequently, significant reduction in
poverty has taken place in the last four decades – the incidence of poverty as
measured by headcount rate declined from more than 80 percent in 1973-74 to
31.5 percent in 2010 (BBS, Report on the Household Income and Expenditure
Survey 2010). More
4 Environment and natural resource management
Human lives and livelihood in
Bangladesh are intricately intertwined with nature. Consequently, no process of
development and eradication of poverty can be conceived of without putting
caring for environment and sustainable development at the centre stage. On the
other hand, as the poor depend heavily on nature for their livelihood, without
the whole-hearted involvement of the poor, caring for environment becomes an
extremely difficult task. Bangladesh is a signatory of the Multilateral
Environmental Agreement by which government is committed to undertake certain
environmental management actions which will be largely beneficial to the poor.More
Urbanization
as Environmental Issues
Urban areas particularly the
big cities including Dhaka have serious pollution problems with respect to
solid waste management, growth of slum areas without supply of clean water, and
sanitation facilities, with congested living conditions, inadequate drainage
system, and untreated industrial waste disposal. Most of these factors affect
the urban poor in terms of general hardship, ill-health and even death. As
usual it is the women and the children who are the worst victims. Such
appalling conditions also adversely affect labour productivity due to disease and
morbidity and thus increases vulnerability of the poor. More
Water resources
Even though a water resource
is an integral part of economic and social development for Bangladesh, it is
very poorly managed. PRSP-2005 has identified the major areas of concern in
water resource management as floods, drainage congestion, droughts,
cross-boundary flows, river erosion and accretion, cyclones, water quality and
rights, surface salinity, groundwater quality, climate change and environmental
management.
According to the PRSP-2005
the emerging issues of importance in water resources development and management
are: MORE
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Natural Disaster
Natural disaster is a regular
phenomenon in Bangladesh due to its unique geographical location (Himalaya to
the north and Bay of Bengal to the south). Key natural disasters are riverine
flood, tropical cyclones, droughts, river erosion and earthquake. It is
reported that disasters that occurred between 1991 and 2000, resulted in nearly
200,000 deaths and causing US $ 5.9 billion in damages with high losses in
agriculture and infrastructure. The direct annual cost to the national economy
of natural disasters over the last 10 years (damage and lost production) is
estimated to be between 0.5% and 1% of GDP. More
Flood
Flood is a regular natural
disaster occurring in Bangladesh and thus entailing huge damage to the economy.
On average, approximately one quarter of the country is inundated. Once in
every 4-5 years, however there is a severe flood that may cover over 60% of the
country and cause loss of life and substantial damage to infrastructure,
housing, agriculture and livelihoods. In the last 25 years, Bangladesh has
experienced five severe floods (Table 2.1), the most damaging one being in 1998
covering more than two-thirds area of the country. More
Cyclone and Storm Surges
The Bay of Bengal is a known
breeding ground of tropical cyclone and hit the coastal area of Bangladesh
during pre-monsoon (April and May) and post-monsoon (October and November). One
of the reasons why it hits Bangladesh coast often is the conical shape of the
Bay of Bengal. Over the last 50 years, 15 severe cyclones with wind speed
ranging from 140 to 225 km/hr have hit the coastal area of Bangladesh of which
7 hit in pre-monsoon and rest in the post-monsoon season.More
Drought
Bangladesh experiences major
droughts once in 5 years. Droughts at local scale are much more frequent and
affect part of the crop life cycle. The western part of the country is
vulnerable to drought during pre-monsoon period. During the last 50 years,
Bangladesh suffered about 20 drought conditions. The drought condition in
north-western Bangladesh in recent decades had led to a shortfall of rice
production of 3.5 million tonnes in the 1990s. If other losses, such as, to
other crops (all rabi crops, sugarcane, tobacco, wheat, etc) as well as to
perennial agricultural resources, such as, bamboo, betel nut, fruits like
litchi, mango, jackfruit, banana etc. are considered, the loss will be
substantially much higher.MORE
River bank erosion
Rivers in Bangladesh are morphologically highly
dynamic. Erosion processes are highly unpredictable, and not compensated by
accretion. These processes also have dramatic consequences in the lives of
people living in the erosion prone areas. Around 10,000 hectares land is eroded
by river per year in Bangladesh affecting about 1 million people on a yearly
basis. Kurigram, Gaibandha, Jamalpur, Bogra, Sirajganj, Tangail, Pabna and
Manikganj districts lie in the erosion prone area along Jamuna River. Erosion
of total area and settlement is higher along the left bank than that of the
right bank. Along Padma River, there are the districts of Rajbari, Faridpur,
Manikganj, Dhaka, Munshiganj and Shariatpur. Chandpur on Lower Meghna is also
seriously erosion prone.More
Earthquake
Bangladesh and the northeastern Indian states have
long been one of the seismically active regions of the world, and have
experienced numerous large earthquakes during the past 200 years. The record of
approximately 150 years shows that Bangladesh and the surrounding regions experienced
seven major earthquakes. The Great Indian earthquake in 1897 and the Srimongal
Earthquake in 1918 were the most destructive. In the recent past, a number of
tremors of moderate intensity had already taken place in and around Bangladesh.
Dhaka city has been suffering from mild tremors in recent times. More
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Climate change
The climate of Bangladesh is
influenced by monsoon climate and characterized by high temperature, heavy
rainfall, often-excessive humidity and marked seasonal variations. Although
more than half the area is north of the Tropics, the effect of the Himalayan
mountain chain is such as to make the climate more or less tropical throughout
the year. The climate is controlled primarily by summer and winter winds, and
partly by pre-monsoon (March to May) and post-monsoon (late October to
November) circulation. The Southwest Monsoon originates over the Indian Ocean,
and carries warm, moist and unstable air. The easterly Trade Winds are also
warm, but relatively drier. The Northeast Monsoon comes from the Siberian
Desert, retaining most of its pristine cold, and blows over the country,
usually in gusts, during dry winter months.More