The sea level is rising at a rate of 5.8 mm per year in the Bangladesh coastal regions
The coastal sea level in the country has been rising from 3.8 to 5.8 mm every year for the last 30 years. This information has come up in an ongoing study on sea-level rise.
During a meeting held recently, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Public Administration, Bangladesh, has released this information at the National Parliamentary Bhaban, Bangladesh.
According to the concerned sources, the Ministry of Public Administration had recommended to all the ministries and agencies to take urgent action on the issue of increasing human mortality due to lightning, natural calamities due to continuous increase in temperature, and reduction of cultivable land.
According to the ministry of Forest, Environment, and climate change (MoEFCC), Bangladesh, to assess the sea-level rise and associated risk, the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) and the Center for Environmental Geographic Information Services (CEGIS) has initiated a research project titled
“Projection of Sea Level Rise and Assessments of its Sectoral (Agriculture, Water, and Infrastructure) Impact.” Bangladesh Climate Change Trust has funded the project.
Draft results of the study already obtained using data from the satellite. It shows that in the last 30 years, the coastal sea level of Bangladesh has been increasing at the rate of 3.8 to 5.8 mm per year.
The MoEFCC said the study aims to measure the sea-level rise and its impact on agriculture, water, and infrastructure, which will help determine the future course of action in tackling climate change.
Sea level rise is likely to affect coastal areas and inland areas like Gopalganj District in Bangladesh. To this end, the water development board and other organizations have to take integrated activities.
Notably, to prevent climate change impact in the northern part of the country, the Forest Department is planting 87,773 palm saplings in the current fiscal year 2021-22.
Apart from this, 2,39,630 hectares of coastal afforestation completed in the coastal areas since 1966 to protect the coastal population from cyclones and tidal surges and stabilize the chars in the sea and river estuaries.
Of this, 45,375 hectares of land have returned to the Ministry of Land as suitable for human habitation and cultivation.
According to a press release issued by the Parliament Secretariat, Bangladesh, the committee recommended formulating a comprehensive policy between the Ministries of Land, Water Resources and Environment, Forest, and Climate Change on the demarcation and ownership of sand extract areas and water retention areas for sand extraction and fish culture respectively.
