In turn, Bangladeshi-origin scientists have been at the forefront of climate change research for close to three decades[13] and they continue to have a prominent role in shaping the discourse on climate change through contributions to global frameworks and reviews, including the Assessment Reports of the IPCC.
The interface of governmental and non-governmental actors on the issue of climate change has, over the years, spurred the development of adaptation and mitigation policies in Bangladesh. In the post-Kyoto period, the government of Bangladesh established a Climate Change Cell to assistin climate change-related policy and to raise awareness about the phenomenon in affected areas.[14] To that effect the Cell has conducted research projects, facilitated climate change modelling, and established a climate change database.[15] In 2005, Bangladesh prepared a National Adaptation Plan of Action (NAPA) with 15 priority activities, with the first of such priorities, coastal afforestation, currently being implemented.[16]
To complement NAPA, the government prepared a Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) in 2008 and 2009 with the objective of paving a low-carbon path towards development. The BCCSAP has six broad areas of action, including, inter alia, social protection and health; disaster management and capacity building, which address some of the particular concerns raised by the IPCC in its Assessment Reports. The Reports state that as a result of climate change, vector and water-borne diseases will increase, as will levels of salinity and flooding due to sea level rises.[17] The government has decided to manage the challenge of such diseases proliferating by conducting research on the impact of climate change on health, developing strategies to prevent such outbreaks, and investing in cures.[18] With regard to the impact of sea level rises, the government has pledged to collect data on the phenomena, research its socio-economic and health impacts and consider the feasibility of relocating of relocating industries.[19]
To assist with implementing the BCCSAP, the government established a Climate Change Trust Fund (CCTF) in 2010 and allocated USD 100 million for its first year. This was complemented with a Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund (BCCRF) of USD 110 million, provided by international development partners, and USD 110 million as grants and concessional loans from the World Bank-administered Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience (PPCR).[20] In addition, between 20-25% of government expenditure for its annual development programme has been on programmes with a climate change dimension.[21]
Finally, to underline government’s commitment to address climate change, the legislature amended the Bangladesh Constitution by inserting a new fundamental principle of State Policy: “The State shall endeavour to protect and improve the environment and to preserve and safeguard the natural resources, bio-diversity, wetlands, forests and wild life for the present and future citizens.”[22]
The Legal Framework
To augment these initiatives, it has been necessary to implement environmental protection legislation. In 1995, The Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act[23] was passed, “to provide for conservation of environmental standards and control/mitigate environmental pollution.” While GHG emissions are not specifically mentioned in the Act, the term “pollution” is widely defined under Section 2 and can be read into the Act.[24] The Act provides wide powers to the Director General of the Department of Environment to “take such measures as he considers necessary and expedient for the conservation of the environment and…the control and mitigation of environmental pollution”, which can, inter alia, include examining equipment and machinery to ensure they do not cause pollution and advising the Government to avoid the usage of environmentally harmful processes and commodities.[25]
The Director General can be informed about pollution and degradation by any person likely to be affected by it[26] and can direct that corrective measures be taken and compensation be paid by guilty parties.[27] Furthermore, under this Act, vehicles that emit smoke injurious to health or the environment are banned.[28] Despite the wide range of powers granted to the Director General to ensure the control of pollution, the Act has been criticised for not specifically addressing climate change and the abatement of GHG emissions.
Alternatively, affected persons can also commence proceedings at Environment Courts, which are governed by The Environment Court Act, 2010.[29] Courts under this Act can try offences under Bangladesh’s environmental laws and are empowered to confiscate
equipment used in the commission of such an offence, make directions not to continue or repeat an act and order preventative or remedial measures in relation to injuries to the environment.[30]
In 2010, The Climate Change Trust Fund Act, 2010[31] was passed, so as to institutionalise the Climate Change Trust Fund and to ensure the transparency of its activities. The objectives of the Act include enhancing the adaptability of those affected and ensuring necessary technology transfers and requisite financial investment is made to combat the adverse effects of climate change.[32]
Adaptation
Under the aegis of these policies and laws, Bangladesh has enhanced its capacity to manage the effects of climate change. More than 100 Projects have already been approved under the CCTF for, inter alia, technology transfers, action research and knowledge management. Funds from the BCCRF have helped subsidize 1,500 solar panels for irrigation pumps[33], thus reducing costs and lowering the usage of diesel. Funds have also paid for the construction of 61 multipurpose shelters in Satkhira and other districts.[34]
8
The District of Satkhira, in south western Bangladesh is famous for its shrimp cultivation. It is estimated that Bangladesh earns approximately USD 454 million from the export of Satkhira shrimps alone,[1] yet, this lucrative industry is now under threat from the effects of climate change: variegated average annual temperatures coupled with a gradual increase in salinity levels and coastal flooding, has led to a gradual fall in the annual rate of shrimp production, with some researchers concluding that the land will soon become unsuitable for such production.[2] While some view this development with concern, others voice the opinion that shrimp production itself compounds the undesirable effects of climate change for the entire region by using a large share of the region’s limited amount of freshwater, thereby hampering agriculture and causing species of mangrove trees to become extinct.[3] The repercussions of climate change are all too evident in Satkhira, with the example of the District serving as a microcosm of the challenges faced by Bangladesh as a whole.
Climate Change in Bangladesh
According to the Global Climate Risk Index, between 1992 and 2011, USD 1.7 billion of damage and a 1.18% loss of GDP was caused by climate change per year.[4] As a deltaic country, crisscrossed by powerful Himalayan rivers, Bangladesh has a proclivity for natural disasters in the form of floods and cyclones. Research conducted by the Government of Bangladesh (‘GOB’) indicates that as a result of climate change, these effects will worsen, with storm surges becoming more intense, increased precipitation and flooding after the monsoon, inundation of coastal areas, including the Sundarbans, droughts during winter and a vacillation of high and low temperatures.[5] It has, for instance, already been observed that seawater has intruded 80km upstream and regions like Cox’s Bazar have already experienced an annual sea level rise of 7.8mm.[6] This will most drastically impact the agricultural sector, which provides 65% of total employment and generates 20% of the country’s GDP, by diminishing crop yields and biodiversity.[7]
In the long term, according to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) published in September, 2013, global sea levels will rise between 8cm to 98 cm by 2100, depending on the amount of CO2 emitted and mitigation efforts, with low lying countries like Bangladesh faced with a 20 cm hike in sea levels within the next three decades.[8] The extent to which the hike will impact Bangladesh is contentious, with a recent study suggesting that the IPCC has ignored the role sediment plays in countering sea level rises when predicting that 17% of the country will be inundated by 2050.[9] However, if the rate of sea-level rise is faster than the level of sedimentation and if there is a collapse of the Antarctic ice sheet, then, large expanses of Bangladesh’s coast may be submerged within this century.[10]
Hence, while climate change remains a divisive issue in some parts of the world, given its visible presence in Bangladesh, it has been acknowledged as a pressing reality by both governmental and non-governmental actors.
Government Policy
At the governmental level, Bangladesh has ratified a number of international multilateral environmental agreements, the most notable of which are the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol.[11] Bangladesh has been an active, leading participant in multi-lateral discussions and has, as recently as in the 67th General Assembly in 2012, called for the formation of an alliance of countries that are most vulnerable to climate change, an international GHG emissions agreement based on the principle of “common and differentiated responsibilities” and the establishment of a “Green Climate Fund”.[12]