Executive summary
The climate change problem is related to changes in the concentration of the greenhouse gases (water vapor, CO2, CH4, N2O, and CFCs), which trap infrared radiation from the Earth’s surface and thus cause the greenhouse effect. Coping with climatic events like drought, cyclones and flooding are not new to Bangladesh. There has been an important reduction in the number of deaths from cyclones due to the establishment of efficient early warning systems and the construction of cyclone shelters. The impacts of climate change are anticipated to exacerbate these existing stresses and constitute a serious impediment to poverty reduction and economic development. Given that Bangladesh has relatively low emissions of green house gases, the major effort will focus on adaptation measures to cope with increased flooding, salinity intrusion and falling agricultural yields. Increased erosion and accretion (an increase of land by the deposit of waterborne sediment), inundation and cyclones are expected to have the greatest impact and cause damage on infrastructure. Furthermore, investment in infrastructure, roads etc, can in itself aggravate the problem with water logging by reducing the natural drainage capacity. The coastal zone is most prone to suffer from such problems. To build the institutional capacity of research centers and expertise of researchers to develop climate resilient cultivars of food and other crops. Capacity building and Institutional Strengthening which objective is that, Integration of Climate Change management in all aspects of development action. Mitigation and Low Carbon Development which objective is to improve energy use efficiency in transport sector and benefit from CDM process. In this report, discussed about the policy of Bangladesh climate change strategy 2009-2018. This includes all the policy related to climate change & how we can make the security of our environment.
Background
Most scientists believe that human activity is altering the composition of the atmosphere by increasing the concentration of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Greenhouse gases occur naturally in the atmosphere and their presence results in what atmospheric scientists call the greenhouse effect. It is important to remember that the greenhouse effect is what keeps the earth warm enough to be habitable. The current concern is directed at an enhanced greenhouse effect, one that would put more heat-absorbing gases into the atmosphere, thereby increasing global temperatures. The enhanced greenhouse effect has been linked to increased GHG emissions from human activities. Nitrogen (78%) and oxygen (21%) constitute 99% of the dry atmosphere. The rest of the gases, including GHGs, are collectively classified as “trace” gases due to their low concentrations.
This section provides a brief about the processes and properties associated with global & Bangladesh climate change. The general concepts found in this section are:
- Earth’s climate has always changed; it is the rate of change that is of current concern to scientists.
- Carbon is critical to the biosphere and must continue cycling to support life on Earth.
- The carbon cycle includes sources, sinks, and release agents.
- Carbon dioxide is an important greenhouse gas.
- Living organisms in an ecosystem can have profound effects upon the local atmosphere.
- Changes in vegetation can have profound effects upon wind speed.
- Understanding the major greenhouse gases is necessary to identify the current trends in atmospheric concentrations and climate change.
Human activity has been linked with increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Origin of the report
Barrister Masum (assistant Professor), the honorable course instructors of ‘Compensation management’, assigned us to prepare an assignment on November 04, 2010 about the “Climate change law & Bangladesh”. The date of submission of this report is November 26, 2010.
Purpose of the report
I am very much passionate to be an executive of the coming days. So, I have to gather more experience beside my study. I do not want to concentrate my lessons only in classroom but to implement it in my practical life that will help me in my professional life. The purposes of preparing of this report are-
• To relate my theoretical report writing knowledge with the practical working experience.
• To know about the Climate change Process.
• To know about the process of Climate change process & the future of Bangladesh.
Limitations of the report
Though I am lucky to get the chance to prepare this report but unfortunately I have faced some difficulties. I tried to overcome the difficulties and gave my best effort. When preparing this report, some difficulties that I have faced:
- Internet Problem
The internet server sometimes made hazard & I can’t get connect with it so it’s very time spending for collect data from internet & also speed of internet service also made hazard.
- Shortage of time
This extensive type of repot needs too much time to prepare it. But I have to prepare this report within a very short span of time. Other course & classes are also very busy now, so it was hard to bring my concentration on this matter.
Methodology
Sources of collecting data:
The report is based on data & information, which have been collected from various sources. They are stated below:
a) Secondary sources
– Various books & journals related with climate change.
b) Interview
Method of collecting Data
To do this report first I have gone to the AUST’s computer lab& libraries. I have also collected information about the climate change in Bangladesh from the internet. Collect information from the duty assistant of lab. Then I have related all those information with the currently studying course “Business Law”.
Definition of climate change
The climate change problem is related to changes in the concentration of the greenhouse gases (water vapor, CO2, CH4, N2O, and CFCs), which trap infrared radiation from the Earth’s surface and thus cause the greenhouse effect. This effect is a natural phenomenon, which helps maintain a stable temperature and climate on Earth. Human activities, such as fossil fuel combustion, deforestation, and some industrial processes have led to an increase in greenhouse gases concentration. Consequently, more infrared radiation has been captured in the atmosphere, which causes changes in the air temperature, precipitation patterns, sea-level rise, and melting of glaciers. Climate change refers to a change in the state of the climate that can be identified by changes in the mean &/or the variability of its properties
Climate change analysis
There was a time when people thought of the environment, they thought of its beauty; but now as the natural beauty of the earth that disappears, many people around the world have awoken to the realities of just how fragile our earth actually is. Central to this issue is pollution, which involves the introduction of harmful substances into the air, land, and water. Although pollution has been occurring throughout the earth’s history, the rate by which the human species have contributed to the amount of pollution that has entered our environment over the past several hundred years far exceeds the earth’s inherent ability to heal itself.
The most general definition of climate change is a change in the statistical properties of the climate system when considered over periods of decades or longer, regardless of cause. Accordingly, fluctuations on periods shorter than a few decades, such as El Niño, do not represent climate change.
Terminology:
The term sometimes is used to refer specifically to climate change caused by human activity; for example, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change defines climate change as “a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods. In the latter sense climate change is synonymous with global warming.
Causes
Factors that can shape climate are climate forcings. These include such processes as variations in solar radiation, deviations in the Earth’s orbit, mountain-building and continental drift, and changes in greenhouse gas concentrations. There are a variety of climate change feedbacks that can either amplify or diminish the initial forcing. Some parts of the climate system, such as the oceans and ice caps, respond slowly in reaction to climate forcing because of their large mass. Therefore, the climate system can take centuries or longer to fully respond to new external forcings.
The reasons of climate change
The recent attention given to the greenhouse effect and global warming is based on the recorded increases in concentrations of some of the greenhouse gases due to human activity. Of particular interest are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and ozone. With the exception of chlorofluorocarbons, all of these gases occur naturally and are also produced by human activity.
Water vapor: is the most important GHG on the planet. Unlike most of the other atmospheric gases, water vapor is considered to be a ‘variable’ gas; that is, the percentage of water vapor in the atmosphere can vary greatly depending on the location and source of the air. For example, over the tropical oceans, water vapor may account for 4% of the total volume of gases, while over deserts or at high altitudes, it may be nearly absent. Water vapor absorbs heat readily. When discussing gobal warming, however, people often don’t consider water vapor. Why not? The main reason is that human activity is not directly changing water vapor content. However, we do directly influence other GHGs. Although other GHGs are individually less important than water vapor, increasing their concentrations may affect global climate in significant and measurable ways.
Carbon dioxide (): is considered the most important human-influenced GHG. Scientific measurements reveal an unmistakable global increase that is rapid and escalating. This increase arises primarily from the burning of fossil fuels (motorized vehicles, electric power plants, and homes heated with gas or oil) and the burning and clearing of forested land for agricultural purposes.
Methane (): is largely a product of natural biologic processes, but its output can be accelerated by human activities. is emitted from the decay of organic matter in waterlogged soils (for example, wetlands and rice paddies) and from the digestive tracts of grazing animals (for example, ruminants). The additions from human activities include the expansion of rice agriculture, the increased number of livestock, the increased number of landfills, and leakage from natural gas pipelines.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs ): have no natural source; they are produced entirely by human activity. CFCs have historically been used widely as refrigerants in air conditioners, refrigerators, freezers, and heat pumps. They are found in some foam plastics and used in some electronics manufacturing. Even though CFC production has been vastly reduced, these compounds remain in the atmosphere for a long time; we shall see their effects as GHGs for many years.
Nitrous oxide (): is a naturally occurring GHG, which has increased significantly in recent years due to human activity. is emitted from coal-burning power plants and can be released from the breakdown of chemical fertilizers in the soil.
Ozone () is also a greenhouse gas. It is important not to confuse the presence of the ozone in the stratosphere (a good thing) with the presence of ozone in the troposphere (a bad thing). In the troposphere, ozone can be a major component of urban smog – damaging crops and aggravating respiratory problems as well as enhancing the greenhouse effect.
The concentrations of these GHG are increasing (although, thanks to recent global agreements, CFCs are being largely eliminated and their concentrations have begun to drop in the lower atmosphere). The emissions are not uniformly distributed globally. Most of the emissions come from the more developed countries, where power generation, power consumption, and living standards are highest.
The effects of climate change
Bangladesh is a central point of reference for the injustice of climate change. Its per capita energy consumption is the equivalent of about one liter of oil per week, contributing a small fraction of 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, Yet the country is listed in numerous risk assessments as one of the most vulnerable in the world to the effects of climate change.
Table 1: Causes of impacts, vulnerable areas and impacted sectors
Effects of Climate Change
Rising sea levels threaten inundation and saline intrusion in the southern coastal region, the risk accentuated by prediction of greater cyclone intensity. In a climate pincer movement from the north, melting Himalayan glaciers may disrupt the flows of the three great rivers, first with excess flooding and eventually with diminished volume. Erratic monsoon patterns and longer periods of drought in the north complete the roll call of climate predictions for Bangladesh.
Scientists are squabbling over the extent of these effects. The World Meteorological Organization recently suggested that tropical cyclones may decrease in frequency, contrary to mainstream climate science. Questions about the Himalayan glaciers have continued in the wake of the correction by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) of its prediction that they would disappear by 2030. The impact on rice yields is another key variable.
The IPCC warning that 20 million people will be forced to migrate from the Low Elevation Coastal Zone by 2050 relates broadly to occupation of land less than one metre above sea level. The estimate has been moderated to 6-8 million in the latest version of the Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan published in 2009. Conversely, some observers caution that the sea level is reported to be rising faster in the Bay of Bengal than elsewhere in the world.
Whatever the eventual resolution of these scientific debates, it is not disputed that, as global temperature continues to rise, the relationship between people and the land in Bangladesh is subject to increasing risk of destabilization. Anthropogenic global warming will to a greater or lesser degree aggravate a range of environmental stresses that already expose the limitations of very poor families.
Adaptation and Disaster Management
Disaster management is not new to Bangladesh. High level institutional structures are in place to manage risks and coordinate response. Spending over the last 30 years is believed to have exceeded $10 billion.
This has been invested in polder defenses along the coastline, river dredging, emergency shelter construction and early warning systems. The shelters were credited with protecting tens of thousands of lives from Cyclone Sidr.
Bangladesh is therefore well positioned to play a leadership role amongst developing countries on climate change adaptation and disaster management. A Multi Donor Trust Fund for Climate Change is in place to attract international support for the 38 programmes identified in the Action Plan. A National Climate Change Committee coordinates ministries to ensure that there are no climate blind spots in government policy.
Adaptation programmes recommended in the Action Plan include familiar approaches such as research into stress-tolerant rice varieties and encouragement of diversified livelihoods. Innovative ideas range from the creation of a Centre for Training and Knowledge Management to mainstreaming climate change in the media.
Bangladesh estimates that it needs $5 billion in the period to 2015 to kick start its adaptation programmers. The government is certainly taking an assertive position in international negotiations, claiming as much as 15% of any climate funds earmarked for developing countries. The justification is that more people will be affected in Bangladesh than elsewhere.
Another ambitious demand in the international domain is for new international laws to protect the rights of climate refugees. Bangladesh is conscious that its cities are already chronically overcrowded and that, where local adaptation strategies are impractical, migrants may be forced into neighboring countries.
(From Angel Eye Media.)
ElectricityAccess:
Household electricity coverage in Bangladesh is about 40%, although those connected to the grid receive an intermittent service at best. Almost all rural villages use kerosene for lighting and an assortment of biomass for cooking – principally wood fuel and dried cow dung. The country’s Poverty Reduction Strategy recognizes that rural electrification is vital and the government has set a target of universal coverage by 2020. Given the preponderance of rivers across the country, a conventional grid structure is viewed as impractical, even if the necessary capital investment were available. The challenge of bringing renewable energy to rural communities has so far been pursued more vigorously by the NGO and social entrepreneurial sectors than by government. Household solar power for lighting and low-level appliances is the favored model, financed by micro-credit. Lead providers such as Grameen Shakti believe that they can supply 10 million households by 2012.
The threat of climate change
Human societies have long been subject to disruption by climate change. In the past, most of these variations have reflected natural phenomena, from fluctuations in levels of solar radiation to periodic eruptions of volcanoes. But in future most climate change is likely to result from human actions and in particular from the burning of fossil fuels and changes in global patterns of land use. These and other developments have been increasing the atmospheric concentrations of certain gases – chiefly carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide – called greenhouse gases (GHG s) because, accumulating in the upper atmosphere, they act like the roof of a greenhouse, trapping long-wave radiation and thus raising temperatures and provoking other forms of climatic disruption. This process has been accelerating. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased exponentially from about 280 parts per million (ppm) in 1800 to about 380 ppm today and there have been similar increases for methane and nitrous oxide. The rate at which the levels will rise in the future is difficult to estimate; this will depend on a complex interplay of many factors, including rates of population expansion, economic growth and patterns of consumption. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC ) has projected that by 21 00 atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide could have reached between 540 ppm and 970 ppm and that, as a result, global surface temperature could rise by between 1.4°C and 5.8°C. However, the effects will be not be uniform. For one thing, the changes will differ from one location to another; global warming will, for example, be greater at higher latitudes than in the tropics. And there could also be different weather consequences; while some regions will have more intense rainfall, others will have more prolonged dry periods and a number of regions will experience both. The social consequences too will vary, depending, for example, on levels of development; in South Asia extra tropical storms could kill tens of thousands of people, while in the United States they might kill fewer people but lead to billions of dollars worth of damage. And even within the same society there will be differential social impacts; for young people greater heat stress may simply be a minor inconvenience, while for the elderly it can be fatal. But across the world and in every country those most at risk will typically be the poorest, and in developing countries these will often be those who depend most for their survival on a healthy natural environment, such as ethnic tribes or nomadic groups, fishing communities, smallholders and livestock herders.
The law for climate change in Bangladesh
Bangladesh climate change strategy & action plan 2009 is an updated & revised version of the one prepared originally in 2008 with professional,administrative & logistics inputs from many people which included first & foremost the ministry of environment & forests represented. The present & updated version publised in 2009 has been prepared by drafting/revision comitee formed by the ministerial review comitee hesded by air vice mersal ® A.K. Khandaker MpandHon. Bangladfesh government is fully comitted to take all measures so that climate change is managed in a way that the people are fully protected from its adverse impactsas as promised in our manifesto. The tasks, however are many & complex. These depend on the state of science national development prioritiesas well as the status of climate negotiations that are expected to come to a fruitfull conclution, at least for the time being, in copenhegen in December 2009.
BCCSAP(Bangladesh climate Change Strategy & Action Plan) PROPGRAMMES
Theme: 1: Food Security, Social Protection and Health
Theme: 2: Comprehensive Disaster Management
Theme: 3: Infrastructure
Theme: 4: Research, and Knowledge Management
Theme: 5: Mitigation and Low Carbon Development
Theme: 6: Capacity Building and Institutional Strengthening
Programme:
Theme: Food Security, Social Protection and Health
Program: Institutional capacity and research towards climate resilient cultivars and their dissemination
Objective: To build the institutional capacity of research centers and expertise of researchers to develop climate resilient cultivars of food and other crops
Time Limit: Medium to Long term
Responsibility: BRRI, BARI and other NARS organization
Programme
Theme: Food Security, Social Protection and Health
Programme: Development of climate resilient cropping systems and production technologies
Objective: The development of climate resilient cropping systems appropriate to different
agro climatic regions and sub regions
Time Limit: Medium and long term
Responsibility: Ministry of Agriculture, NARS
Programme
Theme: Food Security, Social Protection and Health
Programme: Adaptation against drought, salinity submergence and heat
Objective: To develop drought management options for farmers
Time Limit: Short to medium term
Responsibility: Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Water Resources, in association with the extension service
Programme
Theme: T1. Food Security, Social Protection and Health
Programme: P4. Adaptation in the fisheries sector
Objective: The development of adaptation strategies in the fisheries sector
Time Limit: Medium to long term
Responsibility: Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Department of Fisheries, Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, in association with selected NGOs
Programme
Theme: Food Security, Social Protection and Health
Programme: P5. Adaptation in livestock sector
Objective: Development of options for adaptation in the livestock sector
Programme
Theme: Food Security, Social Protection and Health
Programme: Adaptation in health sector
Objective: Research and monitoring on the impacts of climate change on disease patterns and the social and economic costs of disease. Develop adaptative measures
Time Limit: Medium to long term
Responsibility: Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in association with research centers (IDCCR,B) and others
Programme
Theme: Food Security, Social Protection and Health
Programme: P7. Water and sanitation programme for climate vulnerable areas
Objective: Ensure adequate water supplies and improved sanitation
Time Limit: Short, medium and long term
Responsibility: Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperative and various local government bodies and NGOs in rural and urban Bangladesh
Programme
Theme: Food Security, Social Protection and Health
Programme: Livelihood protection in ecologically fragile areas
Objective: To address, in a timely and effective way, adverse impacts on livelihoods in
ecologically vulnerable areas
Time Limit: Short, medium and long term
Responsibility: Various line ministries, in collaboration with NGOs
Programme
Theme: Food Security, Social Protection and Health
Programme: Livelihood protection of vulnerable socio economic groups (including women)
Objective: Ensure equitable and sustainable development of all vulnerable socio economic groups
Time Limit: Short, medium and long term
Responsibility: Various line ministries, including Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Food and Disaster Management, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in partnership with NGOs
Programme
Theme: Comprehensive Disaster Management
Programme: Improvement of flood forecasting and early warning systems
Objective: Improvement of the existing flood forecasting and early warning systems by
increasing lead times and strengthening dissemination mechanisms
Time Limit: Immediate and continuing
Responsibility: Ministry of Water Resources and its various agencies; civil society organizations active in disaster management and media
Programme
Theme: Comprehensive Disaster Management
Programme: P2. Improvement of cyclone and storm surge warning
Objective: Improvements in cyclone and storm surge warnings and dissemination
Time Limit: Immediate
Responsibility: Ministry of Food and Disaster Management, Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, NGOs and CBOs (community based organizations) working in the coastal areas and media
Programme
Theme: Comprehensive Disaster Management
Programme: P3. Awareness raising and public education towards climate resilience
Objective: Community based disaster preparedness and improved resilience
Time Limit: Immediate and continuing
Responsibility: Ministry of Food and Disaster Management, Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, NGOs, CBOs working in the coastal areas, media (print and electronic)
Programme
Theme: Comprehensive Disaster Management
Programme: Risk management against loss of income and property
Objective: To put in place an effective insurance system for risk management against loss of income and property
Time Limit: Medium to long term
Responsibility: Ministry of Finance and other line ministries, and the insurance sector and NGOs
Programme
Theme: Infrastructure
Programme: Repair and maintenance of existing flood embankments
Objective: Ensure continued flood protection by repairing and rehabilitating existing flood embankments
Time Limit: Immediate
Responsibility: Ministry of Water Resources and its agencies
Programme
Theme: Infrastructure
Programme: Repair and maintenance of existing cyclone shelters
Objective: To make existing cyclone shelters safe and functional
Time Limit: Immediate
Responsibility: Ministry of Food and Disaster Management, Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, private sector under their CSR programmes and NGOs
Programme
Theme: Infrastructure
Programme: Repair and maintenance of existing coastal polders
Objective: Repair and reconstruct the existing polders in the coastal belt of the Bangladesh
Time Limit: Medium term
Responsibility: Ministry of Water Resources and its agencies
Programme
Theme: Infrastructure
Programme: Improvement of urban drainage
Objective: To prevent drainage congestion and water logging that may result from heavy
rainfall in urban areas.
Time Limit: Medium term
Responsibility: Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperative with the Local Government Engineering Department, Dhaka WASA, Chittagong WASA
Programme
Theme: Infrastructure
Programme: Adaptation against floods
Objective: To make flood prone areas more resilient
Time Limit: Medium to long term
Responsibility: Ministry of Water Resources and its agencies, Ministry of Food and Disaster Management.
Programme
Theme: Infrastructure
Programme: P6. Adaptation against future cyclones and storm surges
Objective: Plan and implement an investment programme to ensure that the coastal area,
including all islands, adapts to future cyclones and storm surges
Time Limit: Medium to long term
Responsibility: Ministry of Water Resources, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Ministry of Food and Disaster Management
Programme
Theme: Infrastructure
Programme: Planning, design and construction of river training works
Objective: Put in place effective river training works to control river bank erosion
Time Limit: Medium to long term
Responsibility: Ministry of Water Resources with support from IWM, IWFM, CEGIS, WARPO and RRI
Programme
Theme: Infrastructure
Programme: Planning, design and implementation of resuscitation of the network of rivers and khals through dredging and de siltation work
Objective: To revive the networks of rivers and khals of the country
Time Limit: Short to medium
Responsibility: Ministry of Water Resources, Bangladesh Water Development Board, Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperative through Union Parishad, Ministry of Food and Management and Local Administration
Programme
Theme: Research, and Knowledge Management
Programme: P1. Establishment of a centre for research, knowledge management and training on climate change
Objective: To increase institutional and human capacity on research and knowledge
management related to climate change, and to train sector professionals
Time Limit: Immediate and continuing
Responsibility: Ministry of Environment and Forests, research organizations, universities
Programme
Theme: Research and Knowledge Management
Programme: Climate change modeling at national and sub national levels
Objective: Develop, maintain and update a detailed and operational General Circulation Model (GCM) for Bangladesh
Time Limit: Immediate and continuing
Responsibility: Bangladesh Meteorological Department, Universities, Research Organizations, FFWC
Programme
Theme: Research and Knowledge Management
Programme: Preparatory studies for adaptation against sea level rise (SLR) and its impacts
Objective: Monitoring and modeling to predict sea level rise (SLR) and its impacts
Time Limit: Short, medium and long term
Responsibility: Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Shipping, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Industry and Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources
Programme
Theme: Research and Knowledge Management
Programme: P4. Monitoring of ecosystem and biodiversity changes and their impacts
Objective: Understanding ecosystem dynamics and their implications for biodiversity changes, and adaptation strategies
Time Limit: Medium to long term
Responsibility: Ministry of Environment and Forests, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock
Programme
Theme: Research and Knowledge Management
Programme: Macroeconomic and sectoral economic impacts of climate change
Objective: To identify likely macroeconomic and sectoral impacts of climate change and plan adaptation and mitigation strategies
Time Limit: Medium term
Responsibilities: Ministry of Finance, sectoral ministries, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Ministry of Social Welfare, Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs, Universities, Research Organizations chars monga
Programme
Theme: Research and Knowledge Management
Programme: Monitoring of internal and external migration of adversely impacted population and providing support to them through capacity building for their rehabilitation in new environment
Objective: Develop a monitoring mechanism of migration of climate change affected people and monitoring of internal as well as external migration