Climate change to displace 28 percent population
Says research of Norwegian Refugee Council
Nearly 28 percent of the country's population would be displaced as a consequence of climate change, according to a research of Norwegian Refugee Council, an NGO.
The research findings were made public yesterday in a discussion organised by ActionAid Bangladesh and NRC at a hotel in the capital.
The discussion on "Community Resiliency and Disaster-Related Displacement in South Asia" was held ahead of the climate change conference in Paris.
Around 280,000 people are internally displaced due to natural disasters and around 200,000 due to river erosion ever year in Bangladesh, said Dorien Braam, a researcher of PraxisLabs of Kenya.
The report also said that in a worst case scenario 18 percent of the country would be flooded due to sea-level rise.
Citing predictions of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the research said a 28-centimetre rise in sea-level would flood
up to 96 percent of the Sundarbans.
Between 20 and 25 percent of the country becomes inundated each year due to drainage issues and river overflowing, the report added, citing the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief.
Though Bangladesh has made commendable progress in building awareness of adaptation regarding natural disasters, the country still remains vulnerable to river erosion, drought and flooding as a consequence of climate change, said Dr Mi Zhou, a researcher of PraxisLabs of Hong Kong.
Foreign Secretary Md Shahidul Haque and NRC Asia Head Adam Combs, among others, also spoke at the programme moderated by ActionAid Country Director Farah Kabir.