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Multi Hazard Vulnerabilities of the Coastal Land of Bangladesh

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Climate Change Adaptation Actions in Bangladesh

Part of the book series: Disaster Risk Reduction ((DRR))

Abstract

This study assessed the vulnerability of the coastal lands of Bangladesh using secondary resources. The research revealed that coastal land within the country is threatened by saltwater intrusion, erosion–accretion, land subsidence, water logging, cyclones, storm surges and tidal flooding. A 1-m sea-level rise will inundate 17.5 % of Bangladesh’s landmass along the coastal zone, affect 20 % of the country’s rice fields and threaten the UNESCO declared world heritage site, the Sundarbans. Coastal soil will be affected by salinity intrusion at more rapid rate than coastal water. The six districts of Jessore, Magura, Narail, Faridpur, Gopalgonj and Jhalokhati have been affected by new salinity intrusion over the 24 year period of 1973–1997 and the loss in agriculture from salinity induced coastal land degradation could be as high as USD 587 million. Over a period of 20 years, the south central coast has accreted at a rate of 7.0 km2/year near the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna (GBM) mouth and the southwest coast has been eroding at a rate of 1.9 km2/year. During this period, the coastal land has also been subsiding at a rate of 4 mm/year. A total of 19,670 ha of saltpan in the Cox’s Bazaar district of the Southeast coast is vulnerable to storm surges and vast agricultural lands of the Southwest and south-central coast of the country are highly vulnerable to tidal flooding and storm surges. Assessing vulnerability at a local level and formulating adaptation policies are both priority areas in formulating sustainable management options for the coastal lands of Bangladesh.

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Acknowledgements

This paper was enriched by receiving comments and inputs from Professor Colin Woodroffe. However, any mistake remains with us.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad (BUP), Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Md. Golam Mahabub Sarwar

  2. United Nations Development Programme, Dhaka, Bangladesh

    Aminul Islam

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  1. Md. Golam Mahabub Sarwar
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  2. Aminul Islam
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Correspondence to Md. Golam Mahabub Sarwar .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Kyoto University, Yoshida-Honmachi, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan

    Rajib Shaw

  2. , DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE, BRAC University, 66 MOHAKHALI , DHAKA 1212, Dhaka, ---, Bangladesh

    Fuad Mallick

  3. , SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT UNDP, UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UN, IDB BHABAN, SHER-E-BANGLA NAGAR, DHAKA 1207, Dhaka, ---, Bangladesh

    Aminul Islam

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Sarwar, M.G.M., Islam, A. (2013). Multi Hazard Vulnerabilities of the Coastal Land of Bangladesh. In: Shaw, R., Mallick, F., Islam, A. (eds) Climate Change Adaptation Actions in Bangladesh. Disaster Risk Reduction. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54249-0_8

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