They said climate change adversities have already their bearings on economy and internal migration.
They also said accurate intervention with proper policy along with appropriate investment also would be helpful to protect the vulnerable community from the hazards caused by climate changes.
Experts came up with the observations while discussing about the climate change issues today in a seminar on ‘Climate changes adaptation at the river basins: upstream and downstream linkages’ at a city hotel.
Bangladesh Center for Advance Studies (BCAS) organised the national level event under ‘Himalayan Adaptation, Water and Resilience (HI-AWARE) Research on Glacier and Snowpack Dependent River Basins for Improving Livelihoods’ project.
The research project was supported by UK’s Department for International Development and Canada’s International Development Research Centre.
HI-AWARE was one of the four consortia of the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA) for capacity building and policy engagement on climate resilience and adaptation in the mountains and floodplains of the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra River basins.
In the programme, at least three technical sessions took place along with three research presentations.
In a session on ‘Flood, Erosion and Agriculture’ a BUET Professor Mushfiqus Salehin said internal migration is one of a consequence of climate changes which is triggered by the economic helplessness. He said if the resilience adaptation can be taken in agriculture, housing and earning sources, the migration can be decreased.
He also said maize and flood and drought tolerant rice cultivation in the shoals, crop diversification, promotion of livelihood diversification and national plan to ensure the adaptations can be supportive for lessening the concerns of climate changes over the country.
Prof Salehin also said flood resilience houses which are usually built above the plain land using higher platform can be helpful to protect peoples’ assets from flood.
In the programme, they also addressed the issue of gender vulnerability and gender responsive adaptations in the floodplain.
Dr Dwijen Mallick of the BCAS said climate change consequences are gender neutral however it causes much vulnerability for females, elders and minor ones in natural hazards.
He said NGOs and government should work to make these portions empowered as this group can handle the changing circumstances.
Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Barrister Anisul Islam Mahmud, said “Bangladesh has approved Delta Plan 2100 for sustainable water management which has specific indications to address climate changes issues.”
He also said Bangladesh is a very small country having lots of land diversities such as hill tracks, haors and shoals which need different treatments and to drag everyone forward investment and adaptation are must.
Dr. Atiq Rahman, executive director of BCAS was in the chair while Dr KS Murali, senior programme officer of IDRC, Dr Philippus Wester, principal investigator of HI-AWARE, Dr. Imtiaz Ahmed, professor of Department of International Relations of Dhaka University addressed the programme.