Climate change makes coastal people’s life difficult

CHAR FASSON, BHOLA, Aug 24: Clime change has expedited natural disasters in Char Fasson Upazila of the district, for which living of char dwellers and earning their livelihood have turned difficult.
The last calamity of Cyclone Yaas made severe adverse impact on the life of poor people and on their livelihood. Due to climate change, country's largest island Bhola has been put at risk.
There are 18 lakh people in Bhola District. Of them, five lakh are living in coastal areas. These five lakh people are frequently getting exposed to cyclone, drought, and wind. In some upazilas of the district, river erosion has appeared unabated.
According to Water Development Board (WDB) sources, in the last 45 years, 57 kilometre (km) areas were eroded by the Meghna and the Tentulia rivers in the district. Over one lakh people lost their houses and lands. They have turned destitute. Thousands of people have lost their addresses.
Global warming is causing cyclone, flood, tidal surge, drought and salinity. Crop production is declining. Plantation trees are dying. The biodiversity is impacted seriously.
Women and children are mostly being affected by the climate change. They become victims of various diseases, epidemic, accident and malnutrition. Children physical growth is halted.
Their education is hampered. Families are moving out of places. After losing places, children are losing education environment. Then they are getting dropped out of school.
Child Rubel has come to Tulatuli Ashrayan project in Char Fasson from Dhalchar with his family. He had been reading in school in Dhalchar since childhood. Here it is his fate to get education in Dhalchar. If he does not get school, he will lose schooling.
In adverse environment, women are making hard labour in collection of drinking water, fuel and preparing food. Many teenage girls are not getting re-productive healthcare. And in the face of living adversities, many families are turning destitute.
For the last few years, due to winter and abnormal warming, the river erosion in Char Kukri Mukri and in Dhalchar has gained severity. In these chars, common living is turning difficult. Heavy raining is destroying natural balance in the environment.
 Intrusion of salty water is endangering these localities, crippling  agriculture production. Animal farming has been under threat for fodder crisis.
Different green belts in Char Kukri Mukri and in Dhalchar are protecting people in Bhola.
Navigability problem and sunken island are halting fish coming from the sea. This problem is going up day by day. To overcome this situation, it is needed to build embankment and sluice gates in order to resist entering of salty water into localities. Dredging canal is urgent.
Since 1971 10k areas in different points of Tentulia in Char Fasson Upazila has been embedded. With erosion and swelling water level, saplings of mangrove forests are dying. Animal habitats are getting reduced. Marshes are developing salinity during dry and rainy seasons. And the biodiversity is getting threatened.