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Climate Change-Induced Environmental Hazards and Aila Relief Measures Undertaken to Sundarbans in Bangladesh and India

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The Sundarbans: A Disaster-Prone Eco-Region

Part of the book series: Coastal Research Library ((COASTALRL,volume 30))

Abstract

Environmental degradation induced by climate change has affected lives and livelihoods of the residents of the Sundarbans in both India and Bangladesh. The Sundarbans has been severely affected by sea level rise, salinity intrusion, increasing sea surface temperature, rainfall variability, storm surges, increased frequency of river flood, storms, over- siltation of the rivers, soil erosion, and island subsidence. In addition, the Bay of Bengal coast is a breeding place of tropical cyclones in the World. This chapter is primarily an extensive literature review on the climate change-induced environmental hazards and their impact on the ecosystem and human livelihoods in the Sundarbans of India and Bangladesh. In addition, this chapter also provides a detailed account of the recent cyclonic storm Aila that had hit the Bay of Bengal coast in 2009, the loss suffered, and the emergency relief operations that were undertaken. Finally, the structural and non-structural adaptation measures to environmental degradation and sudden onset disasters like storms, as well as, some cyclone mitigation strategies to reduce life loss and damage from future cyclones have been suggested in this chapter.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Also see Erosion, Accretion, and Subsidence section.

  2. 2.

    Based on ecological and physiographic characteristics, coastal Bangladesh is divided into three coastal zones: western, central, and eastern. The Sundarbans is a part of the western zone and in the past this zone was a part of the active Ganges delta. Currently, the zone is undergoing a process of transition from active to semi-moribund delta. For more details, see Paul and Rashid (2017).

  3. 3.

    Personal communication with Hugh Brammer.

  4. 4.

    District is the top-tier official administrative unit of local governments in Bangladesh. On an average, each district contains slightly over 2 million people.

  5. 5.

    Upazila (sub-district) is a territorial unit nested within district. A district is generally comprised of 10–15 upazilas.

  6. 6.

    Gher is a pond that is dug into a rice field to use primarily for shrimp farming. The dug out soil is used to create dykes around the pond for growing vegetables.

  7. 7.

    For more see, Paul and Rashid (2017).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA

    Bimal Kanti Paul & Subarna Chatterjee

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  1. Bimal Kanti Paul
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  2. Subarna Chatterjee
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Correspondence to Bimal Kanti Paul .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. ICAR-Central Research Institute for Jute and Allied Fibers (Formerly), Barrackpore, West Bengal, India

    H.S. Sen

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Paul, B.K., Chatterjee, S. (2019). Climate Change-Induced Environmental Hazards and Aila Relief Measures Undertaken to Sundarbans in Bangladesh and India. In: Sen, H. (eds) The Sundarbans: A Disaster-Prone Eco-Region. Coastal Research Library, vol 30. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00680-8_16

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