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Download PDF Land and water resources of Bangladesh are at stake and the country may face serious food crisis next decade unless agricultural practices change, geographers and environmentalists say.
Climatic change, which is likely to increase salinity in water and lead to sea-level rise, will only multiply the already existing troubles, they observe. They call for serious scientific researches on geography, environment and livelihoods and introducing technology to fight the challenges ahead.
The observations came at a seminar on “Geographical Perspectives on Sustainable Bangladesh” organised by Bangladesh Geographical Society (BGS) at Nabab Nawab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban of Dhaka University.
“… our soils are in a very bad condition because of using chemical fertiliser in imbalanced manner and lack of organic manure. Unless agricultural practices change, we may face a serious food production crisis in the next decade,” said environmental scientist Prof Haroun er Rashid.
“Trans-boundary rivers deliver less in the critical February-April period, and consequently salinisation continues to increase. In short, food production capacity is already strained and further increases may not be obtainable,” said Rashid, director of School of Environmental Science and Management at Independent University, Bangladesh.
Stating that total population is predicted to reach 280 millions, and then begin to decline, he said: “Unless population growth is checked, there cannot be any sustainability.”
Prof Rashid in his keynote paper at the inaugural session said climate is changing, but different components may be changing at different rates at different places. But the country does not have any reliable data on it, he added.
“We must institute a system of accurate measurements of relevant parameters from representative localities to provide viable solutions.”
University Grants Commission Chairman Prof Nazrul Islam said some experts say 3.5 crore people of the country will be refugees, while others say the whole country will go under water in the next few decades as a consequence of sea-level rise.
Mitigating or adapting changes requires increase of financial capacity, he said, adding that remittance earned by expatriate workers and ready-made garment sector is saving people. “We need to explore these potentials.”
Expressing concern that 600 hectares of cultivable land is reducing each year and that no cultivable land will be left by 2085, the geography professor said it is alarming when increase of food production is a must.
Prof Nazrul said urbanisation is an opportunity to accommodate more population, but it must be well-planned. It is possible to house 3 crore people in Dhaka, but that requires very good technology, he noted.
Development and environment have conflicts and therefore the authorities should be very careful to make development sustainable, he said, adding: “Good governance is the most important factor for it. Nothing will be successful in absence of good governance.”
BGS President Prof AQM Mahbub, who chaired the inaugural session, said vast plain land in the coastal belt may go under water due to climate change in the end of this century, resulting in turning a few crore people homeless and jobless.
Quoting Einstein, The Daily Star Editor and Publisher Mahfuz Anam said every crisis is an opportunity, but to use the opportunities there are three pre-conditions — readiness, capability and preparedness with knowledge and resources.
“Absence of these conditions makes the crisis acute,” he said while speaking as the special guest. “We have limited but very quality land. But we are destroying it by using more chemical elements.”
Mahfuz Anam called for more scientific researches to tackle future challenges facing environment and livelihoods.
The speakers also put emphasis on setting up of nuclear energy plants and use of bio-mass and renewable energy to meet future energy demands and also to protect environment.
Asiatic Society of Bangladesh President Prof Dr Sirajul Islam, BGS Secretary Dr Nurul Islam Nazem, among others, also spoke.
At the seminar, BGS gave crests in honour to four geographers — Prof Haroun er Rashid, Prof Dr KB Sajjadur Rasheed, Prof Nazrul Islam and Prof Dr Rosie Majid Ahsan — for their contributions to the field of geography and environment.
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