The world is now facing the ultimate threat of new pandemic COVID-19, Corona virus. Each day is passing and bringing the tragic death news from all over the world. This virus can be the reason of destruction of civilization from a place. Pandemic is just a term, meaning worldwide distributed. WHO has confirmed Corona as pandemic which has origin from China, but it has been spread all over the world and struck many countries really hard. Bangladesh has confirmed as well that the people could not be able to escape from this virus too.
This is not first time, Bangladesh is dealing with epidemic. There was a time when Cholera had killed large number of people from village to village. But Corona is more dangerous because it is more contagious ( a single person can spread among 2.6 people) and the symptoms are not identified at early stage. However, when people learn they are infected, it may be too late for some people, specially for elderly and people with respiratory problems. Here comes the more concerned issue for Bangladesh or we can say for Dhaka people as air pollution in Dhaka has caused respiratory problems for great number of people. This year multiple days air quality has been identified as hazardous and number of people with respiratory problems are increasing day by day. Experts are really concerned that Corona can bring extreme causality. The city life has been dependent on a life style which is creating more pollution and the authority is also unable to address the problem. Our urban design, daily activity and relation between them can make us more susceptible to high health risk for Corona. We may breath in hazardous air for several days but this time it may bring hazardous impact which we have not expected at all.
Climate changing has been concerned issue all over the country. The impact can be seen and felt every day. As for example, paddy and wheat production may decrease by 17% and 61% respectively for climate change in Bangladesh. Along with losing food production capacity, we will lose our coastal areas under the sea. Delta Plan 2100 has been approved by the National Economic Council to address climate changing as well as other issues of our country. It promises prosperous growth in long term plan and to deal with climate changing issues and disaster risks. Vision: Building up a prosperous Bangladesh Delta resilient to the climate changing impacts. Mission:
Adopting firm, coordinated and flexible strategy which will ensure adaptability to changing time needs. The mission considers following key issues to face Delta challenges establishing long term safeguard in upcoming years,
– Good governance in justified water resource allocation
– Disaster risk and climate changing shock
– Food and water safeguard
– Economic prosperous
– Environmental stability
Delta Plan 2100
Aims:
The mission of Delta Plan 2100 complies two tiers of aims, National aims and Specific aims.
National Aims: There are three higher level aims.
Aim 1: Eradicate extreme poverty by 2030
Aim 2: Obtain place in the upper-middle income earning country ranking by 2030
Aim 3: Being a prosperous country by 2041
Specific Aims: The six specific aims are,
Aim 1: Safeguard from flood and disasters associated with climate changing
Aim 2: Ensure safe water and proper use of water
Aim 3: Develop integrated durable river areas and estuary
Aim 4: Preserving and utilization of wetlands and ecosystems by compatible manner
Aim 5: Build up active institution with good governance to ensure inter and intra-country water management.
Aim 6: Ensure maximum utilization of land and water resources.
For better utilization of the plan, strategies will be coordinated with Five Year Plan (FYP) and other proposed milestone such as Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). The whole plan is divided into three phases and strategies will be undertaken considering this timeline.
There are total 80 projects under the Delta plan 2100, which are, 65 initial infrastructure development projects and 15 organization capabilities and skill developing, research projects.
There are six prioritized area in plan marked as Hot spot. They are following
1. Coastal Area: 27,738 square kilometers of area consists 19 districts. Main problems are,
Cyclone and storm surge
Flood
Water logging
Erosion
Water salinity and severity of fresh water
Decreasing ground water table
2. Barind and Drought Prone Area: 22,848 square kilometers of area consists 18 districts.
Water salinity and severity of fresh water
Decreasing ground water table
Insufficient sanitation
Environmental degradation
3. Haor Region: 16,574 square kilometers of area consists 7 districts.
Flood prone
Water logging and drainage problems
Insufficient water and sanitation
4. Chittagong Hill Tracts:3 districts with 13,295 square kilometers.
Sewage treatment, sanitation problem
Decreasing biodiversity
5. Major River and Estuary :The largest of all with 35,204 square kilometers of area and 29 districts.
Flood
Water Pollution
Environment degradation
River erosion, changing river bed and course and char area
Siltation management and river transport management
6.Urban Area: It is the 7 districts of Bangladesh; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur and Sylhet.
Insufficient sewage system and sanitation
Water logging
Drinkable water insufficiency
Waste management
Apart from dealing with climate changing and disaster challenges, the plan emphasizes on these hot spots to have an integrated and comprehensive solution towards the vision.
Delta Plan 2100 brief plan and presented previews are published by Government. The links are following.
How do Human Activities Contribute to Climate Change and How do They Compare with Natural Influences?
Human activities contribute to climate change by causing changes in Earth’s atmosphere in the amounts of greenhouse gases, aerosols (small particles), and cloudiness. The largest known contribution comes from the burning of fossil fuels, which releases carbon dioxide gas to the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases and aerosols affect climate by altering incoming solar radiation and outgoing infrared (thermal) radiation that are part of Earth’s energy balance. Changing the atmospheric abundance or properties of these gases and particles can lead to a warming or cooling of the climate system. Since the start of the industrial era (about 1750), the overall effect of human activities on climate has been a warming influence. The human impact on climate during this era greatly exceeds that due to known changes in natural processes, such as solar changes and volcanic eruptions.
A blanket around the earth_ Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet
A layer of greenhouse gases – primarily water vapor, and including much smaller amounts of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide – acts as a thermal blanket for the Earth, absorbing heat and warming the surface to a life-supporting average of 59 degrees Fahrenheit (15 degrees Celsius).
