Climate displacing coastal residents: Kholiquzzaman
Bangladesh is vulnerable to climate change and many people are getting displaced because of it in the coastal areas, says noted economist Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, who was Bangladesh’s lead negotiator in the Paris climate conference.
In an interview to IANS, Ahmad also said that even though Bangladesh hardly contributed to climate change, this riverine South Asian nation is reeling under the impact of change in rainfall pattern, rise in sea level and resultant salinity in water.
“It is known that Bangladesh has not contributed to the climate change at all. But climate change is posing a massive threat to our country, more than those nations that had a major
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Sea-level rise claims five islands in Solomons
Five islands have disappeared in the Pacific’s Solomon Islands due to rising sea levels and coastal erosion, according to an Australian study that scientists said Saturday could provide valuable insights for future research.
A further six reef islands have been severely eroded in the remote area of the Solomons, the study said, with one experiencing some 10 houses being swept into the sea between 2011 and 2014.
“At least 11 islands across the northern Solomon Islands have either totally disappeared over 
View from Bangladesh: What next for the UN climate talks?
The 2015 Paris Agreement has set in train global actions by all countries to reduce emission of greenhouse gases and prepare for the adverse impacts of climate change.
The next milestone will be on April 22 in New York where the Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki Moon has invited heads of government to come together to formally sign the Paris Agreement.
In order for Bangladesh to be able to join that meeting, we will need to have adopted the Paris Agreement domestically.
After that, COP22 to be held at the end of 2016 in Marrakech, Morocco, will be the next stop in the global policymaking process; it will need to develop momentum for implementation of the Paris Agreement.
Helping climate refugees: A dispatch from Bangladesh
I spent the past week in Bangladesh, visiting the countryside on a fascinating and heartening trip from the country’s massive capital, Dhaka, to the south, a region being hammered by climate change. I came to give some speeches and took the opportunity to see for myself how foreign aid and local sweat and equity are being used to fight the rising seas in a country so low that 30 million people may become refugees. For them to secure a livelihood in their home places, the developed countries need to be engaged, with our resources, our hands, and our minds. We simply cannot afford not to be here.
After being asked for years to come, I’d finally made the trip to attend the 2nd annual Gobeshona conference, a gathering of researchers seeking to understand the reality and best p...
Inter-regional cooperation to promote blue economy
Representatives from coastal and island countries from across Asia gathered in Bangkok yesterday to discuss how they can forge stronger inter-regional cooperation to promote Blue Economy approaches to address marine and coastal conservation challenges in the region.
The meeting, entitled “A Thematic Consultation on Blue Economy for Climate Change Resilience: Towards Partnerships and Collaboration” was jointly organized by the Embassy of Bangladesh in Bangkok and IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Asia Regional Office, to create a platform for dialogue amongst South, Southeast and East Asian countries towards greater inter-regional cooperation to sustainably use coastal and marine resources.
Climate crisis in Bangladesh
Of all the countries in the world, Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The regular and severe natural hazards that already batter the country - tropical cyclones, river erosion, flood, landslides and drought - are all set to increase in intensity and frequency as a result of climate change. Rising sea levels will increasingly inundate Bangladesh’s coast, and dramatic coastal and river erosion will destroy land and homes. These and the many other adverse effects of climate change will have profound repercussions for the economy and development of the country.
One of the most dramatic impacts will be the forced movement of people throughout ![]()
