Introduction
Climate change is a global phenomenon and its impacts are unavoidable. Change in climate over the
years can be attributed to several factors, the most significant and talked-about of which is human
activity in the form of global greenhouse gas (such as CO2) emissions. Other gases such as Nitrous
Oxide and/or Methane are also harmful for the planet, but CO2 is the greatest threat to our planet
today and it is produced primarily from the burning of fossil fuels. The figure shows anthropogenic
greenhouse gas emissions from 2004, and clearly, CO2 is the most significant emission (IPCC, 2007).
As a result of climate change, global weather patterns have significantly altered and extreme
weather events have become more frequent, among other features. Sea-level rise is another effect of
climate change, and it increases the severity of storm surges.
1
The impacts of climate change will also translate into heat waves in some regions, lack of freshwater
availability in others and many such features, but inadvertently, the countries that contribute least
to climate change, suffer the most from its impacts. Factually, countries in the global north are the
highest emitters of CO2 into the atmosphere, but the countries and cities that suffer, are mostly
situated in the global south.
As the figure shows, the countries with the least emissions are also home to a much larger
percentage of the global population as compared to the emitters (IPCC, 2007). Thus when these
developing countries face the brunt of extreme weather events, a much larger majority of people are
affected, not only due to population density, but also because people in low and middle-income
nations (particularly poorer groups in urban areas) are more vulnerable, and have lower coping
capacities.
This essay will start by defining vulnerability, coping capacity and resilience to climate change
focusing mainly on urban areas, followed by the measures to tackle these such as mitigation, but
more importantly, adaptation. This will be followed by a particular case study in a developing
country i.e. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, and the essay will identify the key climate change
threats facing the city. The essay will end with recommendations for adapting Dhaka to climate
change, and a conclusion.
2
Familiarization With Climate Change – From Vulnerability to Adaptation:
Before delving deeper into the impacts of climate change on a particular region or area, it is
important to understand and recognize what certain key terms mean in the climate change context.
Bankoff et al. (2004) describe vulnerability as not just poverty or lack of resources, but the inability
of certain groups to cope with the diverse threats being posed by local processes and global
processes.
Similarly, Adger (2006) concurs with the IPCC definition of vulnerability that describes it as a
system’s inability to cope with the adverse effects of climate change, or its susceptibility to them. In
low and middle-income nations, repeated events and limited access to government and nongovernment structures increases vulnerability.
The sporadic nature of global climate patterns has further exacerbated vulnerability among poorer
groups and decreased their coping capacity by increasing risk and exposure to extreme weather
events and other features of climate change. As Terry Cannon (Parker, 2000) rightly puts it,
vulnerability is what turns a hazard into a disaster. In countries like Japan, for instance,
earthquakes are commonplace and they are hazardous, because they pose a risk to the population,
but they are not disastrous because response and infrastructure, building codes and emergency
services are so strong, that the communities have greater resilience.
There are two basic ways to tackle climate change. The first of these is mitigation – reducing
emissions for long-term sustainability. From a global perspective, this is a plausible solution and
high-income nations such as the United States, who are also high emitters of greenhouse gases, are
urged to mitigate in order to secure a sustainable future for generations to come. But mitigation is
not a plausible solution for low and middle-income nations who do not have a high level of
emissions but whose populations, especially in urban areas, suffer the most from the impacts of
climate change.
Urban areas concentrate people at risk in smaller areas and it is important to note that mitigation
offers a long-term solution to climate change problems but it offers no short or medium-term
respite. Adaptation is thus the most logical way to deal with climate threats in low and middleincome nations. As Satterthwaite et al. (2007) state, urban areas in these nations not only contain a
third of the world’s population, but the people living in these areas and the capital generated by the
economic activity in these areas is under threat due to the impacts of climate change.
3
This is not to say that mitigation is less important. Nor is it to say that rural populations and their
resilience and coping capacity are unimportant. Rural issues have been given much attention in
environmental literature, firstly, and secondly it is important to note that rural issues cannot be
separated from issues in urban areas given their reciprocal relationship – often, urban economies
depend on rural demand for services, or rural populations depend on urban centers for basic
markets and goods (Satterthwaite et al. 2007).
Finally, it is important to recognize that adaptation to climate change must have a local focus.
Solutions adopted and implemented in developed countries will most likely be unsuccessful in
developing countries, or unable to be implemented. For instance, people residing in squatter
settlements cannot benefit from building codes for stronger structures because their dwellings,
more often than not, have no formal structure and as suggested by the name, is set up on land that
is illegally occupied. As a result, the poor cannot mitigate, they adapt. Adaptation thus, is pro-poor.
It is in light of all these factors that I would like to discuss a specific case study from the developing
world.
4
Dhaka, Bangladesh – Do or Die?
Dhaka is the capital city of Bangladesh and its economic hub, with an ever-growing population of
almost 13 million on an area of 1353 sq. km. (Sharma et al., 2009). The reason for choosing Dhaka as
a case study is its extremely high vulnerability to climate stresses and extremely low adaptive
capacity. What puts it at an even higher risk is its geographical location; being a low-lying coastal
zone, surrounded by a river system of four flood-prone rivers, Dhaka is even more susceptible to
sea level rise and flooding.
Dhaka’s Vulnerable Poor:
Dhaka is one of the most populous megacities in the world, and its problems are also of the same
proportions. According to a study conducted by the World Wide Fund for Nature (2009) Dhaka
scores a startling 9 out of 10 points on vulnerability in the face of climate threat, with 10 being the
most vulnerable, and 48% of households in the city live below the poverty line. It is important to
note here, that even among the poor, there is major disparity, where some households fall just
below the poverty line, while others’ incomes are far more inadequate (Pryer, 2003). Women,
children and the elderly are more vulnerable among poorer groups.
To add to the congestion resulting from its enormous population, there is a very high rate of rural to
urban migration, as people from surrounding areas move to Dhaka to look for employment and
opportunities, resulting in an exacerbation of congestion and other environmental problems such
as solid waste disposal issues and resultant infectious diseases (WWF, 2009).
Dhaka has been the worst hit by climate change, but before I go into the impacts, pre- existing
vulnerabilities of poorer groups are worth mentioning. During the course of this essay, the
5
vulnerabilities of the poor groups will be discussed due to their low coping capacity as opposed to
that of the more affluent groups in any society. More importantly, poor groups are less able to
diversify livelihoods adding to their financial stresses, unlike richer groups in society. Furthermore,
these groups live mostly in flood-prone and waterlogged areas, increasing risk, exposure and
vulnerability (UN-Habitat, 2009)
With regards to water supply, 50% of people living in slums have to spend more than half an hour
collecting water and in terms of sanitation, 42% use a pit and almost 5% either use an open field or
have no arrangement at all. Also, a large portion of Bangladesh’s industrial production is
concentrated in Dhaka, resulting in air and water pollution (Hardoy et al., 2006).
Effects and Potential Impacts of Climate Change on Dhaka:
As coastal cities normally are, Dhaka suffers greatly from sea level rise and subsequent storminduced tidal surges. The incidence of floods, high winds and intense rainfall has escalated due to
climate change. As Bicknell et al. (2009) have suggested, floods/drainage congestion as a result of
glacier melt in the Himalayas, and heat stresses are the two major impacts climate change will have
on Dhaka.
Increased rainfall coupled with erratic rainfall patterns leads to water logging in the city, which
could partly be attributed to poor storm water sewer infrastructure or simply the absence of any
infrastructure at all (Sharma et al. 2009). Water logging also results in blockages in the drainage
systems, if any are present. In 2004, severe flooding and excessive rainfall devastated not only
Dhaka but all of Bangladesh, affecting 36 million people all over the country (Alam & Rabbani,
2007). An added pressure on Dhaka comes from saline water intrusion and flooding in other rural
and urban coastal areas, which force people to move to slums in the capital.
Human Health and Livelihoods – As Huq et al. (2003) have pointed out, climate change increases
and supports the growth of vector borne diseases such as malaria, especially due to changes in
rainfall patterns just as flooding causes the breeding of the malaria vector. The total flood affected
population of the 1998 flood amounted to almost 4.6 million people (Eds. Bicknell et al., 2009).
More significantly, diarrhea, dysentery and respiratory infections, among others, result from floods
and water logging. The situation is further exacerbated by the disruption in health services;
damaged transport infrastructure keeps people from accessing the nearest clinics and hospitals,
and obstructs emergency services from reaching people.
6
Livelihoods of poorer groups are also deeply affected by flooding and water logging. As a result of
the great flood in 1998 for example, almost 30% were unemployed and approximately 7% had to
change their occupation in light of the disaster. Moreover, reduced working hours resulted in lower
wages for those who worked on an hourly basis (Alam & Rabbani, 2007).
Water, Sanitation, Drainage and Solid Waste – Water supply, sanitation facilities and drainage
suffer sever ramifications due to the effects of climate change. As a consequence of water logging,
pipe water becomes contaminated, due mostly to damaged and ill-maintained pipes. Saline water
intrusion into groundwater due to sea level rise is also a problem (Huq et al. 2003). Bicknell et al.
(2009) have cited that the 1998 flood caused over US$20 million in damage to water, sewerage,
electricity, gas and telecommunication services.
Industry – Industries suffer great losses due to climate change impacts such as flooding. During the
1998 floods for instance, large-scale industry lost more than US$30 million while other small and
medium scale industries suffered a loss of US$36 million (Eds. Bicknell et al., 2009). These losses
are a consequence of disruptions in mechanical and electronic functions of industry due to which
operations are usually discontinued, but also because physical and manual labour is unable to reach
the workplace due to disruptions in transport infrastructure as discussed below.
Trade and Commerce – Climate change also has adverse effects on trade and commerce in Dhaka,
more so as a repercussion of water logging and flooding. The latter causes disruptions in
communication channels, often suspending trade and commerce for days. Disruptions are also
caused in the social functioning of the city, harming economic activity (Eds. Bicknell et al., 2009).
Transport – Road transport is one of the primary ways of commuting in Dhaka, responsible for
roughly 70% of all transport emissions in the city (Eds. Bicknell et al., 2009). Rail and waterways
are usually used for transporting goods but there is sever congestion on the roads due to extremely
high population density. Public transport in the form of buses, provided by the government is in
tatters due to lack of maintenance, and auto-rickshaws act as an alternative form of public
transport. It should be noted however, that Dhaka’s transport emissions’ contribution to global
emissions is negligible.
The table shows the vehicles in Dhaka as a percentage of vehicles in Bangladesh overall, in the year
2001 (Alam et al., 2003).
7
Car/Jeep/St. Wagon
Auto rickshaw/Tempo/Others
Buses and Minibus
79
57
28
Needless to say, such a large number of vehicle concentrations in a single urban centre are bound to
cause environmental problems such as air pollution, and major congestion; but add to this heavy
precipitation and flooding, and there is complete chaos. Road and drainage infrastructure in Dhaka
is not superior enough to withstand climate pressure. Heavy rainfall can cause the roads to flood
and transportation comes to a standstill (Alam et al., 2003).
8
Adapting to Climate Change in Dhaka – Action and Reflection
Before discussing any kind of adaptation, it is important to recognize that adaptation measures
need to be targeted towards the local community, initiated by the local government. Improving
infrastructure and ensuring basic provisions should strengthen adaptive capacities of communities,
but as Satterthwaite et al. (2007) fittingly note, infrastructure that does not exist, cannot adapt to
the changing climate! It is for these particular reasons that funds flowing in from international
funding agencies are not as helpful as community-based adaptation, which will be discussed further
on.
After major flooding in 1988, measures were taken to reduce risk and studies were carried out, and
embankments constructed along the Turag and Buriganga Rivers to protect Dhaka West from
future flooding. Even the city’s internal drainage systems were improved. Despite these measures,
some flood-protected areas were damage in the next major floods, a decade later in 1998, signifying
that the city needed further infrastructural improvements (Kreimer et al. 2003). Damage where
there should not have been in 1998 also showed weaknesses of coordination between the
Bangladesh Water Development Board and Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority, the
success of which could have prevented flooding (Alam & Rabbani, 2007).
Grover (2004) identifies the topographical similarities between a developed country like the
Netherlands, and Bangladesh – both of them situated on low-lying deltaic zones, and equally
susceptible to sea-level rise, but with contrasting levels of coping capacity. The Netherlands have
simply raised their sea walls, without any external funding whereas in Dhaka there is no financial
capital to deal with it in this manner. Another obstacle in obtaining financial capital for adaptation
strategies is the unwillingness of national and international governments to invest in something for
a disaster that has not happened yet.
There are existing institutions in Bangladesh to boost adaptive capacity such as the Bangladesh
Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS) - a research and policy institute based in Dhaka, which
promotes adaptation among various stakeholders such as the government, development agencies
etc. The most noteworthy effort by BCAS is its advancement of community based adaptation
methods through workshops and dialogues between vulnerable groups, key stakeholders and
partners (Ed. Natalie Marshall, 2007).
Another measure in place to keep flood impacts in check is the Greater Dhaka Flood Protection
Project (GDFPP), divided into to phases, aimed at flood control in the urbanized area of west Dhaka
9
under Phase I and the agricultural perimeter of the city under Phase II. But the embankments
constructed to prevent flooding under the first phase have caused agricultural land to be lost to
residential land-uses. Problems have also been caused inside the embankments from the reduction
of groundwater recharge causing subsequent stagnant ponds (Chowdhury, 2003).
Thus the construction of embankments may have reduced the severity of flooding but it has caused
new environmental hazards. Moreover, these embankments are in poor shape due to lack of
maintenance and their vulnerable positions where people can cut them to drain water from the
land into the rivers (Ministry of Environment and Forests, Bangladesh 2008).
The Bangladeshi government has undoubtedly taken several steps to adapt to climate change. In
2005 the National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) was launched as a response to
adaptation needs and the National Capacity Self-Assessment was launched in 2007 to implement
provisions of multilateral agreements such as the Climate Change Convention. Most recently, the
Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (2009) has been put into place. The
government has also established a National Climate Change Fund geared specifically towards
adaptation (Ministry of Environment and Forests, Bangladesh, 2008).
10
Conclusion
The people of Dhaka have suffered a great deal due to climate change, and their suffering will be
further intensified if certain measures not put in place. Agreed, the government of Bangladesh
recognizes climate change as a threat to its people and has attempted to tackle the issue in more
ways than one, but given that millions living in the slums of Dhaka are still vulnerable and at high
risk, further action is needed.
To start with, alterations could be made to existing plans to make infrastructure more resilient and
better placed to cope with climate change. As Alam (2008) suggests, for areas that are not built
should avoid flooding and not become the cause of flood risks for the whole city, and spatial
planning should make sure of this. Furthermore, given the evident failures in the design of the
embankment, changes could be made to better suit it embankment, changes could be made to
better suit it to climate risks, and adequate pumping systems could be installed to drain water away
from the city and ensure that there is no water logging. Alam adds that citywide adaptation should
be introduced in order for all of Dhaka to cope with a warmer climate and change in severity and
patterns of rainfall.
Land that is prone to deep flooding should be not be used for residential purposes and wherever
floodplain development is allowed, adequate flood protection should be provided through
regulatory programmes. In addition, as Chowdhury (2003) goes on to identify, flood plain zoning
should be enacted, to ensure specific standards that take any threat to a particular site, into
consideration.
The most important point established by Chowdhury (2003) brings me back to the view that
adaptation should have a local focus. He states that flood hazard should be evaluated from the point
of view of those people who actually live on floodplains. More significantly, dialogues and
exchanges between decision-makers and local communities need to be strengthened. In order for
that to happen, avenues for public participation are needed to provide the vulnerable population
with a sense of ownership and for them to be part of the solution, not the problem itself. According
to Chowdhury, vulnerable people should be involved in the decision-making process at an earlier
stage, before views become discriminatory and lean towards a bias.
Finally, existing building codes need to be organized in terms of enactment, along with land use
changes (Chowdury, 2003). Local knowledge and awareness with regards to climate change, its
impacts, and coping and adaptive strategies needs to be enhanced and for those living in risk and
hazard prone areas, flood warning systems would be extremely helpful as such a mechanism would
11
increase their disaster preparedness. The governments on the national and local level should also
work on improving communications amongst themselves, and emergency services should be
improved in order to better cope with hazards. Road infrastructure should also be improved so
vulnerable people can have access to emergency services, and also be able to get to their workplace,
in case of a natural hazard.
In one of the most densely populated cities in the world, where millions live in slums without any
particular organized form or structure, measures such as stronger building codes mean virtually
nothing. Training people with regards to emergency situations and disaster management is an
option, providing them with basic education and awareness so that they are in a position to
mitigate their losses. However, people need to be empowered on a very basic level, through
knowledge and support systems because they know best how to solve their problems, and would
find it much easier to do so if they had the backing of the government and other formal institutions.
12
Bibliography
Adger, Neil W., 2006, “Vulnerability”, Global Environmental Change, Vol. 16, pp. 268-281
Bankoff, G., Frerts, G., and Hilhorst, D. 2004, Mapping Vulnerability: Disasters, Development
and People, Earthscan, London
Bicknell, J., Dodman, D., and Satterthwaite, D. (Eds) 2009, Adapting Cities to Climate
Change, Earthscan, London
Chowdhury, Rashed MD. 2003, “The Impact of ‘Greater Dhaka Flood Protection Project
(GDFPP) on Local Living Environment – The Attitude of the Floodplain Residents”, Natural
Hazards, Vol. 29, pp. 309-324
Grover, Velma I., 2004, Climate Change: Five Years After Kyoto, Science Publishers, UK
Hardoy, J., Mitlin, D., and Satterthwaite, D. 2006, Environmental Problems in an
Urbanizing World, Earthscan, London
Kreimer, A., Arnold, M., and Carlin, A. 2003, Building Safer Cities: The Future of Disaster
Risk, World Bank Publications, Washington D.C
Marshall, Natalie (Ed.) 2007, Climate Action, Earthprint, Hertfordshire
Pryer, Jane A. 2003, Poverty and Vulnerability in Dhaka Slums, Ashgate Publishing
Limited, Hampshire
Sharma, A., Shaw, R., and Srinivas, H. (Eds), 2009, Urban Risk Reduction – An Asian
Perspective, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Bingley
Electronic Resources
Alam, M., Mainuddin, K., Sharif, I. M., and Rahman, A. 2003, Technological Intervention in
Urban Transport in Dhaka City: Global and Local Environmental Benefit, Bangladesh Centre
for Advanced Studies (BCAS), Dhaka.
http://66.102.9.132/search?q=cache:QyV7pouGECsJ:www.southsouthnorth.org/downl
oad.asp%3Fname%3DTransformation%2Bof%2BUrban%2BTransportPaper%2Bby%2BBCAS%2Bfor%2BTATI%2Bconference.doc%26size%3D728064%26fi
le%3Dlibrary/Transformation%2Bof%2BUrban%2BTransportPaper%2Bby%2BBCAS%2Bfor%2BTATI%2Bconference.doc+Technological+Interventi
on+in+Urban+Transport+in+Dhaka+City:+Global+and+Local+Environmental+Benefit&c
d=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client=safari
Accessed on 4th March, 2010
13
Alam, M., and Rabbani, G. 2007, “Vulnerabilities and Responses to Climate Change for
Dhaka”, Environment and Urbanization, Vol. 19, pp. 81-97
http://eau.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/19/1/81
Accessed on 4th March, 2010
Alam, Mozharul, 2008, Floods in Dhaka
http://www.eldis.org/go/topics/insights/2008/climate-change-and-cities/floods-indhaka
Accessed 7th March, 2010
Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, IPCC Working Group II
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=TNoSeGpn7wC&client=safari&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Accessed 5th March, 2010
Huq, S., Rahman, A., Konate, M., Sokona, Y., and Reid, H. 2003, Mainstreaming Adaptation to
Climate Change in Least Developed Countries, IIED, London
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=t6ebfSxfvUC&printsec=frontcover&client=safari#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Accessed on 3rd March, 2010
MoEF, 2008, Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 2008, Ministry of
Environment and Forests, Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka,
Bangladesh. pp. xvi - 68
http://www.sdnbd.org/moef.pdf
Satterthwaite, D., Huq, S., Pelling, M., Reid, H., and Lankao, P. R., Adapting to Climate Change
in Urban Areas, Human Settlements Discussion Paper Series.
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=d1nWyVjHWTIC&printsec=frontcover&client=safa
ri&source=gbs_navlinks_s#v=onepage&q=&f=false
Accessed 4th March, 2010
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Report
http://assets.panda.org/downloads/mega_cities_report.pdf
Accessed 3rd March, 2010
UN-HABITAT: State of the World’s Cities 2008/2009
http://www.unhabitat.org/downloads/docs/presskitsowc2008/Dhaka%20extreme.pdf
Accessed on 3rd March, 2010
14
Images
The first three images have been taken from:
IPCC, Fourth Assessment Report (2007) Summary for Policy
http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/wg3/ar4-wg3-chapter1.pdf
Makers
The map of Bangladesh was taken from:
http://www.hinduhumanrights.org/images/Bangladesh/Bangladesh-map.jpg
The image of traffic congestion was taken from:
Alam, M., Mainuddin, K., Sharif, I. M., and Rahman, A. 2003, Technological Intervention in
Urban Transport in Dhaka City: Global and Local Environmental Benefit, Bangladesh Centre
for Advanced Studies (BCAS), Dhaka (link as cited above)
15