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Q: Classify natural hazards. Briefly discuss past earthquake event that significantly affect Chittagong city.

Critically explain susceptibility of coastal areas and adjacent built in environment in 1762 type earthquake in

Bangladesh.

INTRODUCTION: Earthquake is one of the major environmental concern of the time that cannot be controlled or

predicted. Several major earthquakes have been occurred in Chittagong during the passage of time. These are

described with the detailed description of 1762 earthquake as well as the categorization of natural hazards.

DEFINITION OF NATURAL HAZARDS:

Hazard is an agent which has the potentiality to cause harm to a vulnerable target.

Natural Hazards may be defined as those extreme events either natural or man induced which occur rarely

and exceed the tolerable magnitude within or beyond certain time limits, make human adjustment very

difficult, result of colossal losses of property, human and animal lives, destruction of settlements and

vegetation etc. (Singh, 1991).

According to IFRC, Natural Hazards are naturally occurring physical phenomena caused either by rapid or

slow onset events which can be geophysical (earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis and volcanic activity),

hydrological (avalanches and floods), climatological (extreme temperatures, drought and wildfires),

meteorological (cyclones and storms/wave surges) or biological (disease epidemics and insect/animal

plagues).

CLASSIFICATION OF NATURAL HAZARDS:

On the basis of origin of the hazards, natural hazards can be classified as-

1. Hydrological Hazard: Hydrological disasters is a violent, sharp and harmful amendment either in quality of

earth's water or in distribution or movement of water ashore below the surface or in atmosphere. A flood is

associate overflow of associate expanse of water that submerges land.

2. Meteorological Hazard: Meteorological hazards are caused by extreme weather, e.g. rain, drought, snow,

extreme heat or cold, ice, or wind. Examples of weather disasters include blizzard, cyclones, droughts,

hailstorms, heat waves, hurricanes, floods (caused by rain), and tornadoes.

3. Geologic Hazard: A geologic hazard is one of several types of adverse geologic conditions capable of

causing damage or loss of property and life. It can cause volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, tsunamis, erosion,

and landslides.

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LIST PAST EARTHQUAKE EVENTS THAT SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT CHITTAGONG CITY:

Earthquakes have been taking place around Chittagong region since 50 BC. The major earthquakes events around

Chittagong city can be counted since 1679. According to Alam (2017), there are 8 major earthquake events that have

been taken place in the surroundings of Chittagong city and made a great impact. Those are-

1. 28 January 1679 Earthquake

2. 1762 Earthquake in the Northern Bay of Bengal

3. 19 August 1868 Earthquake

4. December 1881 Earthquake

5. 05 May 1930 Myanmar Earthquake

6. 26 June 1941 Earthquake

7. Indian Ocean Tsunami (IOT) 2004 in Bangladesh Coast

8. 11 August 2009 the Bay of Bengal Earthquake

1. 28 January 1679 Earthquake: Earthquake event on 28 January 1679 with Ms 7.5 magnitude was felt

severely from the east coast of India to Myanmar coast. This earthquake also struck the Bay of Bengal

tremendously. Malick et al. analysed sediments in the south Andaman for the pre IOT tsunamis. Findings

of 14C dating suggests 1 m subsidence dated ~1670, which might have been caused by the 1679

earthquake. Consistent with this, geological investigations did not provide evidence of significant tsunami

deposits by the earthquake.

2. 1762 Earthquake in the Northern Bay of Bengal: The great earthquake potentiality and its tsunamigenic

nature and flooding history in the northern Bay of Bengal have two propositions : the potential significant

tsunamigenic earthquakes and no possibility of tsunamigenic earthquakes. The northern Bay of Bengal is

generally considered a non- favorable condition to generate tsunamigenic earthquake. Gupta and Gahalaut

and Khan showed that the northern Bay of Bengal is completely non-seismogenic to generate large

tsunamigenic earthquake analyzing geodynamic status, seism-tectonic environment and geophysical

signatures. The oblique motion of the plates along the SSZ makes the unfavorable condition for the

generation of large tsunamigenic earthquakes in the northern Bay of Bengal.

3. 19 August 1868 Earthquake: The 19 August 1868 earthquake that originated in Andaman Islands

generated a tsunami. Magnitude data are not available for this earthquake. It was a definite tsunami with a

run-up height 4 m and caused extensive damage in Port Blair. By reviewing data sources about this tsunami,

no damage reports are available for the Bangladesh coast and adjacent region. The 19 August 1868

earthquake and associated tsunami probably did not affect the Bangladesh and adjacent coasts.

4. December 1881 Earthquake: The 31 December AD1881 (Mw 7.9) earthquake originated beneath the

deep ocean in Andaman Sea and generated a tsunami with a maximum wave height of 0.8 m was recorded

by eight tide gauges surrounding the Bay of Bengal. The earthquake felt in the coast of the Bengal and

mud volcanoes erupted in the Ramri Island. Wave form and amplitude modeling analysis of the tsunami

showed that it was triggered by a Mw = 7.8 ± 0.1 rapture on the India/Andaman plate boundary that causes

10-60 cm of uplifting at the Car Nicobar Island. The earthquake generated two rupture segments

constituting the southern one 150 km long and the northern part 40 km long. Tsunami flooded from the

northern Ceylon along the east shore of the Bay through Ganges delta and further to Andaman and Nicobar

Islands to south of Sumatra.

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5. 05 May 1930 Myanmar Earthquake: The 5 May 1930 earthquake occurring on the Saigaing Fault Zone

in Myanmar caused many deaths in Bago (former Pegu), the most important sea port by then British

Government and a local level tsunami followed the quake. The earthquake damaged the oldest city of

Rangoon. The ships anchored in the Bago port were lifted approximately 1.06 m by a tsunami. The rise of

water was considered caused by a local tsunami. No tsunami was reported in Bangladesh and tide gauge

stations in the east coast of India had not report any rise of water during the earthquake in Bago. No loss

of lives was reported by tsunami.

6. 26 June 1941 Earthquake: The 26 June 1941 earthquake generated a tsunami that killed over 5000 people

in east coast of India. No report of deaths and damage are available for the Bangladesh coast. Indian media

mistakenly attributed to the deaths and damage occurred by this tsunami to a storm surge. However, Indian

meteorological department did not record any tropical cyclonic depression and associated storm surges in

the Bay of Bengal.

7. Indian Ocean Tsunami (IOT) 2004 in Bangladesh Coast: Following the IOT 2004, the risk of tsunami

in the northern Bay of Bengal has raised a great concern to some local and international scientists and

policy planners. The IOT 2004 very moderately affected the Bangladesh coast with a decreasing rate of

tsunami height from south to north at 2.30 and 1.30 m respectively. The country is lies approximately 1900

km northeastward from the epicenter and 1100 km away from the northern end of the earthquake rupture.

8. 11 August 2009 the Bay of Bengal Earthquake: On 11 August 2009 an earthquake with Mw 7.5 and

focal depth 4 km was originated from a 300 km long seismic gap of active subduction zone of Indian and

Burmese plates between the locations of the 2004 Sumatra and 1762 Chittagong earthquakes. The epicenter

was located in Bay of Bengal between north Andaman Island and Myanmar coast, 1100 km south southeast

of Dhaka. Panic was created among the residents of the upper floor in Dhaka and Chittagong. A tsunami

warning was issued for Bangladesh but later withdrawn within few hours.

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SUSCEPTIBILITY OF COASTAL AREAS AND ADJACENT BUILT IN ENVIRONMENT IN 1762 TYPE

EARTHQUAKE IN BANGLADESH:

The 1762 Earthquake: According to Alam and Dominey-Howes (2014), the main effects of the earthquake were the

following: liq-uefaction-induced surface cracking, compaction and subsidence, landslides, co-seismic subsidence,

mud volcanic eruptions and inundations along the coast of the BoB. The effects of the earthquake were observed as

far as west Kolkata in India and southeast of Bago in Myanmar—an area covering a total distance of over 1,220 km.

Susceptibility of coastal area of 1762 type earthquake: The consequences of this phenomenon can be described

with two categories.

1. The Effect of Earthquake

2. The Effect of Tsunami

1. The Effect of Earthquakes:

Liquefaction and compaction of river banks: Liquefaction and compaction of river banks can

occur along the river banks in Chittagong. Liquefaction is a process where the soil loses its strength

and stiffness due to some applied stress e.g. earthquake. Roads, buildings and other built in

environment can be dismantles or broken down or at least harmed significantly due to liquefaction.

And compaction is a process where the air between soil grains is displaced due to external applied

force.

Liquefaction-induced compaction and subsidence along the coast: Liquefaction-induced

compaction and subsidence along the coast of the Bay of Bengal can also occur. The difference is,

consequences would be greater than the river bank compaction and liquefication.

Landslides: A landslide, also known as a landslipor Mudslide, is a form of mass wasting that includes

a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes, and shallow debris

flows. It can occur at different places special at the southern part of the country.

Co-seismic submergence and subsidence: Co-seismic submergence and subsidence can possibly

be occurred at different parts of the country. Small islands in the Bay of Bengal and other areas have

a potentiality to be submerged with an earthquake at the scale of 7.5.

Mud volcanic eruptions: A mud volcano or mud dome is a landform created by the eruption of mud

or slurries, water and gases. Mud volcanic eruptions The earthquake is said to have caused the

discharge of sulphur-mixed water and two volcanic eruptions in the Sitakund Hills, Chittagong. It

can occur again.

The collapse of houses, deaths and injuries: The collapse of houses, deaths and injuries etc. are the

most common and most devastating effect of earthquakes. Loss of lives are very much possible even

with a small earthquake as the population of the country is very dense.

Other: Destruction of buildings, life, ar/rail station, lifelines (gas, electricity lines) etc.

2. The Effect of Tsunami:

Tsunamis on the coast of Chittagong: A tsunami or tidal wave, also known as a seismic sea wave,

is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally

in an ocean or a large lake occurred due to endogenic forces. The Chittagong coast is quite

vulnerable to tsunamis. Tsunami can create a loss of lives, cattle, properties, harvests, lands and

many more.

Water-level variation in the river adjacent to Dhaka: Sudden water level variation, uprising of

water level can be occurred with a powerful earthquake that can create a devastating effects in the

whole city specially to dwellers living near the Bank of Turag, Burganga and many more.

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CONCLUSION: The earthquake and tsunami both are powerful natural hazards that can cause a great loss of lives

as well as properties. These two phenomena should be taken into consideration for making any kind of environmental

plan and projects and also the government of Bangladesh should emphasize on Bangladesh’s near future vulnerability

as an earthquake zone.

This Answer Script is Submitted by-

Mohammad Mohaiminul Islam

B.Sc. (Hon’s) 4th Year,

Department of Geography and Environmental Studies,

University of Chittagong,

Chittagong, Bangladesh.

Question 1:Cost Benefit Analysis:

Cost–benefit analysis (CBA) or benefit costs analysis , is a technique to assist managers in

making decisions estimating the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives for example- in

transactions, activities, functional business requirements or projects investments. The CBA is

also defined as a systematic process for calculating and comparing benefits and costs of a

decision, policy (with particular regard to government policy) or (in general) project.

Main Purpose of CBA:

Broadly, CBA has two main purposes:

a) To determine if an investment or decision is sound – verifying whether its benefits

outweigh the costs, and by how much

b) To provide a basis for comparing projects – which involves comparing the total expected

cost of each option against its total expected benefits.

In CBA, benefits and costs are expressed in monetary terms, and are adjusted for the time

value of money, so that all flows of benefits and flows of project costs over time and are

expressed on a common basis in terms of their net present value.

Example:

Improvements in transportation frequently involve saving time. The question is how to measure

the money value of that time saved. The value should not be merely what transportation planners

think time should be worth or even what people say their time is worth. The value of time should

be that which the public reveals their time is worth through choices involving tradeoffs between

time and money.

If people have a choice of parking close to their destination for a fee of 50 cents or parking

farther away and spending 5 minutes more walking and they always choose to spend the money

and save the time and effort then they have revealed that their time is more valuable to them than

10 cents per minute. If they were indifferent between the two choices they would have revealed

that the value of their time to them was exactly 10 cents per minute.

Process of Cost Benefit Analysis:

The following is a list of steps that comprise a generic cost–benefit analysis.

❖ Define the goals and objectives of the project/activities

❖ List alternative projects/programs.

❖ List stakeholders.

❖ Select measurement and measure all cost/benefit elements.

❖ Predict outcome of cost and benefits over relevant time period.

❖ Convert all costs and benefits into a common currency.

❖ Apply discount rate.

❖ Calculate net present value of project options.

❖ Perform sensitivity analysis.

❖ Adopt recommended choice.

Cost Benefit Analysis Steps:

1. Identify costs and benefits:

• What Counts?

• Who counts?

• Time period

2. Calculate costs and benefits

• Methods of Calculation

• Discounting future benefits/costs

3. Compare aggregate costs and aggregate benefits.

Evaluation:

CBA attempts to measure the positive or negative consequences of a project, which may include:

• Effects on users or participants

• Effects on non-users or non-participants

• Externality effects

Option value or other social benefits:

A similar breakdown is employed in environmental analysis of total economic value. Both costs

and benefits can be diverse. Financial costs tend to be most thoroughly represented in cost-

benefit analyses due to relatively abundant market data. The net benefits of a project may

incorporate cost savings or public willingness to pay compensation (implying the public has no

legal right to the benefits of the policy) or willingness to accept compensation (implying the

public has a right to the benefits of the policy) for the welfare change resulting from the policy.

Risk and uncertainty:

Risk associated with project outcomes is usually handled using probability theory. This can be

factored into the discount rate (to have uncertainty increasing over time), but is usually

considered separately. Uncertainty in CBA parameters (as opposed to risk of project failure etc.)

can be evaluated using a sensitivity analysis, which shows how results respond to parameter

changes.

Accuracy:

The value of a cost–benefit analysis depends on the accuracy of the individual cost and benefit

estimates. The accuracy depends on-

▪ Over-reliance on data from past projects (often differing markedly in function or size and

the skill levels of the team members)

▪ Use of subjective impressions in assessment

▪ Inappropriate use of heuristics to derive money cost of the intangible elements

▪ Confirmation bias among project supporters (looking for reasons to proceed).

▪ Interest groups may attempt to include or exclude significant costs from an analysis to

influence the outcome.

Question 2: Wetland Conservation:

Wetlands are land transitional between terrestrial and aquatic system where the water table is

usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water. Wetland may be natural or

man-made.

Classification of wetlands in Bangladesh :

Wetland can be broadly classified into fresh water wetland, salt water wetlands and man -made

wetlands. Types of different wetlands under these three classes are given:

1. Saltwater wetland:

▪ Marine: Permanent Rivers shallow waters at low tide. Example – bay coral reef, St

Martin’s reef.

▪ Estuarine: Intertidal mud, sand or salt flats with limited vegetation e.g. newly

accreted land, intertidal marshes, intertidal forest wetlands including mangroves, e,g.

Sundarban.

▪ Lagoonal : Brackish to saline lagoons with narrow connections with sea.

2. Freshwater wetlands:

▪ Riverine wetland: Permanent rivers and streams including some char land, temporary

seasonal rivers and streams.

▪ Lacustrine wetlands: There are thousands of lakes of varying sizes in Bangladesh in

the main delta region covering the district of Rajshahi, pabna , Khulna, jessore,

Faridpur, Comilla and Noakhali.

▪ Palustrinewetland : Permanent freshwater marshes and swamps with emergent

vegetation, permanent peat-forming freshwater swamp, hijal forest of low-land etc.

3. Man-made wetlands:

▪ Aquaculture ponds both brackish and freshwater, irrigated land and irrigation

channels, salt pans hydro-dam. E.g.-Kaptai.

Types of freshwater wetlands in Bangladesh:

There are four Four types of wetland in Bangladesh. These are- haors, baors, jheels and beels.

Haors are bowl shaped large tectonic depression. In Bangladesh haors are mainly found in grater

Sylhet and greater Mymensingh regions. During monsoon a haor is a vast stretch of turbulent

water.

Baors are oxbow lake, formed by dead arms of rivers, are situated in the moribund delta of the

Ganges in western part of the Country. During the monsoon season oxbow lakes act as local

water reservoirs, and help to control flood level.

Beels are large surface water bodies that accumulate surface runoff water through internal

drainage channel. In the active floodplains of theSurma- Meghna, the Brahmaputra-Jamuna,

and the Ganges- Padma river systems. Some of the most common names are Chalanbeel, Chand

beel and Arial beel.

Degradation of wetland in Bangladesh:

Natural events such as- erosion, drought etc. may affect the wetlands but the greatest threat to

these are humans. The HakalukiHaor , a complex of more than 80 interconnecting beels in

Moulovibazar district is silting up rapidly. There is serious soil erosion in the catchment area and

each year the floodwater deposits huge quantities of sediments resulting in siltation. Huam

activities permanently destroy or degrade wetlands. The principal causes of degradation of

wetlands in BD are flood control and drainage projects. Wetlands are also prey to increased

pollution from different sources.

Wetland Conservation:

Legislation is an important institution for wetland management. The existing act or rules are not

specific to the needs and problems of wetland conservation and manangement. The act are-

a. The Forest Act, 1927.

b. Bangladesh wildlife Conservation Act, 1974

c. Bangladesh Environment Conservation Act, 1995

d. The Water Act, 2013

e. Environmental policies

f. The Inland Shipping Ordinance, 1976

g. The Haor Development Board Ordinance Act 1977.

Question 3: Demand and Supply:

In resource management, the term supply is an amount of resources both material or non-

material that is provided or available to human wants and human actions.

Determining Supply:

Resource supply is the important for surviving resources appraisal in resource management.

Studies .Resource supply may focus upon two factor-

1. Actual Supply

2. Potential Supply

Actual Supply:

Actual supply considers the geographical contribution towards land use inventory, while land

use is only one aspect of concern in resource inventory, similar resource issues and problems

arise when inventorying other resources such as water, forest etc. To use land or other resources

to best advantage, Stamp(1960) believed a number of steps was required : (a) survey, in which

the present condition was recorded (b) analysis; in which the reasons for patterns were sought

and existing trends were identified, and (c) planning; in which the future was designed.

Potential Supply:

The Second part focuses on resources capability or potential .Land Capability studies are

reviewed initially, followed by studies concerned with other aspects of resource supply. While it

is helpful to have current natural resource information, the resource manager needs to know

resource potential or capability before making decisions.

Resources supply depends on some aspects-

✓ Land- use

✓ Land Capability

✓ Cultural Condition

✓ Economic condition

✓ Political Condition etc.

Land-Use:

a. Actual land-use

b. Potential lnd-use

Land Capability:

a) Education

b) Health

c) Food

d) Security

Economic Condition:

a) GDP

b) GNP

c) PCI

d) NNP

Cultural resources Condition:

a) Perception

b) Technology

c) Transportation facility

d) Organizing ability

e) Govt. policy etc.

Demand:

Research concerning demand for natural resources illustrates the validity of Kuhn’s argument

that investigations normally incorporate three phases. These are-

1. Identification of variables

2. Measurement of relationships and

3. Articulation of theory

Identification of variables:

▪ Population or Man

▪ Nature of Economy

▪ Technology

▪ Social tastes

▪ Policy Decisions

While the variables are relatively easy to identify, they are difficult to measure. Population

estimates require information of numbers, age, sex, migration and death rates. Estimate about the

economy require data about personal income, employment and industrial output. Technology

changes may influence water demand in least four ways, including development of new

products, new or different raw materials etc

Measurement of the relationship:

For the measurement of the relationships between variables Grima(1972,1973) used multivariate

analysis to explore the relationship between residential water demand and such independent

variables as-

▪ Housing density

▪ Household size

▪ Lot size

▪ Precipitation

▪ Temperature

▪ Water balance

▪ Characteristics of soil etc.

Implications of demand and supply for resource management:

Before making decisions concerning future allocation of resources, it is essential to know their

amount, quality, and distribution as well as the way they are being utilized. Land-use and other

resource inventories is thus a fundamental tool for resource managers. Resource capability or

potential studies are closely related to investigations of present use. It only by knows the

potential of a resource that managers can decide whether existing user or practices should be

altered to realize more benefits. Both are concerned with identifying thresholds or constraints for

resource use.

Question 4: Food Security:

Food security is a condition related to the supply of food, and individuals' access to it.

Definition of Food Security:

1. In 1983, FAO expanded its concept to include securing access by vulnerable people to

available supplies, implying that attention should be balanced between the demand and

supply side of the food security equation:

➢ “ensuring that all people at all times have both physical and economic access to the basic

food that they need” .

2. In 1986, the highly influential World Bank report “Poverty and Hunger” focused on the

temporal dynamics of food insecurity. This concept of food security is further elaborated

in terms of:

➢ “access of all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life” .

3. Food security was defined in the 1974 World Food Summit as:

➢ “availability at all times of adequate world food supplies of basic foodstuffs to sustain a

steady expansion of food consumption and to offset fluctuations in production and

prices”

4. The 1996 World Food Summit adopted a still more complex definition:

➢ “Food security, at the individual, household, national, regional and global levels [is

achieved] when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient,

safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active

and healthy life”.

Elements of Food Security:

In 2009, the World Summit on Food Security stated that the "four pillars of food security .These

are-

i. Availability

ii. Access

iii. Utilization and

iv. Stability

❖ Availability: It is about food supply and trade, not just quantity but also the quality and

diversity of food. Improving availability requires sustainable productive farming systems,

well managed natural resources, and policies to enhance productivity.

❖ Access: It covers economic and physical access to food. Improving access requires better

market access for smallholders allowing them to generate more income from cash crops,

livestock products and other enterprises.

❖ Utilizations: It is about how the body uses the various nutrients in food. Improving

utilisation requires improving nutrition and food safety, increasing diversity in diets,

reducing post-harvest loss and adding value to food.

❖ Stability: It is about being food secure at all times. Food insecurity can be transitory with

short term shocks the result of a bad season, a change in employment status, conflict or a

rise in food prices. When prices rise, it is the poor who are most at risk because they

spend a much higher portion of their income on food.

Measurement

Food security indicators and measures are derived from country level household income and

expenditure surveys to estimate per capita caloric availability. The factors influencing household

food access are often context specific. Several measures have been developed that aim to capture

the access component of food security, with some notable examples developed by the USAID-

funded Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA) project, collaborating with Cornell

and Tufts University and Africare and World Vision.

These include:

• Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) – continuous measure of the degree of

food insecurity (access) in the household in the previous month

• Household Dietary Diversity Scale (HDDS) – measures the number of different food

groups consumed over a specific reference period (24hrs/48hrs/7days).

• Household Hunger Scale (HHS)- measures the experience of household food deprivation

based on a set of predictable reactions, captured through a survey and summarized in a

scale.

• Coping Strategies Index (CSI) – assesses household behaviours and rates them based on a

set of varied established behaviours on how households cope with food shortages.

Effects of food insecurity

"Famine and hunger are both rooted in food insecurity. Chronic food insecurity translates into a

high degree of vulnerability to famine and hunger; ensuring food security presupposes

elimination of that vulnerability."

Challenges to achieving food security:

There are some obstacles to achieve food security. These are-

❖ Global water crisis

❖ Land Degradation

❖ Climate Change

❖ Agricultural diseases

❖ Food vs fuel

❖ Politics

❖ Food Sovereignty

❖ Land use change etc

Question 5: Perception, attitude and behavior of Resource Allocation:

Definition of Resource Allocation:

Resource allocation is a process and strategy involving a company deciding where scarce

resources should be used in the production of goods or services. A resource can be considered

any factor of production, which is something used to produce goods or services.

Types of resource allocation:

We can begin by defining resource allocation. In a broad sense, it can be defined as how things

can be distributed. This may include credit, blame, responsibility, money, time, and the like. In

the science and engineering this translates to: money, consumables, time, space, and services.

There are various types of resource allocation-

a. Allocation by Merit

b. Allocation by Social Worth

c. Allocation by Need

d. Allocation by Equal or Random Assignment

There are three ideas have formed in resource allocation-

1. Spatial Interactions

2. Spatial Organizations

3. Regional planning and development.

Spatial Interactions:

Spatial interactionhas involved two types of inquiries. One is concentrating upon analysis the

actual flow of commodities, products and services among communities, regions or nations is

frequently referred to as commodity flow analysis.

Second idea has focused upon possible flows of goods, people and ideas.

Spatial Organizations:

Spatial organizations concentrate upon describing the spatial patterns associated with given

phenomena and then exploring the process beneath these patterns or upon locational decisions

for particular services, facilities or activities. In resource management field, most research has

concentrated upon activities and facilities.

Regional planning and development:

Research questions centre upon the impact of resource development on local and regional

economics, the nature of regionalization, resource use or management and conflicting uses

relative to different activities in a specified regional environment. The supply and demand

management concepts are included in regional planning and development concepts.

Supply and demand management are done only when these three issues are come forward-

• Perceptions

• Attitude and

• Behavior

Perceptions:

Perception is the primary stage of feelings. This is providing an input into the planning process.

Perceptions is governed by the past experiences and present culture, conditions, social

circumstances and concentrations. Environmental perceptions and attitudes do not only vary

across culture and through time.

Attitude: The concept of attitude considersbeing a clarification of the meaning of concepts,

symbol and aspirations as they pertain to space and place. A viewpoint was expressed in

Spoehr’s (1956; 97)

Observation that ‘what is necessary is an examination, not only merely of culturally conditioned

attitudes towards natural resources, but of how various people have come to regard their

relationship with their respective habitats and indeed with the entire physical universe in which

they exists.

Behavior:

The concept has two issues. These ares-

a. Resource user and

b. Resource manager.

Resource user has practical knowledge of an area and resource manager have theoretical

knowledge of an area. Behavioral concept focuses on cognitive process, spatial reasoning,

decision making and behavior

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND BANGLADESH CLIMATE

CHANGE STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN (BCCSAP) ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

Definitions:

“Environmental management is concerned with the man-environment interface, the complex boundary where

bio-physical and socio-cultural systems interact”. - (Hare, 1970.)

“An approach which goes beyond natural resources management to encompass the political and social as well

as the natural environment”. - (Clarke, 1999.)

“Environmental management – a generic description of a process undertaken by systems oriented professionals

with a natural science, social science or less commonly, an engineering, law or design background, tackling

problem of human altered environment on an interdisciplinary basis from a quantitative and/or futuristic

viewpoint”. - (Downey, 1989)

Characteristics:

It deals with world affected by humans;

It supports sustainable development

It demands a multidisciplinary approach;

It has to integrate different development view points;

The time-scale involved extends the short term and concern ranges from local to global;

It seeks to integrate natural & social science, policy making & planning.

This Environmental management implies an element of conscious choice from a variety of alternative

proposals and furthermore that such a choice involves purposeful commitment for recognized and desired

objectives.

Significances:

To prevent and solve environmental problems.

To establish limits

To develop research institutions and monitoring systems.

To warn threats and identify opportunities.

To suggest measures for resource conservation.

To develop a strategy for the improvement of quality.

To suggest long-term and short-term policies for sustainable development.

To identify new technology for future development

Steps:

STEP I: Identification of objectives and define problems

STEP II: Determination of appropriate action plan

STEP III: Implementation & progress evaluation

STEP IV: Monitoring & adjust management

STEP V: Future environmental management and planning

BANGLADESH CLIMATE CHANGE STRATEGY AND ACTION PLAN (BCCSAP)

About BCCSAP:

The Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) is a knowledge strategy built upon the National

Adaptation Programme of Action (2005 and 2009). It sets out 44 programmes to be taken by Bangladesh over the

short, medium and long term within six strategic areas – food security, social protection and health; comprehensive

disaster management; infrastructure; research and knowledge management; mitigation and low carbon development;

and capacity building and institutional strengthening.

Vulnerabilities marked in BCCSAP:

Flood

Tropical Cyclone

Drought

Global Warming Influences

Action Plan and Strategies:

Q: Define carrying capacity. Explain salient features on the concept of carrying capacity on

resource management. Critically explain biophysical carrying capacity with example.

Ans:

Carrying Capacity:

The maximum equilibrium number of organisms of species that can be supported indefinitely

in a given environment is called the term carrying capacity.

Carrying capacity can be defined, as the maximum intensity of use an area will continuously

support under a management program without inducing a permanent change in the biotic

environment. In short, carrying capacity means the population that can be supported

indefinitely by an ecosystem without destroying that ecosystem.

According to Mathieson &Wall (1982)-

“Carrying capacity is the maximum number of people who can use a site without

unacceptable alteration in the physical environment and without an unacceptable decline in the

quality of experience gained by visitors.”

According to Dasmann (1945)-

“ Carrying capacity could be defined as the maximum number of grazing animals of a given class

that could be maintained in good flesh year after year on a grazing range without damage to

the forage growing stock or to the soil.”

Salient Features Of Carrying Capacity concept:

• Carrying capacity has been a central concept for rangeland and grassland management-

for decades.

• Carrying capacity can be judged only against the management. objectives for a specific

area.

• Without explicit and specific management objectives, carrying capacity is an elusive

notion

• The physical extent of an area and economic considerations. have also been identified

as factors affecting the determination of carrying capacity.

• Carrying capacity is a management system directed toward maintenance. or restoration

of ecological and social conditions defined as acceptable and appropriate.

• It is too mechanical, too deterministic

• Not dynamic enough, biology is more variable

• This is a fluid concept –resource accessibility can increase with the improvement of

technology

• Growth of the economy has had massive influences on the resources- they are

becoming depleted and the ‘waste sinks’ are becoming full.

• The distribution of resources is not fair

• Carrying capacity is not an absolute number

• Depends on available resources and per capita consumption

• Different organisms will have different carrying capacities in the same area. Thus the

carrying capacity of an ecosystem affects everything that lives in it.

Concept of carrying capacity on resource management:

Carrying capacity is the term that derives from ecological science. It is a well-defined concept

within population biology and indicates the maximum number of individuals of a given species

that can be sustained within a defined area. It has been argued that such a concept has limited

direct relevance to humans. Technological changes have historically increased the carrying

capacity, which means that there is no easily identifiable fixed biological limit.

Carrying capacity is equals to maximum number of organism that can live somewhere based on

some of the limiting factors. And carrying capacity is generally determined by the limiting

factors.Limiting factors are those biotic and abiotic factors that limits the number, reproduction

or distribution of an organism.

They are— sunlight, food, temperature, space , water etc.

Secondly, for animals, carrying capacity is a survivability concept where the largest possible

population is living at a minimum requirement level. This would not be in accordance with

typical definitions of sustainable development. However, various concepts for resource

management seek to compare the availability of goods and services from nature with the

requirement for such goods and services for a given population and standard of living. Such an

approach has principal similarities to the concept of carrying capacity.

Carrying capacity is a multidimensional concept, which is used as a framework around which

recreation planning and management are organized. It is a complex concept. It relates to many

aspects of use in addition to numbers of users.

When a population is below its carrying capacity, it will increase in size. And that time birth rate

will exceeds death rates.

If a natural population overshoots the carrying capacity, three things may happen:

➢ It will die back to the original carrying capacity

➢ It will die back, but because of damage to the environment, carrying capacity is

lower.

➢ It will become extinct.

The concept of carrying capacity is of central importance in environmental science. If the

carrying capacity for an organism is exceeded, resources are depleted, environmental

degradation results and the population declines.

Types of C C:

There are two types of carrying capacity:

Physical--- Biophysical

Social--- Psychological

Biophysical Carrying Capacity:

Biophysical carrying capacity is the maximum level of use a specific bounded area can sustain ,

as determined by natural factors, such as food , shelter and water.

Beyond this limit, no sustained increases in population or use can occur. The concept originated

in America during the 1960s as a tool for rangeland and grazing management and has gained

worldwide. The rangeland carrying capacity has been extended in recent years to recreation

management as a response to increased levels of use of wilderness and outdoor areas. In

recent years, it has been extended to identify the capacity of regions, countries and the entire

world to sustain human populations based on their resources (i.e, related concepts of social

carrying capacity and ‘ecological footprint’).

The maximum population size that could be sustained biophysically under given technological

capabilities is known as the term ‘biophysical carrying capacity’.

It is the extent to which the natural environment is able to tolerate interference from tourists.It

deals with ecology which is able to regenerate to some extent so in this case the carrying

capacity is when the damage exceeds the habitat’s ability to regenerate.

Example:

The following example is drawn exclusively from North America and Britain.

A pioneering study on the effects of trampling on vegetation and soil was conducted by

Bates(1935) in England. Surveys of footpaths as well as of the adjacent terrain were done

during both the summer and winter. Data were collected concerning the frequency of

occurrence and areal extent of vegetation species. Bates discovered that many species of plant

on trails were damaged or even completely destroyed by treading action. On the other hand ,

new species which were more resistant to trampling gradually became established along the

trails. Concerning the soil ,he noted a significant differences for density and moisture content

between the trails and adjacent terrain, although no differences occurred in chemical

composition.

Bates supplemented his observation of trampling effects on trails and control areas with other

data based on simulation. In one experiment, certain grasses were grown in separate and

repeated strips. Some strips were trodden upon daily, and comparisons were made with

untrodden strips. In a different experiment, Bates imitated the trampling action of a hoof in wet

weather by frequently cutting the grass with a disc harrow. This procedure and the one based

on trampling provided guidelines as to which species were hardy and which would fail. Bates

study, although simple in many ways, established the principles upon which must subsequent

research has been based.

Environmental Impact Assessment

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process of evaluating the likely environmental

impacts of a proposed project or development, taking into account inter-related socio-economic,

cultural and human-health impacts, both beneficial and adverse.

Environmental assessment (EA) is the assessment of the environmental consequences (positive

and negative) of a plan, policy, program, or actual projects prior to the decision to move forward

with the proposed action.

Key elements of the EIA process

EIA systems can be described by reference to three components:

1. the legal and institutional framework of regulation, guidance and procedure, which

establishes the requirements for the conduct of EIA;

2. the steps and activities of the EIA process, as applied to specific types of proposals; and

3. the practice and performance of EIA, as evidenced by the quality of EIA reports

prepared, the decisions taken and the environmental benefits delivered.

EIA process

The way in which an EIA is carried out is not rigid: it is a process comprising a series of steps.

These steps are outlined below and the techniques more commonly used in. The main steps in

the EIA process are:

-screening

- scoping

- prediction and mitigation

- management and monitoring

-audit

All steps of EIA process are-

-Resources

-Screening

-Scoping

-Prediction and mitigation

-Management and monitoring

-Auditing

-Public participation

-Managing uncertainty

-Techniques

-Final report - Environmental impact statement

Resources

There will be a large number of people involved in EIA apart from the full-time team members.

These people will be based in a wide range of organizations, such as the project proposing and

authorizing bodies, regulatory authorities and various interest groups. Such personnel would be

located in various agencies and also in the private sector; a considerable number will need

specific EIA training. The length of the EIA will obviously depend on the programme, plan or

project under review.

Screening

Screening is the process of deciding on whether an EIA is required. This may be determined by

size .Alternatively it may be based on site-specific information. Guidelines for whether or not an

EIA is required will be country specific depending on the laws or norms in operation. Legislation

often specifies the criteria for screening and full EIA. All major donors screen projects presented

for financing to decide whether an EIA is required.

Scoping

Scoping occurs early in the project cycle at the same time as outline planning and pre-feasibility

studies. Scoping is the process of identifying the key environmental issues and is perhaps the

most important step in an EIA. Several groups, particularly decision makers, the local population

and the scientific community, have an interest in helping to deliberate the issues which should be

considered, and scoping is designed to canvass their views. At this stage the option exists for

cancelling or drastically revising the project should major environmental problems be identified.

Equally it may be the end of the EIA process should the impacts be found to be insignificant.

Prediction and mitigation

Once the scoping exercise is complete and the major impacts to be studied have been identified,

prediction work can start. This stage forms the central part of an EIA. Several major options are

likely to have been proposed either at the scoping stage or before and each option may require

separate prediction studies. It becomes important to quantify the impact of the suggested

improvements by further prediction work. Options need to be discarded as soon as their

unsuitability can be proved or alternatives shown to be superior in environmental or economic

terms, or both. An important outcome of this stage will be recommendations for mitigating

measures. This would be contained in the Environmental Impact Statement. The aim will be to

introduce measures which minimize any identified adverse impacts and enhance positive

impacts. Feasibility studies indicate that some options are technically or economically

unacceptable and thus environmental prediction work for these options will not be required.

Management and monitoring

The part of the EIS covering monitoring and management is often referred to as the

Environmental Action Plan or Environmental Management Plan. This section not only sets

out the mitigation measures needed for environmental management, both in the short and long

term, but also the institutional requirements for implementation. The term 'institutional' is used

here in its broadest context to encompass relationships:

• established by law between individuals and government;

• between individuals and groups involved in economic transactions;

• developed to articulate legal, financial and administrative links among public

agencies;

• motivated by socio-psychological stimuli among groups and individuals

The purpose of monitoring is to compare predicted and actual impacts, particularly if the

impacts are either very important or the scale of the impact cannot be very accurately

predicted. The results of monitoring can be used to manage the environment, particularly

to highlight problems early so that action can be taken.

Auditing

In order to capitalize on the experience and knowledge gained, the last stage of an EIA is

to carry out an Environmental Audit some time after completion of the project or

implementation of a programme. The audit should include an analysis of the technical,

procedural and decision-making aspects of the EIA. The audit will determine whether

recommendations and requirements made by the earlier EIA steps were incorporated

successfully into project implementation.

Public Participation

Public participation in the planning process is essential. The EIA provides an ideal forum for

checking that the affected public have been adequately consulted and their views taken into

account in project preparation. The level of consultation will vary depending on the type of plan

or project. New projects involving resettlement or displacement will require the most extensive

public participation. The value of environmental amenities is not absolute and consensus is one

way of establishing values. Public consultation will reveal new information, improve

understanding and enable better choices to be made. Without consultation, legitimate issues may

not be heard, leading to conflict and unsustainability.

Managing uncertainty

An EIA involves prediction and thus uncertainty is an integral part. There are two types of

uncertainty associated with environmental impact assessments: that associated with the process

and, that associated with predictions. With the former the uncertainty is whether the most

important impacts have been identified or whether recommendations will be acted upon or

ignored. For the latter the uncertainty is in the accuracy of the findings. EIA enables uncertainty

to be managed and, as such, is an aid to better decision making. A useful management axiom is

to preserve flexibility in the face of uncertainty.

Final report - Environmental impact statement

The final report of an EIA is often referred to as an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). In

addition to summarizing the impacts of the alternatives under study this report must include a

section on follow up action required to enable implementation of proposals and to monitor long-

term impacts. The purpose of an EIA is not to reach a decision but to present the consequences

of different choices of actions and to make recommendations to a decision maker.

Recommendations are a crucial part of the Environmental Impact Statement.

Methods of EIA

There are some methods of EIA. These are-

• Ad hoc method

• Checklists

• Matrices

• Overlays

• Networks Ad hoc method

Checklist

Checklists are the simplest method for systematizing scoping of the likely effects of a proposed

policy. They help point out areas that require a more detailed assessment. In some cases

checklists also represent the impact analyses itself.

Types of Checklist

Simple checklists merely list aspects to be considered in the analysis. They function as a guide

for conducting the analysis by pointing out issues that are likely be affected, including those that

may be less obvious but may still be relevant.

Descriptive checklists add to simple checklists as they do not only list the aspects to be

considered but provide additional background information on each aspect.

Questionnaire checklists are composed of a series of questions that highlight potentially relevant

issues.

Weighting checklists include simple devices for assessing importance or significance of

suspected aspects. This might be through the use of letter or numeric scales, assigned based on

criteria supplied in the checklist, to indicate the importance of an impact.

Example simple/ descriptive checklist

In its guidelines the EU Commission (2009) provides a specially developed innovation checklist

(see Annexes 1-13) for assessing the impacts of policy options on innovation effects in which an

estimation in terms of – until +++ of short, medium- and long-term as well as indirect impacts

should be given.

Example questionnaire checklist

European Commission's list of key questions in the IA Guidelines (2009) shall provide a basis

on which to screen options against possible economic, social and environmental impacts.

Concept of natural resources

Dr Edris AlamDepartment of Geography and Environmental StudiesUniversity of Chittagong, Chittagong-4331Bangladesh

Resources or natural resources are any form of matter or energy obtained from the physical environment that meet human needs. Resource subjective.

This definition of natural resources is not as simple as it appears. Most resources are created by human ingenuity. Oil was once a useless fluid until humans learned how to locate it, extract it from the ground, and separate it by distillation into various components such as gasoline, home heating oil, and road tar.

Similarly, coal and uranium were once useless rocks. Something may become useful or useless for

Concept of natural resources

may become useful or useless for human needs as a result of changes in the technology of resource extraction and processing

Whether something is classified as a resource depends on technology, economics, cultural beliefs, and the environmental effects of finding and using it.

Sometimes people have resources and they don’t use it or they think that they don’t have!

Concept of natural resources

Resource: subjective

Zimmermann provided a functional interpretation of resource in 1933.

He argued that neither the environment nor parts of the environment are resources until they are, or are considered to be, capable of satisfying mankind’s need.

Concept of natural resources

considered to be, capable of satisfying mankind’s need.

Resource as subjective, relative and functional one

Natural resources are defined by mankind’s perceptions, attitudes, wants, technological skills, legal, financial and institutional arrangements as well as political customs (Mitchell, 1979)

Resources are not, they become; they are not static but expand and contract in response to human wants and human actions (Zimmermann, 1951: 15)

Natural resources are often classified :

Renewable resources are generally living resources (fish, and forests, for example), which can restock (renew) themselves if they are not overharvested.are not overharvested.

Non-renewable resources is anatural resource that cannot be re-made or re-grown. Often fossil fuels, such as coal, petroleum andnatural gas are considered non-renewable resources.

Actual versus potential resources

On the basis of their stages of developments, resources can be classified into both Actual and Potential resources:

The resources held actually in

Concept of natural resources/Classification of resources

The resources held actually in stock are called Actual resources.

Even the actual source of resources may not be possible to be used to their full.

The portion that can be used profitably with the help of available technology is termed as Potential resourcs.

The size and quantity of a potential resource may change with changes in technology and time.

Resources can also be classified on biotic and abiotic:

Biotic resources are derived from animals and plants (living world).

Concept of natural resources/classification of resources

(living world).

Abiotic resouces are derived from the non-living world e.g. land, water, and air. Mineral and power resources

can also be abiotic resourcessome are derived from nature.

APLICATIONS of The Sun’s Energy

Solar energy is currently used in a number of applications:

Heating (hot water, building heat, cooking)

Electricity generation (photovoltaics, heat)

Concept of natural resources

Electricity generation (photovoltaics, heat)

Desalination of seawater

Its application is spreading as the environmental costs and limited supply of otherpower sources such as fossil fuels are realized.

Applications of the Sun’s Energy: Solar Lighting

Concept of natural resources

Insulation ( light )

Geographical research in resource analysis: four types

Studying of natural resources: surveying, mapping, measure of supply and demand, resources characteristics and properties

Studies of alternative allocations (spatial, temporal and functional) in terms of users, facilities and activities

Studies of variables (biophysical, technological, economic, social, political, institutional, legal) which condition social, political, institutional, legal) which condition resource allocation or development

Studies of the impact of specific resource allocations

• Resource management represents the actual decisions concerning policy or practice regarding how resources are allocated and under what conditions or arrangements resources may be developed.

• Resource management may be defined as a process of decision making whereby resources are allocated over space and time according to the needs, aspirations, and desires of man within the framework of his

Definition of resource management

needs, aspirations, and desires of man within the framework of his technological inventiveness, his political and social institutions, and his legal and administrative arrangements.

Land use management

Land management is the process of managing the use and development (in both urban and rural settings) of land resources. Land resources are used for a variety of purposes which may include organic agriculture, reforestation, water resource management and eco-tourism projects. By applying effective land use management policy and practice, geographer may play significant role in sustainable resource management.

Importance of studying resource management from geographical point of view

role in sustainable resource management.

Importance of studying resource management from geographical point of view

• Spatial distribution of resources: Resource distribution refers to geographical occurrence or spatial arrangement of resources. Consequences of uneven resource distribution:- Human settlement and population distribution- Human migration- Economic activity- Trade- Wealth and quality of life

• Conservation of resources:

A way that we manage our natural resources for sustained output without depleting them and/or damaging the resource base. The term conservation came into use in the late 19th cent. and referred to the management, mainly for economic reasons, of such valuable natural resources as timber, fish, game, topsoil, pastureland, and minerals, and also to the preservation of forests (see forestry), wildlife (see wildlife refuge), parkland etc.

Importance of studying resource management from geographical point of view

• Carrying capacity:Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs’(Brundtland Report, WCED 1987: 43) In ecological terms, the carrying capacity of an ecosystem is the size of the population that can be supported indefinitely upon the available resources and services of that ecosystem. Living within the limits of an ecosystem depends on three factors: • the amount of resources available in the ecosystem, • the size of the population, and • the size of the population, and • the amount of resources each individual is consuming.

• Sustainable livelihood approaches:‘A livelihood comprises the capabilities, assets (including both material and social resources) and activities required for a means of living. A livelihood is sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks and maintain or enhance its capabilities and assets both now and in the future, while not undermining the natural resource base (Carney, 2000)

Importance of studying resource management from geographical point of view

• Gender dimensions of resource managementThe distinct roles and interactions men and women have with the environment mean that any programme intervention will impact on them in different ways. When it comes to environmental protection and management, they’re also likely to have different opinions, attitudes, priorities and power over resources. They also interact differently with the environment, which provides them with different opportunities to protect and manage it more sustainably.

• Indigenous practices of resource management• Indigenous practices of resource management

Geography studies about ethnicity, race and cultural heritage of human population. It is found that indigenous people are more efficient in managing natural resource management than that of the mainland population. For example, CHT forest resource management by a tribal group. They formed a committee to protect and manage forest in Pladoy Mropara area of Taracha union at Roangchari Upzilla of Bandarban district.The programme is funded by Aronnoyak Foundation and implemented by a local NGO called Tazingdong to organise villagers to restore past practices of forest resource management. Tazingdong received Energy Global Award 2016 at Marrakesh COP 22.

• Indigenous practices of resource managementThere was a hilly jiri running from the top of hill. This Jiri was the source of water tribal residents in the area. The Tazingdong set a large tank to restore water from the Jiri. If there were no forest covering the Jiri, this would face dried up and the community would face water shortage. Before they have to collect water by walking long distance. The committee forbid to catch any animal species and cut any plant species. The don’t allow any forest business enterprise to enter in the area to collect/buy forest. The committee has prepared the list of forest

Importance of studying resource management from geographical point of view

the area to collect/buy forest. The committee has prepared the list of forest types, shrub, medicinal plant species and animal species. Thus, this area has more plant and animal species than adjacent areas which are exposed to non-tribal community.

Importance of studying resource management from geographical point of view

Importance of studying resource management from geographical point of view

Explain the role of a geographer as a resource analyst, resource developer and resource manager with examples.

• Geography is the science of place and space. Geographers ask where things are located on the surface of the earth, why they are located where they are, how places differ from one another, and how people interact with the environment.

• Geography is unique in linking the social sciences and natural sciences together. Geographers also study the relationships between human activity and natural systems.

• Perception of resources:• Landscape planning/land management:• Landscape planning/land management:• Resource conservation• Usage of resources: local, regional and global usage and their challenges• Evaluation and planning for resources: GIS based evaluation and planning for

sustainable utilisation• Nature conservation and sustainable development

Resource Ecosystem

A resource is a source or supply from which benefit is produced. Ecosystem of the environment that

provides all necessary things that are required by a living organism for normal growth, maintenance,

and reproduction is called resource ecosystem. Resource ecosystem provide following services for the

living organisms:

➢ Provisioning services such as food, water, timber and fibre.

➢ Regulated services that affect climate, floods, soil, disease, wastes and water quality

&

➢ Cultural services that provide recreational, aesthetic and spiritual benefits.

Forest Ecosystem

An ecosystem is usually a distinct system with its own special characteristics. Forest

ecosystem is a community of organisms living together in a forest.

According to Fao (2000)

Ecosystem dominated by trees (perennial woddy plants > 5m at maturity) where crown cover

>10%, area > 0.5 hector is called forest ecosystem.

According to Convention on Biodiversity (2001)

Forest ecosystem is the ecosystem in which trees are predominate life forms.

Forest Ecosystem Degradation in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has 4 types of forests region. They are:

1. Mangrove (Sundarbans) - Along the rest of the coastline and at chittagong

2. Sal forest- Gajipur, Mymensingh, Tangail, comilla, Rangamati, Dinajopur, Rajshahi.

3. Hill forest – Chittagong, syllhet, Cox Bazar, Chittagong hill tracks forest.

4. Coastal forest (Planted mangrove and shoreline forest).

These forests have also maintained great ecological cycle with its surrounded animal. The

history of forestry in Bangladesh can be characterized as a classic example of continued

deforestation and degradation (Jashimuddin and Inoue, 2012, Islam and Sato 2012). The

tropical moist deciduous Sal forest ecosystem of Central Bangladesh is currently in a critical

situation. Destructive anthropogenic and natural impacts coupled with overexploitation of

forest resource have caused severe damage to forest ecosystem.

The drivers or reason of forest ecosystem degradation in Bangladesh:

In different forest region of Bangladesh there are different drivers who are responsible for

forest ecosystem degradation. They are:

Sundarban:

Indirect Drivers Direct Drivers

1. Poor management 1. Increase salinity

2. Overpopulation 2. Legal and illegal logging

3. Poverty 3.Pollution

4 Lack of land use plan 4 Disease

5 Corruption

6 Agriculture

7 Shrimp farming

Sal Forest

Indirect Drivers Direct Drivers

1 poor management Fuel wood harvest

2. over population Illegal logging

3. Unemployment problem Industrial encroachment

4 poverty Arbitrary forest cutting

Hill forest

Indirect Drivers Direct Drivers

1 Over population Fire

2 Migration to area Shifting cultivation

3 Uncertain land tenure Impoundment

Legal and illegal logging

Coastal forest

Indirect drivers Direct drivers

1 Demand for food 1 Shrimp farming

2 Demand for seafood 2 Illegal harvest

3 Unclear land tenure 3 Pollution

4 Over population 4 Polders for rice

5 Climate change

6 Increasing salinity

7 Tropical cyclone and storm surge

8 Oil dumping

9 Unplanned tourism

Significance of Coastal forest in integrated coastal zone management in Bangladesh

Coastal zone are the interfaces of land and ocean balancing geosphere, atmosphere, and

biosphere. Major biological living and about 3 million people are living in the coastal zone.

Bangladesh has difficult coastline with many rivers and distributaries and coastal forest

(comprising about 99,000 hector of planted mangrove and shoreline forest) with complex

ecology which is affected by natural hazard, tidal surges, salinity etc.

Coastal forest belt can play a significant role to reduce vulnerabilities in the coastal zone in

Bangladesh. It also helps in the integrated coastal zone management in following way:

1. Coastal forest can provide varying degrees of tsunami mitigation depending on their

design and management.

• Wide forest belts reduce tsunami impacts to greater extent, as a tsunami’s

hydraulic force is progressively dissipated by drag created by forest vegetation

over distance.

• Moderate forest stand densities are most effective in absorbing a tsunami’s

energy. If the density of trees and shrubs is too low, waves may pass relatively

unimpeded. Forests that are overly dense can create excessive resistance and

may be levelled by a large wave.

• High species diversity and a mixed age structure reduces structural uniformity

of coastal forests and increase the density of roots, trunks, branches and

foliage such that resistance to a tsunami is increased.

• Mature stands (but not over mature stands) are less likely to be toppled,

uprooted or have trunks and branches snapped off by a tsunami.

2. Trees and forest can play critical roles in preventing landslide and soil erosion.

3. Coastal protection: The dense root system of mangrove coastal forests traps

sediments flowing down rivers and off the land. This helps stabilizes the coastline

and prevents erosion from waves and storms. In areas, where coastal forest have been

cleared, coastal damage from hurricane and typhoons is much more severe. By

filtering out sediments, the forests also protect coral reefs and seagrass meadows

from being smothered in sediment.

4. Sustainable life:

• Mangrove wood is resistence to rot and insects, making it extremely valuable.

• Many coastal and indigenous communities rely on the forest wood for

construction material as well as for fuel.

• These communities also collect medicinal plants from forest ecosystems and

use forest leaves as animal fodder.

• Recently, the forests have also been commercially harvested for pulp, wood

chip. And charcoal production.

5. Tourism: Given the diversity of life inhabiting mangroves systems, and their

proximity in many cases to other tourist attraction such as coral reefs and sandy

beaches.

Q-8: What are the anthropogenic factors on global warming? What are the local

and regional level contributory factors in Chittagong to cause to happen global

warming. Critically evaluate whether sea level changes on Bangladesh coast due to

global warming.

Global warming refers to arise in the temperature of the surface of the earth and increase

in the concentration of greenhouse gases leads to an increase in the magnitude o fthe

greenhouse effect.

Greenhouse gases are naturally occurring gases that pose no harm when they are in

balance. However, when they are present in excess, the system becomes unbalanced and

things start to go awry.

Anthropogenic Causes of Global Warming:

Scientists have concluded that most of the observed warming is very likely due

to anthropogenic causes. The most important greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide,

methane, nitrous oxide and water vapor. While all these gases occur naturally in the

atmosphere, emissions from human sources has caused their levels to rise to a point that

is no longer sustainable.

Lets take a look at the major human causes of global warming.

Commented [h1]: Include Introduction, conclusions and appropriate section breakdown

Deforestation: Deforestation is the cutting down of trees and plants to make way for any

development activity. Vegetation absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere during the

process of photosynthesis, converting this to carbon which is stored within all plants (i.e

it is a carbon sink). When vegetation is burned, this organic carbon is released into the

atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide, and in so doing becomes a carbon source

rather than a carbon sink.

This means that it is very important to protect our trees to stop the greenhouse effect, and

also so we can breathe and live.

Burning Fossil Fuels: burning coal to generate electricity, burning oil to power vehicles

and aircraft (vehicle emissions), or burning wood in fires used for cooking or to provide

heat, etc. changes the state of stored organic carbon from a liquid (e.g. oil) or solid (e.g.

coal/wood) into a gas (carbon dioxide) which is released into the atmosphere.

Landfills: Landfills are those big chunks of garbage that stink and can be seen in so

many places around the world. Most of the time that garbage is burnt which releases toxic

gases including methane into the atmosphere. These enormous amounts of

toxic greenhouse gases when go into the atmosphere make global warming worse.

Overpopulation: Another cause of global warming is overpopulation. Since carbon

dioxide contributes to global warming, the increase in population makes the problem

worse because we breathe out more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. More people

means more demand for food, more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, more demand for

cars and more demand for homes. More demand for food will lead to

more transportation since movement of goods and services is done by transportation

sector. More demand for cars means more pollution in the air and more traffic on the

roads which means longer waiting time on the traffic lights and that will result in burning

of more fuel. More demand for homes means cutting down of plants and trees to make

way for homes, schools and colleges.

Mining: Oil and coal are two main culprits in producing greenhouse gases. Methane, like

carbon dioxide creates a thick shield over the atmosphere trapping the sun’s rays. With

the continued use of mining operations, these harmful gases will only increase.

Fertilizer Use: The unique thing about fertilizer is that it produces nitrous oxide once it

absorbs the soil. Nitrous oxide is 300 times more dangerous than carbon dioxide. The

EPA strongly warns that the farming industry’s use of fertilizer is one of the leading

causes of global warming.

Local and regional level contributory factors in Chittagong to cause to happen

global warming:

Deforestation in forest and hilly areas:

Destruction of forests has taken place due to industrialisation and population boom and

was not compensated by reforestation. Its adverse impact on climate has been noticed.

The forests in the Chittagong Hill Tracts have been over-exploited by the tribal people,

mainly for jhum cultivation. In hill forest area, militarization, profit-making,

industrialization and development interventions in the form of Karnaphuli hydro-

electricity project and Kaptai dam is the main underlying cause of hill deforestation.

Hill cutting: Among the topographical features of any region, hills are the most

dominating one contributing to the delicate balance in the ecosystem. It is obvious that

any sort of mishandling of the hills will make the ecosystem of this region complicated.

Table: Hill cutting area of Chittagong city

Brick fields: In Bangladesh bricks are produced using coal or firewood as fuel. Brick

manufacture is seasonal, taking place in the winter, and disseminated through the whole

country, although there is a concentration of kilns around Chittagong. There is no data

available on carbon dioxide emissions from these kilns.

Industries: Industry contributes greatly in global warming as Chittagong is an

industrialized city. Main industrial sector contributing global warming are as follows:

Fertilizer: There are 10 fertilizer plants in Bangladesh of which seven produce Urea, one

TSP and two DAP. 3 of these situated in Chittagong. The CO2 generation from the

process is very small and therefore their contribution to national emissions is negligible.

In 2004, natural gas consumption in the fertilizer sector was 12821 million m3 (source

BCIC).

Cement: Chittagong has some cement industries which are contributing in global

warming. The main pollutants emitted from cement industries include Particulate Matter,

Sulphur Dioxide (SO2) and Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2).

Chemical: Chittagong has some chemical industries. The pollutants found in the largest

quantities at chemical manufacturing sites include pesticides and volatile organic

compounds. However, other pollutants include arsenic, cadmium, cyanide, mercury,

chromium and lead.

Textile: Textile industry is chemically intensive. Approximately 2000 different varieties

of chemicals are used in textile industries right from dyes like desizing, prewashing,

mercerizing, dyeing, printing etc to transfer agents.

Solid waste burning: Increased generation of methane (CH4) from municipal solid

wastes (MSW) alarms the world to take proper initiative for the sustainable management

of MSW, because it is 34 times stronger than carbon dioxide (CO2). MSW combustion

principally converts chemical energy stored into it to thermal energy through the

combustion processes at high temperatures of 980 to 1090°C by which CO2 is emitted.

Commercial agriculture: Commercial agricultural practices in Chittagong is

contributory to global warming as it involves in the production of green house gases

through following ways: manufacture and use of pesticides and fertilizers, fuel and oil for

tractors, equipment, trucking and shipping, electricity for lighting, cooling, and heating,

and emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and other green house gases.

Fossil fuel burning: Fossil fuel burning is imposing significant threats through

alternating parameters of different environmental components. It was found from a study

which was conducted Nasirabaad industrial zone in Chittagong from January to

December, 2014, most of the industries used to burn huge amount of different types fossil

fuel and do not use any types of air pollution controller.

Critical evolution of sea level change on Bangladesh coast due to global warming:

From an estimation (WARPO, 2006), it is predicted that about 14, 32 and 88 cm sea-level

rise will occur at 2030, 2050 and 2100, respectively which may inundate about 8, 10 and

16% of total land mass of Bangladesh. At base line situation i.e. 0 (zero) rise in the sea

level a total of 1572085 ha land is inundated in 16 coastal districts due to monsoon flood.

Further rise in sea-level will expand inundation areas where Patuakhali, Khulna and

Barisal regions would be the most affected.

Figure: Land area inundation due to projected sea-level rise in Bangladesh.

(WARPO, 2006)

Faster ocean warming due to climate change – One of the reasons of catastrophic sea

level rising. Rising sea levels are driven by two things – (i) the thermal expansion of sea

water, and (ii) additional water from melting sources of ice. Both these processes are

caused by global warming.

For example, the glaciers or ice sheet that cover Arctic region contains enough water to

raise world ocean levels by seven meters, which would bury sea-level cities like Dhaka

and Chittagong and also other coastal areas of the country.

Global heating effects are strong in melting of snow and ice, rising global mean sea level,

widespread changes in precipitation amounts, ocean salinity, wind patterns and aspects of

extreme weather including droughts, heavy precipitation, heat waves and the intensity of

tropical cyclones. The rate of rise in temperatures depends on if and how fast emissions

are reduced and on possible adverse feedbacks in the climate system. Temperatures are

sure to rise faster in the next decades as well.

From these discussions it can be say that global warming is the main contributory reasons

of sea level change in Bangladesh coast.