Editorial
Inevitability of climate change
Put it high on the agenda
Without sounding alarmist it can be said that climate change is upon us, like it or not. And its consequences are also distressing in the potential of the effects it is likely to have, particularly on the poorer countries like Bangladesh. These are issues of security, call it by whatever name you choose to, national or human or state. This matter has once again been highlighted by several NGOs to the media, ahead of the UN conference on climate change in Bali next December.
The climate change is likely to have the most damaging impact on the poorer countries, which is already being felt, wherein the indigents will be affected the most. It gives little comfort to know that a rise of 1 degree Celsius in temperature might cause as much as 15 percent of our land to go under water. As it is, we have to contend with a steady loss of agricultural land for various reasons, not least of all due to urbanisation. The additional loss, and the impact on our food security, as a result of the changes, must not be lost on our planners.
Other than generalisations, however, on the genesis, possible escalation and the ramifications of the global warming phenomenon, gleaned from international publications and media reports, we do not have any knowledge-based capacity internally to study and interpret it on a time scale. It is largely because of the fact that while the issue has received a good deal of verbal attention of governments and experts, in matters of state policy, it has been practically a low priority concern. We have a crop of environmental scientists working at home and abroad who are doing their bit in studying greenhouse emissions and its unfolding effects on the life in vulnerable parts of the planet. They are also participating in international conferences taking issues with the developed countries but the issue here is to develop knowledge-based approaches to assessing what impacts, long and short term, global warming will have on Bangladesh and evolving a preparedness strategy to meet the multifaceted challenge.
We have to enhance our connectivity with the international research organisations and think-tanks to bring to bear their inputs on to our understanding of the survival issues involved to be able to shape our strategies to meet them.
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