FORUM: For some climate change is already harsh reality

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Published: 6 January, 2011

Council leader Nash Ali and barrister Robert Latham report from their ­current visit to Bangladesh 

IN 2011, the political agenda will be dominated by the savage cuts in public expenditure. We must not close our eyes to the real challenge of the future, namely climate change and its impact on our planet.

On Monday, we visited Goragonj, a village in Bangladesh of some 3,000 inhabitants living in the basin of the Jamuna river, which is some 4km wide at this point. The villagers live in the low-lying, sandy islands or “chars”, many in extreme poverty. The villagers explained how the climate was becoming more unpredictable and extreme, a response equally relevant to weather patterns in the UK. For those living in the basins of the rivers which sweep down from snow-capped peaks of the Himalayas, the effects are already life threatening. 

This is some of the most fertile land in Bangladesh. However, the annual monsoons in June and July have always been an ordeal which threatens their survival. It is becoming less predictable as to when the rains will come. If they come late, there may be no time to sow the second crop. If they come early, it shortens the life cycle of the previous year.

The more extreme weather patterns relate   not only to the extent of the monsoon flooding; extremes of heat and lack of rain also cause problems. However, the greater the flooding, the greater is the damage – whether to life, cattle, homes or land. It also threatens to harm the progress that has already been made in education, women’s rights and sanitation.

We visited a project funded by Oxfam, which  is implementing an integrated programme focusing on disaster prevention and develop­ment. The village has been raised above the flood level to reduce the risk that homes will be lost. Four hundred people in seven districts have been trained in disaster management. 

The local infrastructure has been improved, with rescue boats and the basic emergency survival kits needed to respond to any emergency. The need to ensure families have access to safe drinking water and sanitation is essential. Water-borne disease is the biggest source of death to children in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is a low-lying country. With a population of 160 million, it will be the first major country, after the Maldives, to be affected by rising sea levels. Dr Dipu Moni, the Foreign Minister, predicts that 30 million people could be dispossessed of their land by 2050.

The compromise at the UN Climate Change conference in Cancun is seen as better than nothing. However, there is deep scepticism as to whether western governments will come up with the resources for the limited action that was agreed. Bangladesh also recognises its role in ensuring that India and China play their role in addressing the threat to our planet.

Last November, legal experts, politicians and economists gathered in Dhaka to back a plan for an International Court for the Environment. It could provide access to justice for victims of environmental damage. 

In the year ahead, we should recall that “fairness” extends beyond those living within the confines of one nation. We must all accept our personal responsibility to take measures to reduce the effects of climate change, and the consequences of our failure to take effective action on those who are already ravaged by the effect of climate change.