Bamboo Thumping Bandits: The Political Economy of Climate Adaptation in Bangladesh

Abstract

Bangladesh contributes little to global greenhouse gas emissions, yet it is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. Because it sits at the intersection of three major river basins, illustrated in Figure 2.1, and features flat deltaic topography with low elevation, it is prone to a multitude of climate-related events such as floods, droughts, tropical cyclones and storm surges. Fifteen percent of its 162 million people live within one-meter elevation from high tide,1 and annual floods inundate between 20 and 70 percent of the country’s landmass each year.2 Bangladesh has high population density and rates of poverty. It is the seventh most populous country in the world, with a density greater than one thousand persons per square kilometer.3 Yearly per capita income ranges from $400 to $1,700 (depending upon what counts and whether purchasing power parity is considered).4 Bangladesh also has extreme climate variability, naturally alternating between seasons of monsoon and winter drought, and the nation is dependent upon crop agriculture, which is highly sensitive to changes in climate.5 Two-thirds of Bangladesh’s critical infrastructure sits five meters or less above sea level and Bangladesh is the most vulnerable country in the world to tropical cyclones and the sixth most vulnerable to floods.