Climate Change Impact and Adaptation Strategies in Bangladesh to Strengthen Regional Cooperation

Abstract

There is a need for global, regional, and local-level mitigation and adaptive strategies to address the reality of climate change impact. Adaptation to climate change is a critical issue in the Southeast Asian region. Geospatial, socioeconomic, and demographic conditions make South Asia to be one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change. The affected regions of Bangladesh have formed an alliance to study, adapt, and mitigate such calamities. Academic and policy research is increasing sharply as a result of the growing evidence on inevitable impacts in the region. Quick and effective actions for South Asia can make significant changes for the people of this region, who necessarily depend on agricultural and natural resources to make a living. South Asian countries ‘as a union’ can better negotiate with international assemblages and design joint coping mechanisms. For that reason, more efforts are required to drive future responses, including such aspects as vulnerability and adaptation assessments, methodology and approaches for modelling and data gathering, institutional approaches, financial and technical support, awareness and training, and networking and information management. Adaptation is a knowledge-intensive undertaking, which requires the provision of access to relevant and usable knowledge to ensure effective implementation and outcomes. Thus, there is a need for more regional collaborations and cooperation to reduce the diverse effects of climate change in South Asian countries. This chapter reviews the overall situation of climate change in Bangladesh and also explains various adaptation strategies from different dimensions.