Multi Hazard Vulnerabilities of the Coastal Land of Bangladesh

Abstract

This study assessed the vulnerability of the coastal lands of Bangladesh using secondary resources. The research revealed that coastal land within the country is threatened by saltwater intrusion, erosion-accretion, land subsidence, water logging, cyclones, storm surges and tidal fl ooding. A 1-m sea-level rise will inundate 17.5 % of Bangladesh's landmass along the coastal zone, affect 20 % of the country's rice fi elds and threaten the UNESCO declared world heritage site, the Sundarbans. Coastal soil will be affected by salinity intrusion at more rapid rate than coastal water. The six districts of Jessore, Magura, Narail, Faridpur, Gopalgonj and Jhalokhati have been affected by new salinity intrusion over the 24 year period of 1973-1997 and the loss in agriculture from salinity induced coastal land degradation could be as high as USD 587 million. Over a period of 20 years, the south central coast has accreted at a rate of 7.0 km 2 /year near the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (GBM) mouth and the southwest coast has been eroding at a rate of 1.9 km 2 / year. During this period, the coastal land has also been subsiding at a rate of 4 mm/ year. A total of 19,670 ha of saltpan in the Cox's Bazaar district of the Southeast coast is vulnerable to storm surges and vast agricultural lands of the Southwest and south-central coast of the country are highly vulnerable to tidal fl ooding and storm surges. Assessing vulnerability at a local level and formulating adaptation policies are both priority areas in formulating sustainable management options for the coastal lands of Bangladesh.