Global climate is changing continuously as a result of industrial revolution and rapid urbanisation in many countries of the world which has significant impacts on environment, socio-economic condition, physical and biological issues. Increase of global temperature, rainfall changes, sea level rise, occurrences of extreme weather events such as floods, cyclones, typhoons, droughts etc. are the major and direct consequences of climate change in the world (Pulhin et al., 2010, & Shaw et al., 2010). There are also many other indirect consequences of climate change such as increasing poverty, food production reduction, health nuisance, ecological imbalance, environmental degradation etc. which have adverse impacts on the society and people (Shaw et al., 2010). Considering these acute problems, people of the world are acting collectively to combat with the consequences of climate change. As for example, establishment of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), undertaking various global agreements and protocols, formulation of policies, plans etc. on climate change and disaster management are the reactions of global people to deal with climate change and climate induced natural disasters.
Bangladesh is a low-laying riverine disaster prone and densely populated country with high rate of population growth. Every year she is facing various climate induced natural disasters. In addition, climate change aggravates the consequences of natural disasters and thus, Bangladesh is recognised as one of the most vulnerable countries in the world. The worst situation is facing by the people of coastal areas due to their limited access to endowed resources, high risks and vulnerabilities to climate change and disasters (ERD, 2008; Ali, 1999; & Thomolla et al.). But, the coastal areas are endowed with various resources such as mineral resources, fisheries, forestry, ports and tourism facilities etc. Over exploitation, climate change and disasters are destroying these natural resources, degrading environment and making people vulnerable to disastrous situations. Low economic development, extreme poverty, geographic location and climate make the country vulnerable to climate change and natural disasters. Moreover, Bangladesh is facing various challenges related to climate change mitigation and disaster risk reduction due to poor socio-economic condition, lack of integration, lack of incorporation of emergency plan in development activities, inefficient institutional frameworks, limited access to information, lack of scientific assessment method and tool, limited access to natural resources, no curriculum on natural hazards, funding/financial constraints (Pulhin et al., 2010). This research has been undertaken to evaluate readiness of the people to climate change adaptation and disasters risk reduction in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. The main objectives of this research are to investigate livelihoods condition of the people to tackle impacts of climate change and natural disasters, assess resilience of the community/people to climate change and natural disasters, evaluate existing institutional frameworks, policies, plans and strategies and formulate climate change adaptation strategies by reviewing strategies from international best practices.
The main methods of conducting this study were desktop research; data collection through questionnaire survey and key informants interview; Data input in SPSS and Excel, processing and analysis; institutional frameworks, policies, programmes and strategies evaluation. A preliminary literature review was carried out to enrich theoretical background and understand the possible impacts of climate change and natural disasters, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and to formulate study goals and objectives. A comprehensive literature review was conducted and based on the literature review a conceptual framework of the study was developed. Socio-economic conditions such as population increase, GDP growth rate, literacy rate etc. and environmental condition such as GHGs emission, sea level rise, temperature increase etc. have been analysed to know climate change and disaster preparedness conditions of the people and severity of the impacts in Bangladesh. Impacts of climate change and disasters such as major disasters, population and GDP exposed to disasters, inundation risk, damages and losses etc. have been mentioned to comprehend the severity of the situations. Secondary data for this study was collected from different sources such as previous studies, census data, ministries and departments, World Bank, UN agencies etc. and performed the analysis. To know real world scenario a study area was selected and data related to socio-economic condition, status of preparedness of the people etc. were collected through household questionnaire survey, checklist, key informant interview, expert opinions. Data collected from questionnaire survey were analysed by SPSS and MS Excel. Based on the data collected from field survey disaster preparedness and resilience of the people to climate change and disasters have been evaluated and after evaluation it is found that people’s disaster preparedness and resilience to climate change and disasters are average or below average.
Besides that, institutional frameworks and various policies, plans, strategies, programmes for disaster management, climate change mitigation and adaptation have been evaluated. Many countries of the world have recognised that regulatory and institutional frameworks of climate change and disaster management in Bangladesh is comprehensive and appropriate, and they have also enhanced disaster management capacity of the country. Related data and documents have been collected from various secondary sources and evaluated by qualitative analysis method. Policies, plans, strategies and programmes (i.e. National Plan for Disaster Management (NPDM) 2010-2015; National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA)-2005; Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP)-2008 and Coastal Development Strategy (CDS)-2006) have been evaluated based on five evaluation criteria such as relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impacts and sustainability set by Development Assistance Committee (DAC) of Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to know their effectiveness to achieve their ultimate goals and objectives. Analysis of the institutional framework and policies, plans, programmes showed that they are comprehensive and able to achieve targeted goals and objectives. But, lack of proper integration and coordination, shortage of resources, lack of transparency and accountability are creating problems to achieve the desired outcomes.
Based on drawbacks found from the analysis, recommendations on socio-economic development, coastal resources and environmental protection, developing disaster preparedness, climate change adaptation strategies and institutional regulatory framework have been provided to improve disaster preparedness and resilience of the people. After implementation of these recommendations in the study area or other parts of the country the following outcomes such as better livelihood, food security, balanced ecosystem, environmental protection, improved disaster preparedness, climate change mitigation and disaster risk reduction will be achieved. / published_or_final_version / Urban Planning and Design / Master / Master of Science in Urban Planning
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:HKU/oai:hub.hku.hk:10722/195113 |
| Date | January 2013 |
| Creators | Rahman, Md. Mokhlesur |
| Publisher | The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) |
| Source Sets | Hong Kong University Theses |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | PG_Thesis |
| Rights | Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License, The author retains all proprietary rights, (such as patent rights) and the right to use in future works. |
| Relation | HKU Theses Online (HKUTO) |
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