Impacts Assessment and Interventions to Overcome the Frequent Natural Calamities: A Case Study of Satkhira District in the Southern Part of Bangladesh

Abstract

Today, approximately 3 billion people, about half of the world‟s populations live within 200 kilometers of a coastline. By 2025, this figure is likely to double. Up to 50 percent of the population in Bangladesh lives in coastal areas. Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries often faced with natural calamity. The country is under serious threat as a result of climate change and the impact will be particularly felt in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. The people living in coastal areas are not only facing the burden of coastal flooding but also safe drinking water crisis because of salt intrusions. Every year people are migrating from coastal to urban areas because of environmental degradation in the form of frequent flooding, cyclones and storms, which makes their lives miserable. The southern part of Bangladesh faced an immense damage due to the destructive force of natural calamities. Communications were severely disrupted, water was contaminated by debris, many sources were inundated with saline water from tidal surges, eco-system and biodiversity severely affected, number of the landless poor farmers increased. The geophysical, environmental and economic impacts on Satkhira as a case study area which is situated in the southern part of Bangladesh will be assessed and intervention strategies will be recommended to overcome the intensity of natural calamities.