Bangladesh Greenhouse Effect And Climate Change Sea Level Changes In The Bay Of Bengal

Although the "greenhouse effect" and "global climate change" have been the subjects of scientific scrutiny for many decades, only recently have they received widespread public attention. Two major events helped generate this attention. First, in 1990 the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its findings on the science, impacts and policy implications of climate change. The findings of the IPCC, prepared and reviewed extensively by the world's leading experts in the field, confirmed that the increasing atmospheric concentrations of "greenhouse" gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and the chlorofluorocarbons, could cause the world to warm and sea level to rise. Second, in 1992 the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) inRio de Janeiro focussed the attention of the world's national governments, as well as organisations and individuals outside the governments, on the threat of global climate change. The Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC), signed by nations at UNCED, reflects both the concern about the effects of climate change and the urgent need for action to prevent or reduce its potential impacts, particularly with respect to the vulnerable developing countries of the world. Bangladesh ratified the FCCC on 15 April 1994. The countries that have signed and ratified the FCCC are obligated to report to the Conference of the Parties (CoP) to the Convention on a number of inter related issues.

Study report of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Workshop on "Special Situation of Low-lying Deltaic Countries to Climate Change: Issues for the Policy Makers of Bangladesh" held at various places during June-Oct. 1996.

Climate Change in Bangladesh: Confronting Impending Disasters is a comprehensive analysis of climate change impacts on Bangladesh, followed by a review of measures for confronting the manifested threats of climate change on the people and environment of Bangladesh. Using an integrative approach, the authors blend their own work on indigenous adjustments to climatic hazards in Bangladesh with an analysis of the role of modern engineering intervention and disaster management policies in alleviating these hazards. There is also an emphasis on the environment and people of coastal Bangladesh who are at risk of inundation due to global warming–induced sea level rise. Thus, in addition to analyzing main climatic disasters at some length—tropical cyclones (hurricanes), floods, droughts, and sea level rise—key topics of human dimensions of climate change include climate change victims, climate refugees, climate justice, public policies on climate change, and a sample of adaptation measures for living with the rising sea levels.

Papers presented at the International Seminar on the Greenhouse Effect and the Coastal Area of Bangladesh organized by the Coastal Area Resource Development and Management Association, Bangladesh.