Impact of sea level rise in Bangladesh : a socio engineering overview

Sea Level Rise (SLR) is currently a burning issue for the coastal zone of Bangladesh. The main cause of the SLR is the changes in climate conditions. Approximately 28% of the total populations of this country are under threat of being ‘climate refugee’ due to SLR. The projection of SLR has raised the concern of permanent inundation, land erosion, salinity intrusion, fresh water and food security along with existence of ecosystems in the coastal zone. This study emphasizes the present and future scenario of the SLR projections rather identifying the root causes of SLR as well as global warming. As an integral part of SLR, the impacts of sea surface water temperature rise and the possible threat on the coastal ecology of the country have been pointed out using secondary data sources. Intensive information on salinityintrusion and possible coastal storms are also studied. Furthermore, how the poverty and the dependency on the foreign aid are linked with the climate change and SLR are demonstrated in the study from the socio engineering aspect. The critical combinations of location, geography and climate of Bangladesh coupled with its high population density are not only influencing the country to be a disaster prone one, but also placing difficulty in adopting protection measures. The proposed study is expected to provide useful information regarding socio-economic impacts of SLR, so that sustainable adaptation measures can be identified to cope with SLR in the coastal region of Bangladesh as well as other parts of the world