Climate Change
Urmi Jahan Tanni; Nahrin Jannat Hossain; Md Mahfuzul Haque; Md Redwanul Islam
Abstract
Drought poses significant environmental and economic threats in northwestern parts of Bangladesh. It results mainly due to uncertainty in rainfall and long-dry weather pattern. Scientists predict that less rainfall, characterized by climate change, will increase water scarcity and lead to severe hydrological ...
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Drought poses significant environmental and economic threats in northwestern parts of Bangladesh. It results mainly due to uncertainty in rainfall and long-dry weather pattern. Scientists predict that less rainfall, characterized by climate change, will increase water scarcity and lead to severe hydrological and agricultural drought with a long-term impact on life and livelihood. We aimed to identify the coupled socio-hydrological systems in Sapahar Upazila of Naogaon District to understand the consequences of prolonged drought. We also explored the socio-hydrological resilience and capacity of the households to cope with the situation. We identified the social subsystems of the household members that assist in facing the challenges posed by drought. The research identified that household members are increasingly susceptible to water scarcity, crop failure, food insecurity, and unemployment due to recurring drought events. Farmers have been adopting strategies, including changing traditional agricultural patterns, cultivating drought-tolerant species, introducing rainwater harvesting systems, re-excavating pond and canal to store water, and sometimes farmers are changing their conventional occupation and migrating to nearby cities. Long-term transformation in land use and land cover change is also identified employing GIS analytical tools. It has identified the decline of paddy fields and the increase of mango cultivation and fish farming over twenty years. Based on the findings, the study recommends increased institutional cooperation among different stakeholders. It also suggests taking measures like innovating drought tolerant and less water consuming crops and supporting farmers to strengthen human-water coupling to achieve resilience against drought.
Water Harvesting
Binata Roy; G M Tarekul Islam; A.K.M. Saiful Islam; Biswa Bhattacharya; Md. Jamal Uddin Khan
Abstract
Pre-monsoon (March-May) flash flood in the northeast Haor region of Bangladesh has drawn much attention due to its early onset, high frequency, and adverse impact on the Boro crop. To understand its past changes and future occurrences, a trend analysis is carried out on the observed 3 - hourly water ...
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Pre-monsoon (March-May) flash flood in the northeast Haor region of Bangladesh has drawn much attention due to its early onset, high frequency, and adverse impact on the Boro crop. To understand its past changes and future occurrences, a trend analysis is carried out on the observed 3 - hourly water level data and daily rainfall data of the Haor region using the Mann-Kendall test, Trend-Free Pre-Whitening test, and Sens slope estimator. A statistically significant increasing trend is found for the relative water level. The trend in rainfall is increasing, though it is not statistically significant. From the observed record, the peak of the flash floods is found to be arriving early in late March-early April (instead of late April-early May), coinciding with the harvesting period of the Boro crop. The early arrival of the flash flood can cause catastrophic damage to the Boro crop in future flash floods. None of the current Boro varieties BRRI dhan28, BRRI 36, BRRI dhan69, BRRI dhan88 are safer to save Boro from early flash floods experienced in recent years. To escape the Boro crop from an early flash flood, Boro varieties with a shorter growth duration should be introduced. This helps crop productivity.
