CoCHAP: Bangladesh

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COCHAP Cities in Bangladesh

Both Bagerhat and Satkhira cities in Bangladesh are implementing the coastal hazard resilience component of the COCHAP

The Bagerhat Municipality is one of the coastal towns of southern Bangladesh of Bagerhat district, which is beside the river Bhairab (Map 1). It was declared asa municipality in 1958 which consists of 9 wards and 31 mahallas. The municipality has a special attraction for archeological heritage with religious norms. The Bagerhat Municipality in the impact zone of Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world. In Bagerhat Municipality, the total population is 55,086, consisting of 27,325 males and 27,761 females.

The religious demographics in Bagerhat Paurashava indicate that there are 38,759 Muslims, 10,284 Hindus, 21 Christians, 4 Buddhists, and 5 individuals belonging to other religious affiliations. Additionally, 0.9% of the population in Bagerhat Paurashava are reported to be suffering from various kinds of disabilities. Bagerhat municipality’s economy mainly relies on the service sector, with a substantial portion of the population engaged in service-related occupations. A significant number (62.96%) of males and 23.03% females, are employed in various service industries, reflecting the sector's significance in Bagerhat's employment landscape. Following closely is the industrial sector, which constitutes the second most important sector of employment in the region. A total of 5.98% males and 1.25% females are employed in industrial occupations, highlighting the role of industry in driving economic activity. However, agricultural employment remains relatively low, with only a few individuals involved in agricultural work. Specifically, there are 5.80% males and 0.98% females working in agriculture, indicating the limited contribution of agriculture to Bagerhat Municipality's employment sector.

The Satkhira municipality consists of a total population of 138397, of which 50.42% (69780) are male and 49.58% (68617) are female, indicating almost an equal gender distribution in the municipality. The municipality has 1.2% of PWDs of the total population. In terms of religion, the municipality consists of people of four religions, where the highest are followers of the Muslim religion, followed by Hindus then Christians. The people living in Satkhira City mainly have three types of employment opportunities, agricultural opportunity, industrial opportunity, and service opportunity. Of the total employed 20.66% are male and 3.58% female are engaged in the agricultural sector, 6.65% are male and 0.93% female are engaged in the industrial sector and 50.45% are male and 17.72% female are service holders.

Progress and Impact

Bangladesh, (as of April 2024 -latest at the top), we...

Completed the City-level Risk Assessment Report for both Satkhira and Bagerhat cities that led us identify the top hazards and most vulnerable communities and areas to develop solutions for.

The process of updating the existing OpenStreetMap (OSM) of Bagerhat and Satkhira municipality has been started. This updating process will be done in different phases. The BDRCS Information Management (IM) team is taking the lead in this regard. Thirty-six Red Crescent Youth (RCY) volunteers of Bagerhat and Satkhira branches are engaged in geo-spatial data collection of the municipal areas using Vespucci app. A day long orientation and field testing for the RCY volunteers was conducted prior to the data collection process.
Completed the City-level Risk Assessment Workshops with participation from local government, national disaster risk management authorities, academia, BDRC staff and volunteers and other city stakeholders.
Following the stakeholder mapping and engagement process, set-up city resilience coalitions in Satkhira and Bagerhat cities expanding the existing multi-stakeholder platform – The municipal disaster management committees.Their roles and responsibilities were also clarified by aligning the government standing orders on disaster. BDRCS also provide regular support to ensure periodic meetings of ward and municipal committees to keep them functional around the year.

Climate Context

Bangladesh is a low-lying delta region within southeastern Asia with several large rivers systems leading to the Indian Ocean. This makes the country especially vulnerable to extreme coastal and river flooding –particularly as climate change magnifies extreme weather events and sea level rise. Most coastal cities in Bangladesh are less than 1.5 meters above sea level, with approximately 10 % of the country is less than 1 meter above sea level . Bangladesh experiences subtropical monsoon climate with a wide seasonal variation in rainfall. During El Niño periods, Bangladesh typically experiences drier conditions during June to September and during La Niña periods, wetter than usual conditions typically occur.

Average temperature: 26.1°C

Seasonal Variation: 15°C and 34°C, with colder extremes in the mountainous North and the highest extremes around capital city Dhaka.

The warmest temperatures tend to accompany the summer rainy monsoon season from March to September.

Bangladesh is one of the wettest countries in the world with most regions experiencing at least 1.5m of precipitation annually and some receiving upwards of 5.8m. Most of this rainfall is associated with the South Asian Monsoon (June to October)

Tropical cyclone season: November - May.

All coastal cities and adjacent inland areas of Bangladesh are at significant risk of severe flooding and damage of essential infrastructure from tropical cyclone activity. In addition to coastal impacts, tropical cyclones can cause heavy precipitation, landslides, and heavy wind far from the coast (Rahman 2015; World Bank 2021b).

See section 1.2 Climate Change from Climate Center country profile for brief statements. Overall:

Frequency of hot days and hot nights are projected to increase across the country
1.4 and 2.4°C avg temp increase by 2050 and 2100
The frequency of above-normal floods has increased since 1950s
Observed shift in rain distribution (since 1960) with increases in March-May rainfall and decreases in June-August rains
Projected increase in extreme precipitation events
The frequency and intensity of cyclonic activity in the Bay of Bengal is also likely to increase.