Reducing Climate Hazards of Sundarbans Community

Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to cyclones and floods, particularly in the country's coastal areas. Cyclones and associated storm surges and floods have led to almost all the nearly 520,000 natural disaster deaths recorded over the past 40 years. These events also have the potential to cause significant economic damage. A disaster risk reduction approach helps us consider our emergency response activities in light of existing and new disaster risks. This enables us to design or adjust our activities so that people and communities become safer and more disaster-resilient, as well as safeguarding efforts to create and expand enabling conditions for sustainable poverty alleviation and development.

Last 20^th May our coastal people experienced another devastating catastrophic cyclone named Amphan, which wind speed was around 160 to 180kph and sometime it was rising up to 200kph. More than 24 lakh people were moved to 14,636 permanent and temporary shelters in 19 coastal districts before the cyclone hit the country's coast. Nearly 220,000 homes were damaged, of which 55,667 were destroyed, rendering an estimated 500,000 people homeless according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. A 2.7-m (9 ft) storm surge breached 150 km (93 mi) of embankments, leading to the inundation of roughly 100 villages. Water Resources Minister said 7.5 kms of protection embankments were washed away at 84 points in 13 districts.  20 dead cases reported due to cyclone Amphan. This disaster of Amphan reminds us again why we should prepare for the reduction of disaster risk and from this we got more motivation to work for the vulnerable people. BEDS has given shelter to around 600 vulnerable during this cyclone Amphan time in their Cyclone shelter and training center and provided food and emergency equipment in that hard time. Due to BEDS outstanding activity during the Amphan time many people got themselves secured from the destruction of Amphan.

From the lesson of Amphan we have strengthen our activities to aware people about disaster risks and what should they do in pre and post disaster time so as to reduce the loss due to disaster. BEDS has been working on Community Managed Disaster RIsk Reduction (CMDRR) activities in the Sundarbans region since 2016. BEDS has established a “Cyclone Shelter and Training Center” adjacent to the Sundarbans mangrove forest for the safety of local people. BEDS has formed a village disaster management committee, provided CMDRR training to the committee members, established emergency fund for the villagers, improved local peoples capacity on assessing their capacity and vulnerability, established signaling system, provided safety materials among the villagers, protected embankment by bamboo fencing and mangrove plantation, introduced low cost climate adaptive housing technology and provided alternative livelihoods to the villagers of Mathurapur under Munshigonj union of Shyamnagar sub district of Satkhira district of Bangladesh.

Recently BEDS is trying to raise fund through GlobalGiving platform for a project entitled “Reducing Disaster Risks of the Sundarbans Coastal People” for improving capacity of Union Disaster management committee members and NGO workers on disaster risk assessment, activities of pre, during and post disaster, signaling and climate change adaptation. Total budget size of the project is 50,000 USD. We would like to raise the all the project fund by 2020 and start pre-planned activities.

BEDS has a very good relationship with the local government offices and local NGOs. So, we are communicating with the regularly on how to move forward with disaster issue. So, our heartfelt request to you all to stand with this most disastrous vulnerable communities in the world so that they can live a happy and secure life from the attacks of destructive disasters.