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Environmental History of

Bangladesh
Environment is the aggregate of conditions
affecting the existence of life and nature. In
the earlier times Bangladesh has a well-
developed environmental condition because
of its exceptional hydro-geographical setting.
Map of Bangladesh
Environment of Bangladesh
Through Ages
• Bangladesh is a land of rivers, forests and
alluvial land.
• Three mighty rivers Padma, the Brahamaputra
and the Meghna drain now a days a total
catchment area of about 1.5 million sq.km., of
which only 8 percent of the drainage area lies
within Bangladesh. Most of the drainage basin is
located in the neighboring countries.
• Bangladesh has been formed over tens of
thousands of years , composing a very thick
layer of sedimentary deposition as the heavily
laden rivers slow down in the Bangladesh delta.
Prosperity and disasters
• Bangladesh is one of the largest deltas in
the world and is criss-crossed by
numerous rivers, their tributaries and
distributaries.
• The land is mostly plain and extremely
fertile.
• But its environment also make the country
vulnerable to natural disasters as well as
environmental hazards.
Physical characteristics
• Bangladesh is largely low-lying flood plain. The
physical characteristics of the land, geographic
location, the multiplicity of rivers and the
monsoon climate render Bangladesh highly
vulnerable to natural disasters such as floods
and cyclones. Seasonal extremes of water
availability, i.e, Flood and Drought, are
characteristics of Bangladesh. The natural
phenomena act as significant constraints in
achieving sustainable socio-economic
development.
Floods
• History of Floods- Not much is known for earlier periods
for lack of records.
• Chronology of big floods since the late nineteenth
century
• 1781,
1786,1794,1822,1825,1838,1853,1864,1865,1867,1871,
1876, 1879,
1885,1890,1900,1902,1904,1954,1955,1962,1966,1968,
1969,1974,1987,1988,1989,1993,1998,2000.

• All these floods brought disasters of various kinds from


death, devastation to crop failures often leading to
famines.
Floods
Flood Management
• State efforts in the early times –
• Embankments
• Relief measures
• Tax exemption
• Modern management – Dredging,
embankments, polder and gravity
drainage.
Cyclones
• A tropical storm or atmospheric turbulence
involving circular motion of winds, occurs
in Bangladesh as a Natural Hazard.
• Reference to cyclones can be found in old
literature.
• Recent cyclones occurred in
Cyclones in 19th and 20th century
And Earlier
• In 1584- Bakerganj
• 1585 – Coastal areas
• 1797 – Chittagong
• 1822-Barisal, Hatiya, Noakhali
• 1831- Coastal areas
• 1898 – Teknaf
• 1960-Eastern Meghna Estuary
• Causing heavy losses of life and property.
Educating Environment
• The country’s environmental vulnerability
requires educating people to face the
environmental challenges.
• Both at field level as well as higher level
education is needed.
• Institutional education emphasized on
multidisciplinary issues related to –
monitoring disaster-active and disaster
prone areas
Management
• Provide forecasts of
potential disaster
situations,
consequent needs
and management
strategies that can
mitigate the effects of
such disasters.

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