SM Shahidul Islam, Satkhira

Sea level is constantly rising. Along with this, salt water is entering the coastal districts. Soil fertility is being destroyed, and the lives of ordinary people are being disrupted by the acute crisis of clean water. Embankments are breaking one after another due to successive strong cyclones and tidal waves. Due to the terrible reality of climate change, the people of the southwestern coastal districts of Khulna, Satkhira and Bagerhat are now suffering from an existential crisis. There has been a strong demand for specific and special allocations in the next national budget to save the coast from this situation.

Environmentalists made this demand at a press conference organized at Pansi Restaurant in Satkhira city at 11 am on Saturday.

The press conference was organized by the Satkhira district branch of the environmental organization 'Climate Action Forum'. The non-governmental development organization 'Local Environment Development and Agricultural Research Society' (LEADERS) is serving as the secretariat of the forum.

Climate Action Forum General Secretary Madhav Chandra Dutta read out a written statement at the press conference chaired by former principal of Satkhira Government Women's College, Professor Abdul Hamid. The program was hosted by Desh TV staff reporter journalist Sharifullah Kaiser Suman.

The press conference cited various global research and indicators to indicate that Bangladesh is now on the brink of a precipice due to the severe impacts of climate change. According to a survey by the London-based international research organization 'Maplecraft', Bangladesh tops the list of 16 countries most vulnerable to climate change out of 170 countries in the world.

Similarly, according to the 'World Risk Index 2023', Bangladesh ranks ninth in terms of global risk. Germanwatch's 'Climate Risk Index 2025' says that Bangladesh is ranked 13th in the list of countries at high risk in the long term.

Scientists fear that by 2050, about 17 percent of Bangladesh's land will be directly affected by rising sea levels, resulting in the loss of 30 percent of the country's agricultural land. An even bigger disaster awaits at the end of the century. By 2100, about 434 square kilometers of the country, including the southwest coast, could disappear into the sea. As a result, about 10 million (10 million) people will lose their land and become climate refugees.

Speakers at the news conference said that in the past 20 years, one powerful cyclone after another has hit the coastal region of Bangladesh. As well as causing loss of life, it has also crippled the people of the coast economically.

The devastating Cyclone Sidr in 2007 caused economic losses of around Tk 11,560 crore on the southwestern coast. Just two years later, Cyclone Aila in 2009 caused widespread damage in Khulna, Satkhira and Bagerhat, trapping the people of the region in salt water for a long time. Then in 2019, two consecutive disasters Fani and Bulbul caused economic losses of Tk 536 crore and Tk 263 crore respectively. Cyclone Amphan hit in 2020 amidst the extreme crisis of the Corona pandemic. Its damage in 17 districts including Khulna, Barisal, Patuakhali and Satkhira was around Tk 1,100 crore.

This series of losses did not stop here. Cyclone Yas in 2021 caused damage of Tk 3 billion, Sitrang in 2022 Tk 4.14 billion and Midhili in 2023 caused about Tk 2 billion. And the last one, Cyclone Remal, which hit the west coast in May 2024, left a huge economic loss of Tk 6,880 crore, the scars of which are still being borne by the coastal people.

Environmentalists say that in addition to this huge economic loss, coastal residents are also suffering huge 'non-economic losses' such as human deaths, forced displacement, destruction of homes and severe psychological stress. Rural-urban migration has now become a major humanitarian crisis as people leave villages for cities after losing their jobs.

Edges are the main shield for protecting the lives and livelihoods of coastal people. However, citing information from the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) and various research reports, the press conference said that currently about 240 kilometers of edges in the coastal area are in an extremely vulnerable or very weak condition.

The speakers alleged that these erosive and deficient dams lack proper maintenance. The dams have gradually become weaker due to the impact of major cyclones like Sidr, Aila and Remal. As a result, the dams are breaking even at low tide, flooding vast areas, which has completely destroyed the overall protection zone of the coastal region. As a result, brackish water is entering, destroying the source of drinking water, spreading diarrhea, skin diseases and various water-borne diseases. Women and children are becoming victims of malnutrition.

The press conference claimed that the picture of allocation in the national budget is extremely disappointing in contrast to the crisis in the coastal areas. A review of the budget allocation of the last 10 years shows that although the country's total national budget has been increasing gradually, the allocation for the climate and environment sector has been decreasing every year in terms of percentage. For example, in the 2016-17 fiscal year, where the total budget was Tk 3.41 lakh crore, the allocation for the climate sector was Tk 28,000 crore—which was 8.21 percent of the total budget. In the following years, although the budget increased, the share of climate continued to decrease. In the 2017-18 fiscal year, the allocation for the climate sector was Tk 30,000 crore (7.50%) out of the Tk 4 lakh crore budget, in the 2018-19 fiscal year, the allocation for the climate sector was Tk 33,000 crore (7.10%) out of the Tk 4.64 lakh crore budget, and in the 2019-20 fiscal year, the allocation for this sector was Tk 35,000 crore out of the Tk 5.23 lakh crore budget, which stands at 6.69% in percentage terms.

This decline continued in subsequent years. In the 2020-21 fiscal year, the climate sector's allocation was Tk 37,000 crore or 6.51 percent of the budget of Tk 5.68 lakh crore. In the 2021-22 fiscal year, Tk 38,000 crore (6.29%) was allocated in the budget of Tk 6.04 lakh crore and Tk 39,000 crore (5.75%) in the budget of Tk 6.78 lakh crore in the 2022-23 fiscal year. In the 2023-24 fiscal year, this allocation further decreased to just 4.86 percent of the total budget, while the allocation was Tk 37,052 crore in the budget of Tk 7.62 lakh crore.

Although the allocation has increased slightly in the last two fiscal years, it is still much lower than at the beginning of the previous decade. In the 2024-25 fiscal year, the budget of Tk 7.97 lakh crore allocated Tk 41,200 crore, which is 5.17 percent of the total budget. And in the proposed budget of Tk 7.90 lakh crore for the upcoming 2025-26 fiscal year, the allocation for the climate sector is Tk 41,209 crore, which is only 5.21 percent of the total budget.

According to economic analysts and environmentalists, this allocation for the climate sector is not only inadequate, but it is also not based on proper planning. Moreover, a large part of this allocation is spent on the routine work of various ministries, including agriculture, water resources, disaster management and infrastructure. As a result, any specific or specific budget for direct environmental protection and coastal resilience is still very limited.

The press conference laid special emphasis on the protection of the world heritage Sundarbans. The speakers said that the Sundarbans are not only a natural beauty for the southwestern region of Bangladesh, but also a natural wall. Throughout the ages, the Sundarbans have been protecting the country by taking all the major cyclones and sea waves into its fold.

The contribution of this forest to the national economy is also immense. The Sundarbans' fish, honey, timber and forest resources add an economic value equivalent to billions of taka to the country's national economy every year. In addition, about 3.5-5 million people in the coastal region are directly and indirectly dependent on this Sundarbans for their livelihood. If the Sundarbans' environment is endangered, the employment of this large population will cease.

The press conference urged the government, private sector and social organizations to work together to protect the coast. It called for increasing climate resilience from the field level to the policy-making level, building sustainable embankments, and incorporating the experiences and needs of local people in the upcoming national budget.

The press conference was attended by Satkhira Press Club President Abul Kashem, former General Secretary M Kamruzzaman, veteran journalists GM Monirul Islam Mini, Amina Bilkis Moyna, SM Shahidul Islam, Sheikh Tanzir Ahmed, Akramul Islam, Asaduzzaman Sardar, Md. Hossain Ali, Milan Biswas, Sheikh Siddiqur Rahman and landless leader Abdus Samad, along with representatives of civil society, environmental activists and youth.

To address this humanitarian and environmental crisis on the coast, an effective allocation will be made in the upcoming national budget as a 'special coastal fund'—this is the expectation of the entire coastal population of the country, including Satkhira.