What is it about?
Climate changes imposed differential impacts on Bangladesh in the form of sea level rise, extreme events, and variability, which has enormous economic, environmental and social cost. Among the different sectors, agriculture is comparatively more vulnerable to climate change impacts. In order to reduce the climate change induced loss and damage, a series of adaptation options have been being practiced by the people at the local level for many years, but the effectiveness, profitability, and sustainability of such adaptation options are still not too well investigated or understood. From this backdrop, the study intends to identify, prioritize and evaluate the adaptation options in the agriculture of different ecosystems of Bangladesh. It is found that the economic gain of adopting rice prawn farming, replantation of rice, and saline tolerant and short duration rice varieties are much higher than the other adaption options. Through investing $10 in such adaptation options, $22, $4, $2 and $2 net return will be provided, respectively. Unavailability and less affordability are impeding the promotion of some effective adaption options, which require more attention from policy makers, while further research, demonstration and capacity building of the farmers will reduce vulnerability and build resilience.
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Why is it important?
The overall objective of this study is to evaluate the existing adaptation practices and their economic sustainability in the agriculture sector of Bangladesh in the face of climate change impacts and vulnerability. The specific objectives are: (1) To identify and prioritize the existing adaptation practices in the agriculture of different ecosystems of Bangladesh; (2) To assess the effectiveness of each adaptation option to minimize loss and damage in addition to negative externality of such adaptation measures; (3) To evaluate the economic viability of prioritized adaptation options; (4) To define the most sustainable adaptation option for the agriculture in the face of climate change impacts.
Perspectives
It is evident that climate change adaptation practices have some costs and also fuel the cost of production in the agriculture sector, which may not be always affordable to the poor and marginal farmers of Bangladesh and other climate vulnerable lesser-developed and smaller island countries of the world. Though farmers of Bangladesh have made very insignificant contribution to causing climate change; however, they are experiencing multiple and compounded climate stresses, variability and climate induced natural disasters in the agriculture sector as well as other sectors of the economy. Here, the agriculture sector is more susceptible because of small scale farming systems, low capacity/capital of farmers, weak technical efficiency, lack of large scale investment and presence of paradoxes of bumper harvest. The findings of this study can be used for calling out for other countries with similar climate change impacts, but, in such cases, adaptation options are suggested to evaluate economically as a prerequisite.
Mr Md. Arfanuzzaman
Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Evaluation of Adaptation Practices in the Agriculture Sector of Bangladesh: An Ecosystem Based Assessment, Climate, February 2016, MDPI AG,
DOI: 10.3390/cli4010011.
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