This Months Action Card

Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated agricultural countries in the world.  The majority of the country is a vast flood plain,  which makes it extremely vulnerable to changes in the climate.  Flooding and erosion have always been part of life in Bangladesh and are vital for the renewal of land.  However,  severe floods with devastating effects on people’s livelihoods used to happen once every 20 years.   They now occur every 5 -7 years.

In 2007 the country suffered two major floods and a cyclone, with devastating effects.  Each year the river banks erode around 7 times faster than land is gained,  this forces riverbank communities to keep moving.  River erosion has been called Bangladesh's slow,  silent disaster.

Each year 1 million people are affected by river erosion and 100,000 more people lose their homes and land.   If you’re poor,  you often have no choice but to live on flood-prone land, because safe land is is far too expensive.

As sea levels rise in coastal Bangladesh,  saltwater is destroying the freshwater sources of riverbank and coastal communities,  while also destroying vital protective and fruit-bearing trees and crops.  Poverty makes it harder for people to adapt.  Natural disasters,  on a small and large scale,  make poverty worse.  People there mainly rely on agriculture for survival.  Despite warnings by scientists that a rise of two degrees centigrade could push the planet and human society to the tipping point of catastrophe,  a rise of only 0.6 degrees centigrade so far is already pushing many of Bangladesh's poorest people beyond the tipping point.

Actions

Please take action by writing to your MP concerning the Climate Change Bill. at:

House of Commons

London SW1A 0AA

Please ask them to make sure that they take notice of current scientific thinking and move towards 80% cuts in emissions by 2050.  The Bill is back in the Commons following amendments in the House of Lords.