Climate Change Is Silently Erasing Bangladesh’s Biodiversity

Climate change in Bangladesh is usually discussed through economic losses: damaged homes, destroyed crops, lost roads and the cost of rebuilding after cyclones and floods. But some of its most profound consequences cannot be measured in taka.

When wetlands lose their fish, forests lose wildlife, mangroves deteriorate or species disappear, the loss is not simply financial. It is the loss of ecological balance, natural heritage and the life support systems on which both people and animals depend.

This is the non-economic loss and damage of climate change.
Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable because of its low lying deltaic geography, dense population, extensive river systems and long coastline.

Climate change is also interacting with habitat destruction, pollution, overfishing, deforestation and unplanned development, placing additional pressure on already fragile ecosystems.

The scale of Bangladesh’s biodiversity challenge is alarming. An IUCN assessment of 1,619 animal species found 390 species in threatened categories, including 56 Critically Endangered, 181 Endangered and 153 Vulnerable species. Another 31 species were classified as regionally extinct.

These figures cannot be attributed to climate change alone, as habitat destruction, exploitation and pollution are major drivers. However, climate change is adding further stress to vulnerable species.

The Sundarbans provides perhaps the clearest example. Located mainly in Khulna, Satkhira and Bagerhat, it is the world’s largest contiguous mangrove forest and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It supports the Royal Bengal tiger, dolphins, crocodiles, deer, birds, fish and hundreds of plant species.

UNESCO has identified climate related risks including sea level rise, increasing salinity, changes in freshwater flows, forest degradation and biodiversity loss.
For wildlife, these changes can be devastating.

The tiger depends on a functioning mangrove ecosystem, adequate prey and suitable habitat.

Changes in vegetation, freshwater availability and prey populations can disrupt the entire food chain. Other species face habitat loss, food shortages, heat stress, changing breeding patterns and greater exposure to disease.

Climate change can also intensify human wildlife conflict. As habitats become less suitable and food or freshwater becomes scarcer, wildlife may move closer to human settlements.

This can increase risks for both people and animals. Protecting biodiversity is therefore also a way of protecting human communities.

The coastal districts from Satkhira, Khulna and Bagerhat to Barguna, Patuakhali, Bhola, Noakhali, Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar face growing pressure from salinity intrusion, cyclones, erosion and sea level rise. These changes affect mangroves, wetlands, fisheries and marine ecosystems.

The consequences extend to human life. Mangroves reduce wave energy, trap sediment, protect coastlines and provide breeding grounds for fish. When these ecosystems deteriorate, communities can lose natural protection from cyclones while also losing food and livelihood resources.

St Martin’s Island presents another warning. Its coral associated ecosystem and marine biodiversity face pressure from warming seas, pollution, tourism and physical disturbance. Climate change adds further stress.

Damage to coral ecosystems can affect fish populations and marine food chains, ultimately affecting coastal communities that depend on marine resources.

The haor wetlands of northeastern Bangladesh, particularly in Sunamganj, Sylhet, Habiganj, Moulvibazar, Kishoreganj and Netrokona, are equally important.

These wetlands provide breeding and feeding grounds for fish and habitat for migratory birds. Changes in rainfall, temperature, flooding and water flows can disrupt these ecological cycles.

For humans, biodiversity loss is not an abstract environmental issue. Declining fish populations can reduce food and income. Loss of pollinators can affect agriculture. Degraded wetlands can reduce natural water purification.

Forest degradation can increase exposure to extreme weather. The disappearance of plant species can also mean the loss of genetic resources and potentially valuable medicinal plants.

This is why biodiversity protection is increasingly a public health issue. The World Health Organization recognises that climate change and ecosystem disruption can affect food and water security, infectious diseases and human health.

Bangladesh is already experiencing direct climate related health pressures. World Bank research has found significant increases in heat exposure in Bangladesh, with rising temperatures associated with health problems including respiratory illness, diarrhoea and fatigue.

Wildlife faces a similarly complex combination of threats. Climate change can alter migration routes, breeding seasons, food availability and habitats.

Marine animals are particularly vulnerable to warming water and changing salinity, while terrestrial species may be forced to move as climatic conditions change. When habitats become fragmented, animals have fewer places to escape extreme weather or find food and reproduce.

Bangladesh has nevertheless achieved some important conservation successes. The country has established protected areas, wildlife sanctuaries, Ecologically Critical Areas and Ramsar sites. The Sundarbans itself contains wildlife sanctuaries that provide important protection for endangered species.

There are also promising restoration initiatives. Bangladesh has implemented community based coastal afforestation and mangrove restoration, linking environmental protection with livelihood development.

More recently, conservation initiatives in the Sundarbans have focused on biodiversity research, ecosystem restoration, climate resilience and community participation.

But Bangladesh needs to move beyond individual projects and develop a comprehensive strategy for climate related biodiversity loss and non economic damage.

International experience offers useful lessons. Costa Rica has used a Payment for Environmental Services system to provide financial incentives for forest conservation and ecosystem services.

The country has subsequently achieved a dramatic recovery in forest cover. Bangladesh could adapt this approach by rewarding communities that protect mangroves, wetlands, forests and wildlife habitats.

Vietnam also provides an important example through community based mangrove restoration. Its experience demonstrates that successful restoration requires more than planting trees. Appropriate species, community participation, livelihood support and long term management are essential.

Bangladesh should therefore make ecosystem based adaptation a central component of its climate policy. Climate finance should support mangrove restoration, wetland protection, wildlife corridors, freshwater ecosystems and marine biodiversity alongside conventional infrastructure.

A national monitoring system should also track species populations, habitat quality, salinity, freshwater flows, wildlife health and human wildlife conflict. Reliable data are essential for identifying irreversible ecological damage before it becomes too late to act.

Most importantly, policymakers must recognise that some losses cannot be compensated after they occur. A damaged building can be reconstructed. A road can be repaired. Lost income can sometimes be replaced. But an extinct species cannot be brought back with money.

A destroyed ecosystem may take generations to recover, while traditional knowledge associated with a disappearing ecosystem may be lost forever.

The true cost of climate change in Bangladesh is therefore much greater than the value of damaged property. It includes disappearing birds, declining fish, degraded mangroves, suffering wildlife, disrupted ecosystems and increasing health risks for people.

Some economic losses can eventually be rebuilt. But when biodiversity disappears and ecosystems collapse, there may be no price at which they can be bought back. Ends/

(The writer is the Editor and CEO of News Network)