Coordinated Action Needed as Drought-Free Land Shrinks
IT is a cause of concern that drought-free areas in Bangladesh are shrinking day by day.
The pressure of drought is intensifying across three key sectors: agriculture, meteorology, and water resources.
Meanwhile, agriculture is heavily dependent on groundwater. As a result, the groundwater level is steadily declining.
Researchers have warned that this crisis will intensify in the coming days. According to a newspaper report citing a research study, drought conditions in the country’s northwestern region have worsened significantly over the last three decades.
In that region, the area free from drought has decreased by 91 percent over the last 34 years. The study conducted by researchers from the Department of Geology at the University of Dhaka was recently published.
The study analyzed drought conditions across eight districts in the Rajshahi Division from 1989 to 2023. It was found that, over the past three decades, Naogaon and Chapainawabganj have emerged as the most vulnerable districts within the division.
According to research data, 71 percent of the area in the Rajshahi division was free from hydrological drought in 1989. By 2023, this figure had dropped by 64.6 percentage points to 6.4 percent. In 1989, 72 percent of the agricultural land in the study area was free from drought.
This proportion declined to 44 percent in 1994, 30 percent in 1999, 16 percent in 2004, 10 percent in 2009, and fell to just 8 percent by 2023.
At the same time, the proportion of areas where the groundwater level lies 10 to 15 meters below the surface has increased from 0.18 percent to 24.99 percent. Beyond the Rajshahi region, the risk of drought has also emerged in various other parts of the country.
The negative impacts of drought are multifaceted. Beyond the severe consequences for agriculture, it also leads to an acute shortage of potable water.
The Padma, once a swift -flowing river, has now turned into a vast, barren expanse of sand. Where hundreds of fishermen once cast their nets, they now face a crisis regarding their very livelihoods.
Experts point out that the effects of climate change, the loss of river navigability, and the indiscriminate extraction of groundwater have intensified the drought, ultimately endangering human existence.
Bangladesh is an agriculture-dependent nation, and given the rate at which agricultural land is shrinking due to various factors, the country’s food security will soon be at risk.
Therefore, integrated and long-term sustainable measures are essential to protect agricultural land from the threat of drought. In addition to preparing for the adverse impacts of climate change, it is also necessary to reduce the reliance on groundwater.