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Article
Born of a Natural Disaster, 50 Years Later Bangladesh Faces More Environmental Challenges
Author(s)
Douglas Batson
Full-Text PDF XML 711 Views
DOI:10.17265/2162-5298/2021.02.002
Affiliation(s)
Retired Geographer, U.S. Department of Defense, Washington DC 20511, USA
ABSTRACT
Rural-to-urban migration
and globalized trade are swelling cities worldwide, but these forces are
perhaps more powerfully concentrated in Dhaka, Bangladesh, than anywhere on
earth. Born of a natural disaster 50 years ago, the world’s most densely-populated country faces
multiple environmental challenges. Water, with seasonal monsoons, is both a
blessing and a curse. A one meter rise in sea level, for example, would
displace as many as 25 million Bangladeshis, and cause the largest mass
migration in history. Each drought, flood, or cyclone drives scores of
environmental refugees from rural areas to the capital city of Dhaka, where air
and water pollution run rampant. Recent rapprochement with India over
decades-long boundary disputes offers hope that environmental cooperation in
the vulnerable Bay of Bengal can follow.
KEYWORDS
Bangladesh, environment, refugees, water, contamination, floods, megacity, land boundary agreement.
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