Learn Environment & Climate Change
Environment and Climate Change issues refer to challenges and difficulties that impact the natural world and its resources,
- Climate change: Rising global temperatures, caused by the emission of greenhouse gases, are leading to changes in weather patterns, rising sea levels, and more frequent natural disasters.
- Deforestation: The destruction of forests, often for agricultural or commercial purposes, is leading to loss of habitat for wildlife and contributing to climate change.
- Pollution: Air, water, and soil pollution can have serious impacts on human health and the environment, and can be caused by a range of human activities, including industrial processes and transportation.
- Biodiversity loss: The loss of species and habitats, due to factors such as deforestation, pollution, and overfishing, is reducing the diversity of life on Earth.
- Oceans and marine life: Oceans and the species that live in them are facing a range of challenges, including plastic pollution, overfishing, and the impacts of climate change.
- Natural resource depletion: The overuse of natural resources, such as oil, coal, and water, is leading to their depletion and reducing the ability of future generations to access these resources.
- Waste: The generation of large amounts of waste, particularly plastic, is having a negative impact on the environment, including the ocean and wildlife.
Volunteer For Environment is addressing the Environment and Climate Change issues to ensure the long-term health and well-being of the planet and its inhabitants.
Sluice gates are built to control water flow across the embankment, both for draining and flooding the landscape at different times of the year. They are often used to provide saline water from the river to shrimp ponds. Many shrimp farms built additional sluice gates or modify the embankment to allow the exchange of salt water between channels and their ponds. Here, a weakened embankment was unable to withstand the storm surge caused by Cyclone Aila, leading to failure and flooding of the polder interior
Rice paddy cultivation is a major source of livelihood in Bangladesh. Because the natural environment of Bangladesh is so well suited to rice farming, the country has been able to expand rice-production faster than population growth over recent decades, allowing for agricultural self-sufficiency despite having one of the world’s densest populations.
In 2009 Cyclone Aila caused five major embankment breaches, resulting in flooding of the majority of this polder. The 2010 LANDSAT image was taken 8 months after Cyclone Aila, showing most of the landscape wet or inundated by tidal waters. The red lines show the 1989 river-bank position, with the red circles denoting the location of the major breaches.
Climate Change
Country Scenario
Bangladesh, on all counts, is the “innocent victim” of climate change, as it, in comparison with developed countries, has had little contribution to its causes. It is one of the greatest threats to our sustainable future, but addressing the climate challenge presents an opportunity to promote prosperity, security, and a brighter future.
Recent Interventions
In March 2022 volunteer for environment organized roundtable discussions on “Climate Action : Mitigation and Adaptation” involving the youth of this country , led by the local youth leaders. When Cyclone Amphan hit the southern coasts of Bangladesh, VFE youth stepped up and helped to eradicate the sufferings of the affected people. They have been working hard to promote tree plantation, reducing plastic usage, cycling etc. Recently, volunteers from Satkhira held their meetings in the middle of the water as a display of the current state of Satkhira as a result of climate change. They are speaking up to stand against climate change. VFE aims to invest and include youth in the climate action process and make way for the youth so they can act as an agent of climate solutions and mitigate the effects of climate change. Till date our volunteers have implemented 100+ projects to tackle climate change in collaboration with Commonwealth, British High Commission, and ActionAid.
Climate change refers to the long-term changes in temperature, precipitation, wind patterns, and other measures of climate that occur over several decades or longer. Climate change is largely driven by the emission of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, into the atmosphere, which trap heat and warm the planet. The primary cause of these emissions is human activity, such as the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas) for energy and transportation, deforestation, and agriculture.
The impacts of climate change are far-reaching and include:
- Rising global temperatures: Rising temperatures are causing more frequent and intense heatwaves, as well as melting glaciers, ice caps, and permafrost, which are contributing to rising sea levels.
- Extreme weather events: Climate change is leading to more frequent and intense natural disasters, such as hurricanes, droughts, and floods.
- Changes in ecosystems: Changes in temperature and precipitation patterns are altering the distribution and behavior of species, leading to declines in biodiversity and shifts in ecosystems.
- Health impacts: Climate change is having impacts on human health, including increasing the frequency and severity of air pollution, heat stress, and the spread of disease by insects and pests.
- Economic impacts: Climate change is having economic impacts, including increased costs for insurance, infrastructure, and healthcare, as well as reductions in agricultural productivity and the tourism industry.
Addressing climate change requires reducing emissions of greenhouse gases, as well as preparing for and adapting to the impacts of a changing climate. This can be done through measures such as increasing the use of renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, protecting and restoring forests, and reducing waste.