Climate change poses threat to urban livelihood

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RAJSHAHI, May 30, 2018 (BSS) – Climate change is posing a threat to the
urban environment, development and livelihood as well as the uncertainty
arises due to climate change needs to be considered in the overall urban risk
management framework.

All the vulnerability issues need to be brought under comprehensive risk
based master plan to accommodate at least 30 per cent more people from
vulnerable rural areas around these cities only due to climate change.

The observation came at a view sharing meeting on ‘Budget FY 2018-2019:
Towards a Resilient City’ here yesterday. GIZ and Rajshahi City Corporation
(RCC) jointly organized the meeting at RCC conference hall largely attended
by city corporation councilors, teachers, journalists and community leaders.

Chaired by RCC Mayor Musaddeque Hossain Bulbul, the meeting was
addressed, among others, by Chief Executive Officer Shah Momin, Chief
Engineer Ashraful Haque, Chief Revenue Officer Shahana Akhter Jahan and
Executive Engineer Nur Islam and former chairman of Rajshahi Education Board
Prof Dipakendra Nath Das.

During her keynote presentation, Ummul Husna Shabnam Khanom, Adviser of
GIZ Community Development Proverty and Gender Project, gave an overview of
the project and its implementation strategies.

The project intends to improve the social-economic status of people
forced to migrate in the city area due to climate change. It will play a
vital role in developing socio-economic status for the migrant community.

Mayor Mosaddeque Hossain said the rural poor people with their recurrent
disaster exposures are migrating into urban areas. The new comers face
employment crisis, poor-quality housing and other well-being further tapping
them into a deeper urban poverty cycle.

The urban poverty is highly linked with rural disaster risks. The
urbanisation situation, particularly the housing situation in the city is
getting more acute with every year.

Natural disasters are occurring more frequently as the adverse effects
of climate change effects are getting more pronounced worldwide and in
Bangladesh.

Disaster and climate-change impacts have deeper relationship with urban
poverty in Bangladesh. So, this is the high time for proper documentation on
climate change resilience initiative and strategy development, he added.

Mayor Hossain said the city corporation is working hard to improve the
socio-economic conditions of people and has taken a number of steps to face
the adverse effects of natural calamities with a view to reducing the
sufferings of the affected people.