A study has found that 95.5% of women in coastal areas require extra time to collect drinking water compared to the high Barind and northern river basin areas due to climate change.

The study, titled "Causes of vulnerability and social conflict dynamics in the context of climate change: Local adaptation capacity in Bangladesh," also revealed that climate change is constantly pushing people towards different vulnerabilities, leading to social conflicts among the local population to access natural resources necessary for survival and facilities provided by the government to deal with the risk of climate change.

The study was conducted among people living in coastal regions, high Barind area, and northern river basin areas.

It found that climate change-induced social conflicts are higher in coastal regions than in high Barind and northern river basin areas.

Furthermore, influential members of society receive all the facilities allocated for climate adaptation, while victims and underprivileged people are being deprived of these services.

Over 93.2% of people in coastal areas do not receive legal support to mitigate social conflicts, and women and marginalised people have limited awareness, knowledge, and skills to adapt to issues related to climate justice.

The study recommends promoting pro-poor, women-friendly, and gender-responsive approaches to adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), as well as planning and implementing Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) for resilient livelihoods.

The findings were revealed by Meghna Guhathakurta, executive director of RIB, and DL Mallick, a climate expert and director of BCAS, at a national seminar organised by NETZ Bangladesh.

Deputy Environment Minister Begum Habibun Nahar attended the event.

Source: The Daily Star