Answer :

Environmental Risk Assessment

Introduction 

Over the recent year, growing evidence and consensus is demonstrating that of global climatic change is taking place. Impacts and outcomes of climate changes are likely to be manifold climate change is affecting people health and wellbeing adversely. Health consequences from climatic changes may be direct which encompasses morbidity and mortality from the extensive rise of temperature, cold, storms, droughts and owing to the alteration in water and air quality that is caused by rainfall, temperature and other climatic factors(Wu, Lu, Zhou, Chen, & Xu, 2016). Moreover, health effects can be an indirect impact from ecological changes and result in infectious diseases and landscapes that have adverse impacts on human wellbeing. As the climate changes, the risk of illness, injury, death from wildfires, heat waves, flood conditions and intense storms increased. In order to cope with the climatic and geographic change that has occurred due to rising pollution, the majority of the developed nations have implemented a number of policies and practices however developing nations have not yet been prepared to control pollution that has been affecting negatively on climatic and geographic change. Climatic change and geographic changes have been affecting all nations across the globe. Warmer average temperature will result in more frequent hotter waves and hotter days and these changes in the climate will increase heat-related deaths every year. Exposure to extreme climate can result in heat stroke, respiratory, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and dehydration(Watts, et al., 2015). 

South and South East Asian and African nations have been most affected by climate and geographic change. Bangladesh has been chosen to carry out this particular study because this South Asian developing nation has been selected as one of the top 10 most affected countries from 1997 to 2016(Eckstein, Künzel, & Schäfer, 2018). This report includes different driving factors,  effects of climatic and geographic changes o people health and wellbeing and actions taken to minimize the impact of this change and involvement of different stakeholder in this particular planning and action process. With the application of Driving force-Pressure-State-Exposure-Effect-Action (DPSEEA) framework to develop policies and practices of coping with climatic and geographic changes in Bangladesh. 

Driving forces, pressures, state changes, exposures and effects 

WHO (World Health Organisation) first originated the DPSEEA framework to in order to recognise Environmental health indicators (EHIs). Different pressures, effects, actions, state, driving forces, exposure are identified with the application of the particular framework which further provides the significant data for data analysis that effects on human well being and health adversely. In order to investigate the climatic and geographic changes and its impact on human health in Bangladesh, the specific framework has been integrated.

Pressures:

Pressure indicator identified the causes that directly is related to varied environmental issues. Some of the aspects that have been creating pressures on the environment are large scale deforestation for transforming the areas to agricultural lands, ineffective waste management, an increase of industries, improper drainage system and growing utilization of natural resources. Different other aspects that also have been creating pressures on the environment that is leading to climatic change are lack of infrastructure to mitigate the risk of climatic changes, lack of employment opportunities, etc. 

 Effects:

The sea level is rising, glaciers are melting, with warmer coastlines, villages, schools, and hospitals are sinking where thousands of people have been losing their homes followed by taking shelter in unhealthy surroundings or roadsides. Country’s government has been facing hard issues in proving accommodation and employment to people who have been losing their homes. The country’s population is a risk of sea level rise that will affect lives of 27 million people by 20150 according to United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)(IPCC Key Findings on Bangladesh: An Introduction, 2014).  In terms of health impacts of climatic change in Bangladesh, people will have increased rates of the hospital due to dengue-related with the low and high level of water, cholera which is linked with warming, diarrhea, hypertension and so on. 

Exposure:

The diseases that have been identified in the effect determinant are likely to cause by a number of underlying factors, hence it is difficult to find out the effects of one exposure to another. However the geographical area and rising pollution have been resulting in adverse impacts on people and their livelihoods such as diseases due to extreme rainfall over short period causing water logging and landslides, hot and humid climate, untimely rainfall, damage of crops due to due to flash floods and monsoon floods, crop failure due to drought, and longer cold spell. Both populations belongs to urban and rural areas of Bangladesh have been suffering from various effects of climate and geographical change such as increasing rainfall, hot waves in summer months and increased temperature. 

State:

Due to increased population, increased urbanization, major deforestation, and rising incidences of pollution, most of the regions have been experiencing climatic changes and its ill consequences. The increasing prevalence of diseases and migration are the two impacts of climatic and geographic changes that have been becoming intense every year. 

Driving force:

The financial status of Bangladesh is typical to any other vulnerable nations to natural disasters. The further negative impact of climatic change such as high temperature, storm, cyclones, heavy rainfall and salinity intrusion has made more serious offense to nation’s economic conditions. The driving forces of climatic and geographic changes that have been affecting adversely on the specific nation are economic growth, technological development, population growth, and growing institutions and industries(Wall, Nielsen, & Six, 2015). Bangladeshis already have started to move away from villages situated in the low land resulting n 1.5 million of slum inhabitants moved from villages closer to the Bay of Bengal. Although the country is mainly dependent on cultivation, it is witnessing an increasing number of manufacturing industries, building, vehicles, etc. releasing toxic gases and materials mixed with water. Further growth of the population also is one of the major driving to climatic and geographical changes in the country(Kabir, Rahman, Smith, Lusha, & Milton, 2019).

Issue that isn’t captured by the DPSEEA framework

Although a wide array of determinants have been identified by the DPSEEA framework, there are various aspects that have not been recognised by the framework. This particular framework identifies processes, objects, effects,or materials that are derived from human activities, in contrast to natural environments that do not have human influences. Bangladesh is one of the largest deltas in the world and owing to its geographical location it is prone to flood it is extremely vulnerable to natural disasters. Due to geographical reason the country experiences rise of sea level, and loss of houses due to rising water level which has to been considered by the framework(Dewan, 2015). However, the factors that lead to pollution such as increased population, industrialization, deforestation those are manmade have only been comprised by the DPSEEA frameworks. It has not been identified by the framework hat Bangladesh is situated in a low lying region at the intersection of Meghna, the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers and thus Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable nations to changing the climate. Mora, the cyclone had affected Bangladesh in May 2017, leading to migrate 500,000 Bangladeshis who were living in coastal areas and destroying 20,000 homes in refugee camps(The World Bank, 2019).

 Socio economic factors also are not considered by the specific framework and their impact on human health and environment. Bangladesh’s unequal social structure has been leading to women more vulnerable to ill health and safety issues. Women being more prone to diseases and infection are likely to result in a higher child and maternal mortality(Rakib, Sasaki, Matsuda, & Fukunaga, 2019). 

Management of environmental health issue. Role of current health agencies and other agencies, key stakeholders including community groups, critical infrastructure and legislative and regulatory measures at the federal and state level

Pollution has been adversely affecting and leading to global climatic and geographic change. Change in climate again has been influencing negatively upon human health and well being. Hence, individual, community and government must work in partnership to cope with the changing climate and geography. The Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology focusses and explains greenhouse gas emissions from different areas and develop and propose policies and measures to minimise emissions and Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies conducts assessments of vulnerability to climate change. USAID teaches people to develop new job skills in protected areas alongside protecting the country in saving its natural resources and biodiversity(USAID, 2018). Bangladesh still needs to play more critical role international negotiations regarding climate change as the issues have been identified in United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change but the nation’s participation in the negotiation was very nominal till date. Since Bangladesh is vulnerable to climatic and geographical change, it must pay serious attention on developing emissions target of the country(The World Bank, 2019). 

Bangladesh has invested $10 million in developing and implementing actions to address climatic change.  The actions have been working in improving communities capacity to improve theirs relicense, strengthening riverbanks  and coastal areas, establishing resilient homes and shelter for cyclone affected people,  improving efficiencies of government bodies to response immediately to emergencies and crisis, minimising saline water intrusion particularly the regions that are based on agriculture and integrating early emergency management and early warning. The World Bank Group’s Climate Change Action Plan makes a commitment to increase share related to climatic change. Bank funding further has aided rural areas to develop solar home systems, solar-powered irrigation in order to protect people from flooding(Jabed, Paul, & Nath, 2018). 

Suggestions to address gaps in current policy, regulation and management

Some of the recommendations that can be suggested to minimise environmental pollution that leads to climate and geographic changes are:

• Minimising emissions and setting country pollution level of the nation that it needs to follow and evaluate through proper implementation of different monitoring techniques
• More utilization of solar power instead of fossil fuel and electricity
• Improve adaptation capabilities by integrating more policies ad activities to protect people and vegetation form flood
• Educate people about the activities that have been leading to pollution and more importantly climate and geographical change
• Awareness campaigns on different techniques and methods to minimise pollution such as the adoption of battery-based vehicles. 

Conclusion:

It can be summed up that Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable to climatic and geographic change that has been posing various health and wellbeing related risks.  With the adoption of the DPSEEA framework various determining factors that lead to climatic and geographical change have been identified. However, the particular framework is ineffective in identifying natural causes of climatic conditions such as floods that have been affecting Bangladesh since ages. The report further identifies how different government agencies, legislative and regulatory measures at the federal and state level, communities, and individuals are included in mitigating the impacts of climate and geographic changes occur in Bangladesh. Finally, recommendations also have been provided for minimising environmental pollution which is the major cause of climatic change and develop policies to protect people from the impacts of climatic changes.