Climate change versus urban drinking water supply and management: a case analysis on the coastal towns of Bangladesh

Shafi Noor Islam (1) , A. Gnauck (1)

1 Department of Ecosystems and Environmental Informatics

Clean urban drinking water supply is now a crucial problem; about 8.2 million people live in the coastal urban areas in Bangladesh. The global warming and climate change is a new threat for the urban secure drinking water supply. Sea Level Rise and vulnerability of drinking water in the coastal areas is getting degrade due to high salinity intrusion and arsenic contamination in 102 towns, that have been affected by various degrees of salinity intrusion. Salinity and arsenic contamination in surface and ground water in the coastal region has created severe negative impacts and degraded drinking water quality. Global climate change impact is a new threat for the coastal urban inhabitants. The impacts with 1.5 m SLR about 15% of the population will be affected and displaced. Therefore climate awareness and applied research should be initiated to change the attitude of the people. The objective of this paper is to understand the impacts of climate change on urban drinking water management in small towns. GIS application would be the appropriate tool for decision making and comprehensive management plan for coastal region.

Mots clés: Global climate; urban drinking water; salinity; coastal towns; management.; management

Domaines: Environnement et Société

Shafi Noor Islam, A. Gnauck. Climate change versus urban drinking water supply and management: a case analysis on the coastal towns of Bangladesh. World Wide Workshop for Young Environmental Scientists: 2010, May 2010, Arcueil, France. ⟨hal-00521467⟩