Climate proofing infraestructure in Bangladesh
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Material Information

Title:
Climate proofing infraestructure in Bangladesh the incremental cost of limiting future inland monsoon flood damage
Series Title:
Policy research working paper
Creator:
Dasgupta, Susmita
Huq, Mainul
Khan, Zahirul Huq
Masud, Md. Sohel
Ahmed, Manjur Murshed Zahid
Mukherjee, Nandan
Pandey, Kiran
Disaster Risk Reduction Program, Florida International University (DRR/FIU) ( summary contributor )
Place of Publication:
Washington, DC
Publisher:
World Bank
Publication Date:
Copyright Date:
2010
Language:
English
Physical Description:
eBook : Document; 32 p. : digital, PDF file, col. ill, maps, charts.

Notes

Summary:
This policy research paper examines the possible costs of adaptation to increasing flood risk related to climate change. The sector-by-sector cost estimates presented are intended to push the Government of Bangladesh to establish adaptation plans in order to avoid significant future losses related to climate-related disasters. Since 1954, Bangladesh has experienced 21 above-normal floods, of which 4 were deemed exceptional and 2 catastrophic. While the government has taken significant steps to address its vulnerability to flooding through a number of disaster management initiatives, these are fundamentally threatened by the steady increase in flood severity associated with climate variability. It is estimated that by 2050 Bangladesh will face up to 20 percent increase in rainfall during its monsoon season, which will in all likelihood lead to major floods. Though the government has made flood protection infrastructure a signature feature of its Climate Change and Action Plan, systematic studies of the cost of adapting its infrastructure to the changing climate reality have not been done. This paper is intended to fill this void. The authors first establish two flood scenarios, one demarcating inundation zones as a result of climate change affects, and a baseline without climate change. To assess the potential increase in the extent and depth of inundation, changes in the monthly precipitation and temperature predicted by the model have been considered for the period between 1998 and 2050. Then inundation risk exposure for each scenario was determined by identifying critical population centers and infrastructures that will be impacted by flooding in the climate change scenario. And in the final section, they quantify the infrastructure adaptations necessary to avoid damage from increased flooding related to climate change, and the costs of these adaptation measures. Using the 1998 exceptional flood event as a benchmark for evaluating additional protection measures, the authors calculate conservatively that necessary capital investments out to 2050 would total US$2,671 million to protect roads and railways, river embankments surrounding agricultural lands, drainage systems, and erosion control measures for major towns. Beyond these capital-intensive investments, improved policies, planning, institutions, and increased understanding of risk-mitigation options are essential to establishing a robust foundation that will ensure investments that will lead to expected reductions in vulnerability. ( English )
Subject:
Climate Change and DRR ( English )
Scope and Content:
Acknowledgements p. 2; 1. Introduction p. 3; 2. History of monsoon floods in Bangladesh p. 6; 3. Flooding in a changing climate p. 7; 4. Exposure to inundation risk p. 8; 5. Infrastructure exposed to additional inundation risk and adaptation cost p. 11; 6. Conclusion p. 18; References p. 22; Table 1: Recent exceptional or catastrophic floods p. 24; Table 2: Inundation area estimates p. 24; Table 3: Vulnerable population estimates p. 25; Table 4: Changes in inundation depth due to climate change- area estimates p. 25; Table 5: Length of road (km) at additional inundation risk from climate change in 2050 p. 26; Table 6: Adaptation cost for roads, by type of road (in million US$) p. 26; Table 7: Railway tracks (km) at risk of inundation due to climate change by 2050 p. 27; Table 8: Cost (in US $) per kilometer to raise different railway tracks upto 0.5 meters p. 27; Table 9: Itemized cost for raising embankments (million US$) p. 28; Table 10: Total adaption cost for inland flooding p. 28; Figure 1: Extent of above-normal flooding in Bangladesh (1950 – 2009) p. 29; Figure 2: Flood maps of Bangladesh p. 30; Figure 3: Change in inundation depth due to climate change p. 31 ( English )
Citation/Reference:
Dasgupta, S., Huq, M., Khan, Z. H., Masud, M. S., Ahmed, M. Z., Mukherjee, N., & Pandey, K. (2010). Climate proofing infrastructure in Bangladesh: the incremental cost of limiting future inland monsoon flood damage. The World Bank.
General Note:
Title from title caption (viewed on December 15, 2010).
General Note:
"November 2010."

Record Information

Source Institution:
Florida International University
Rights Management:
This publication is released under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. For full details of the license, please refer to the following: http://creative-commons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode
Resource Identifier:
FI13010970
696043279 ( oclc )

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Disaster Risk Reduction