Author(s): Muhammad Lutfor Rahman; Muhammad Khorshed Alam
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Erosion; Accretion; Urir Char; Land Reclamation; Coastal Zone; Development
Abstract: People have always preferred the Coastal Zone because of its unique resources. They were and are still attached by the fertile land in the coastal plains and abundant marine resources, and by the easy access to regional and international markets. The Coastal Zone is a focal point in many national economies where a large number of social and economic activities take place. The Coastal Zone of Bangladesh, a part of which is in a very dynamic delta differs in terms of its social, ecological and settings from rest of the country. Important tasks are to enrich the knowledge about the coastal islands and chars, improve the understanding of the development processes and dynamics of erosion-accretion for land reclamation, which is the only way to gain new land. This understanding is essential for an effective coastal development strategy but it is crucial to identify land specific interventions, as the nature of Bangladesh coast is very dynamic. The present study was attempted to make an up to date inventory of char lands in the coastal region of Bangladesh and their size, shape and location and to study the morphology of erosion and accretion to identify any implementation possibilities of land reclamation for future development based on Urir Char. From the study, it is found that there are about 185 chars in the coastal region of Bangladesh which were divided into three categories as i) Marine and Estuarine Islands (72); ii) Riverine Chars Attached with Mainland (92) and iii) Detached Riverine Char (21). Here a simplified study of the morphology of erosion and accretion in the Bangladesh coast is undertaken with special reference to Urir Char. As it is almost impossible to study the morphology of erosion and accretion at a time for it‟s extensive dynamic nature, this particular char (Urir Char) was studied for the analysis as an example. Urir char, which has been forming since 1973 is located in the eastern part of Bangladesh coast. It is a very dynamic island. It is found that the total land area of the char increases from 1973 to 1990, although it was divided in several parts during this period. On the other hand total area of the char decreases from 1990 to 2005, but the several parts of the char became integrated during this period. Net erosion occurred during the period 1973 to 2005 and net accretion occurred during the period 1990 to 2005. Erosion and accretion take place at a time and it is a dynamic process. The processes of parallel erosion and accretion are shown in this study. If the erosion of the char can be reduced and accretion can be accelerated, reclamation of vast land area may be possible. A vast amount of land area gets inundated during high tide (flood tide) which remains raised during low tide (Ebb Tide). Even if part of this inundated area could be reclaimed then it would increase our land area largely. Urir Char is simply an example for analysis. The other chars in the Coastal Region can be analyzed in the same way. Identified 185 coastal chars require further in-depth study for their development. . These chars require due attention for land reclamation. The Coastal Zone of Bangladesh is essentially a multi-resources and multi-user system. At the same time, it is surrounded by several problems. Despite of all the problems the future of the coastal zone appears bright. The integrated water resources, coastal zone management, and vigorous mobilization of social resources are required for effective development.
Year: 2010