Bangladesh faces up to climate change
10 September 2008
Sharbani spreads awareness
Everyone in Bangladesh has noticed that the climate is changing.
Many people say there used to be six seasons, but now there are only four. There
can be no doubt that the weather is much more unpredictable, but finding an
explanation as to why these changes are happening is harder.
Sharbani Mistry, a field trainer working for the DFID-supported local
non-governmental organisation (NGO) Shamadhan, is working hard to help people
across the Kesobpur district understand the reasons for climate change.
Sharbani holds regular workshops, sometimes attended by up to 100 people, which go
right back to basics and help explain the causes of global warming.
In the rural areas where she works, people mostly walk or travel by bicycle
or rickshaw. Yet Sharbani explains what happens in the big cities of the world,
where trucks and cars belch out black smoke and large factories in industrial
areas emit high-levels of CO2 day and night.
Sharbani says: "I am no expert, but I saw that there was so little understanding
about why the environment is changing around us.
"There has been real interest in the workshops. People have been so absorbed in
what they are learning about that they even forget that it’s lunchtime!
"Before, they were just thinking about their immediate problems and did not know
the causes were. Now they understand that human beings are responsible for all
these changes.
"By raising awareness, more and more people realise the reality of the
situation."
Sharbani’s workshops are already starting to have an impact as local people get
together and talk about what they have learnt.
Reeba Sarkar, of Katakhali, in Kesobpur, says: "I am not entirely sure why the
change in the weather has occurred but I think gas emissions from various
vehicles, factories and other sources are causing the accumulation of bad gases,
resulting in the rise of temperature and excess rain.
"An awareness session is held in our area every fortnight. I attend each one."
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Links
- Bangladesh country profile
- How we fight poverty: Climate
- Degrees of separation: Poverty and climate change
