Experts: Climate induced non-economic loss needs to be addressed

When most of the researches on climate-induced loss and damage focus on the monetary value, a group of experts and researchers pointed out that non-economic loss and damage in the coastal regions has remained largely neglected despite its vast impact on coastal people. The experts at the fourth annual Gobeshona conference held at Independent University Bangladesh (IUB) said the growing vulnerabilities of the life and livelihood of coastal people due to climate extremes should be taken into account in order to understand the overall loss and damage. While presenting a paper on ‘Assessing Climate Induced Non-economic Loss and Damage in Coastal Fisher folk Communities of Bangladesh’ at a session titled ‘Ecosystem and Loss and Damage’, Habib Torikul, the communication and documentation officer of Christian Commission for Development in Bangladesh said: “The non-economic losses and damages that occurred during the extreme situations need to be explored and measured.” The study said although the coastal area of Bangladesh was considered as a sanctuary of fish resource in the past, nowadays the fishermen have to struggle to survive as a result of sea level rise, increase of salinity, frequent cyclone and changes in the oceanic current pattern. “The changes of these climate stressors have put on an extensive impact on the fisher folk communities and culture,” the study reads. In 2007, nearly 600 people were killed and thousands others, mostly fishermen, went missing as one of the deadliest cyclones in decades accompanied by huge waves and torrential rains hit the coastal areas of Bangladesh, the study added, referring to Cyclone Sidr. Researcher Habib said the monetary value of such loses cannot be measured and once they are lost, they are lost forever and cannot be replaced.