High salinity and arsenic (As) concentrations in groundwater are widespread problems in the tidal... more High salinity and arsenic (As) concentrations in groundwater are widespread problems in the tidal deltaplain of southwest Bangladesh. To identify the sources of dissolved salts and As, groundwater samples from the regional shallow Holocene aquifer were collected from tubewells during the dry (May) and wet (October) seasons in 2012-2013. Thirteen drill cores were logged and 27 radiocarbon ages measured on wood fragments to characterize subsurface stratigraphy. Drill cuttings, exposures in pits and regional studies reveal a >5 m thick surface mud cap overlying a ~30 m thick upper unit of interbedded mud and fine sand layers, and a coarser lower unit up to 60 m thick dominated by clean sands, all with significant horizontal variation in bed continuity and thickness. This thick lower unit accreted at rates of ~2 cm/year through the early Holocene, with local subsidence or compaction rates of 1-3 mm/year. Most tubewells are screened at depths of 15-52 m in sediments deposited 8000-900...
Hydrochemistry, water quality and land use signatures in an ephemeral tidal river: implications in water management in the southwestern coastal region of Bangladesh
Applied Water Science
Salinization and arsenic contamination of surface water in southwest Bangladesh
Geochemical Transactions
Social, hydro-ecological and climatic change in the southwest coastal region of Bangladesh
Regional Environmental Change
Functionality and Social Acceptance of Safe Water Technology: Pond Sand Filter (PSF) and Rainwater Harvesting System (RWHs) in the South-West Coastal Region of Bangladesh
The coastal environment of Bangladesh is characterized by excessive salinity in both ground and s... more The coastal environment of Bangladesh is characterized by excessive salinity in both ground and surface water resulting in poor coverage because of the paucity of drinking water. Ground water cannot be used as drinking water due to excessive salinity, iron and arsenic problem. Moreover, most of the water supply options are not feasible in this region. So, people are suffering intensely due to lack of safe water sources and diarrheal diseases break out several times in each year causing death to hundreds of people. Pond sand filter and the rainwater harvesting system are widely used alternative safe water source among other modern technologies in the coast. This book, therefore, provides the scientific evidence to proof, which technology have more potentiality to solve long term water crisis in water scarce area. It will also help to evaluate the functional ability of pond sand filter and rainwater harvesting system and limitation of these technologies. Therefore findings of this stu...
Assessment of Occupational Health and Safety Management Services: A Study from Different Hospitals and Clinics in Khulna City Corporation of Bangladesh
This study has been conducted during the period of 2008 to assess the occupational health and saf... more This study has been conducted during the period of 2008 to assess the occupational health and safety management system (OHSMS) status prevailing in different health care establishments (HCEs) in Khulna City Corporation of Bangladesh. A structured questionnaire survey has been carried out among the nurses (N=70) working in different HCEs in the study area. To compare the OHSMS conditions in different HCEs, a total of 10 HCEs have been sampled of which 2 are government hospitals and rest are private clinics. It has been found that the case of diseases caused by needle stick injury (NSI) is high as 87.14%. Among different health hazards, cuts from sharp objects is found as most frequent (85.71%), followed by burnout (60%) and irritation of eyes, nose and throats (37.14%). Along with patients, nurses are also vulnerable to work place violence as 81.57% face verbal threats often. The surgery departments have been found as the most violence occurring place (62.86%) in the HCEs. The study ...
Communities’ Perception Towards Primary Health Care in Rural Bangladesh: An Assessment
This study was conducted during the period July to December 2008 to evaluate the knowledge level ... more This study was conducted during the period July to December 2008 to evaluate the knowledge level of the rural level people about Primary Health Care (PHC) issues and related concepts in the two districts (4 Unions) of south-west region of Bangladesh namely Khulna and Bagerhat. Here we present data from 613 random respondents using Personal Interviews (PIs), Questionnaire Survey (QS) and Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) as key tools and Households (HH) and Mothers as key objects. The study revealed that when used non assisted method, more than 25% of mothers had good knowledge on Hygiene, Diarrhea, Oral Rehydrated Saline (ORS), Sanitary Latrine, Balanced Diet, Acute Respiratory Infection (ARI) and Child Immunization whereas 10% to 24% of mother had good concept on Child Weighing, Tuberculosis (TB), Tetanus Toxoid (TT), Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Family Planning, Antenatal Care (ANC), Access to Community Health Worker (CHW) and less ...
Climate Change and Fisherman Community: Impact of Climate Change on the Socio-Economic Condition of Fishermen: A Study from Coastal Region of Bangladesh
Bangladesh, with a population nearing 160 million, is one of the poorest countries in the world w... more Bangladesh, with a population nearing 160 million, is one of the poorest countries in the world while also being one of the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. In fisheries sector about 12 million people are working directly or indirectly in this field and also about 1.2 million people are full time engaged. Fishing community is one of the most vulnerable communities to in Bangladesh. Over the years, economic condition of the fishermen has been further deteriorating. At the most basic level, Bangladesh is likely to be impacted by climate change by a number of factors including droughts, floods, cyclones, high temperature and long term sea level rise. In the short term, this means that peoples are likely to be hit by more and more natural disasters. The fisheries sector of Bangladesh are affecting by the impact of climate change that inducing both of the fish resources in the sea and the extraction of fish from the sea due to bad weather. So, the socio-economic conditio...
Reply to 'Tidal river management in Bangladesh
Nature Climate Change, 2015
2015 Nature Climate Change Supplementary Information
Supplementary Information
Community Perception on Potentiality of Pond Sand Filter Technology in the Southwest Coast of Bangladesh
Salinization and arsenic contamination of surface water in southwest Bangladesh
Background: High salinity and arsenic (As) concentrations in groundwater are widespread problems ... more Background: High salinity and arsenic (As) concentrations in groundwater are widespread problems in the tidal deltaplain of southwest Bangladesh. To identify the sources of dissolved salts and As, groundwater samples from the regional shallow Holocene aquifer were collected from tubewells during the dry (May) and wet (October) seasons in 2012–2013. Thirteen drill cores were logged and 27 radiocarbon ages measured on wood fragments to characterize subsurface stratigraphy. Results: Drill cuttings, exposures in pits and regional studies reveal a >5 m thick surface mud cap overlying a ~30 m thick upper unit of interbedded mud and fine sand layers, and a coarser lower unit up to 60 m thick dominated by clean sands, all with significant horizontal variation in bed continuity and thickness. This thick lower unit accreted at rates of ~2 cm/year through the early Holocene, with local subsidence or compaction rates of 1–3 mm/year. Most tubewells are screened at depths of 15–52 m in sediments deposited 8000–9000 YBP. Compositions of groundwater samples from tubewells show high spatial variability, suggesting limited mixing and low and spatially variable recharge rates and flow velocities. Groundwaters are Na–Cl type and predominantly sulfate-reducing, with specific conductivity (SpC) from 3 to 29 mS/cm, high dissolved organic carbon (DOC) 11–57 mg/L and As 2–258 ug/L, and low sulfur (S) 2–33 mg/L. Conclusions: Groundwater compositions can be explained by burial of tidal channel water and subsequent reaction with dissolved organic matter, resulting in anoxia, hydrous ferric oxide (HFO) reduction, As mobilization, and sulfate (SO 4) reduction and removal in the shallow aquifer. Introduction of labile organic carbon in the wet season as rice paddy fertilizer may also cause HFO reduction and As mobilization. Variable modern recharge occurred in areas where the clay cap pinches out or is breached by tidal channels, which would explain previously measured 14 C groundwater ages being less than depositional ages. Of samples collected from the shallow aquifer, Bangladesh Government guidelines are exceeded in 46 % for As and 100 % for salinity.
The devastating cyclone Aila struck the southwestern coastal region of Bangladesh and eastern coa... more The devastating cyclone Aila struck the southwestern coastal region of Bangladesh and eastern coast of the neighbouring West Bengal province of India on the mid-day of 25 May 2009. Unlike the Cat-4 cyclone Sidr of 2007, Aila is a Cat-1 cyclonic storm and hunted less lives, but its chain of devastation stayed active longer, even after two weeks of the storm passed. The worst two affected districts are Satkhira and Khulna followed by Bagerhat, Pirojpur, Barisal, Patuakhali, Bhola, Laksmipur, Noakhali, Feni, Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar. This Initial Assessment Report is prepared focusing on Khulna District only. The worst affected upazilas of Khulna district are Koyra, Dacope, Paikgacha and Batiaghta. According to the official statistics 545,954 people of 118,757 families are affected in Khulna while death toll stands on 45 as of 3 June 2009. Loss of livestock and poultry has been reported as 2080 and 24505, respectively. In total 367 km of road has been fully damaged while 1065 km of r...
Functionality and Social Acceptance of Safe Water Technology: Pond Sand Filter (PSF) and Rainwater Harvesting System (RWHs) in the South-West Coastal Region of Bangladesh
The coastal environment of Bangladesh is characterized by excessive salinity in both ground and s... more The coastal environment of Bangladesh is characterized by excessive salinity in both ground and surface water resulting in poor coverage because of the paucity of drinking water. Ground water cannot be used as drinking water due to excessive salinity, iron and arsenic problem. Moreover, most of the water supply options are not feasible in this region. So, people are suffering intensely due to lack of safe water sources and diarrheal diseases break out several times in each year causing death to hundreds of people. Pond sand filter and the rainwater harvesting system are widely used alternative safe water source among other modern technologies in the coast. This book, therefore, provides the scientific evidence to proof, which technology have more potentiality to solve long term water crisis in water scarce area. It will also help to evaluate the functional ability of pond sand filter and rainwater harvesting system and limitation of these technologies. Therefore findings of this stu...
Scenario of Moisture Stress in soils and its effects on major crops in South-western region of Ba... more Scenario of Moisture Stress in soils and its effects on major crops in South-western region of Bangladesh (grid cell: 22.50N - 25.00N, 87.50E - 90.00E) has been assessed based on climate scenarios for two projection years 2030 and 2075 compared to the 1990 baseline. The climate scenarios were developed using an ensemble of 15 GCM outputs by using MAGICC/SCENGEN version 5.3 model of the IPCC. Then CROPWAT model developed by the FAO was used to predict the soil moisture deficit (SMD) for the projected climate scenarios to assess crop water requirement (CWR) and variation in yield of the main rainfed crops in the said region.
The present study reports on community perception on potentiality of Pond Sand Filter (PSF) techn... more The present study reports on community perception on potentiality of Pond Sand Filter (PSF) technology in a south western coastal district where drinking water scarcity is high. Structured questionnaire survey and Focus Group Discussion (FGD) has been used to evaluate community perception. It has been found that PSF users are using this technology for both drinking and cooking water purpose with satisfaction (~ 73%, n=150). The respondent also reveals that they can collect water from PSF more than 3 times a day aggregates more than 30 liters/day which confirms the technology’s sustainable performance. Almost all users (98.58%) are satisfied with water availability of PSF’s all the year round and therefore the technology has been found as socially accepted. However varied respondents have been found about the water quality of the PSF’s where most of the user says water quality is good (~ 80%) while other classified the water quality as moderate. Overall the technology has found to be...
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