News Desk : dhakamirror.com
According to a global research released on Wednesday, Dhaka is ranked fourth among the 20 unsustainable megacities in the world.
Lagos, Nairobi, Kinshasa, Dhaka, Baghdad, Lahore, Kolkata, and New Delhi are all expected to have rapid population increase of over 50% by 2050, according to the Ecological Threat Report (ETR) 2022.
The report states that these megacities are also predicted to experience high levels of air pollution, poor sanitation, high homicide rates and substantial ecological threats.
In the analysis, eight of the 20 most unsustainable megacities in the world—Dhaka, Lahore, Kolkata, Delhi, Karachi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Chennai—are located in South Asia.
Produced by the Sydney-based think tank Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), featuring exclusive research from the Lloyd’s Register Foundation World Risk Poll, the report analysed ecological risk, societal resilience, and peace for 228 countries and territories, 3,638 administrative districts, and 250 cities, assessing their ability to manage their challenges between now and 2050.
According to the report, there are already 33 megacities worldwide, with 47 predicted to exist by the year 2050.
Between 1990 and 2005, Dhaka’s population doubled from 6 million to 12 million, making it one of the cities with the greatest population growth worldwide.
The city’s population is predicted to continue growing, from its current 22.6 million residents to 34.6 million in 2050, a 53% increase.
The city, which contributes for around one-fifth of Bangladesh’s total economic output, is affected by ecological changes in a number of ways.
The city is one of the most densely populated (with 29,000 inhabitants per square kilometre) in the world considering its small territory of 360 square kilometers.
“This high density, combined with rapid urbanisation, means a third of the city’s population cannot rely on piped water. Many residents end up in informal settlements, with the Korail slum growing from 40,000 inhabitants in 2011 to around 1,50,000 in 2021,” read the report.
“The city is impacted by regular floods, which are only likely to increase. As it is low lying, it may be affected by sea level rises, while also coping with infrastructure problems, particularly in transport, water, waste and energy.”
According to the research, Dhaka’s inability to manage garbage makes it difficult for the city to offer its citizens decent living conditions. Only half of the city’s daily garbage production—5,000 tonnes—is adequately collected and disposed of.
However, the survey noted that Bangladesh frequently ranks as one of the nations most severely impacted by cyclones and flooding. Between 1981 and 2021, 254 natural disasters affected the country.
“As we approach COP27, this report is a timely reminder that the costs of many of the existing ecological challenges will only be amplified by climate change.” said Steve Killelea, founder and executive chairman of IEP.
Ecological risks are growing and have systemic causes that call for systemic answers, he continued. “The world’s current attitude to the countries facing the worst climate-related issues is not working,” he said.
