Blue carbon stock of the Bangladesh Sundarban mangroves: what could be the scenario after a century?

The total blue carbon stock of the Bangladesh Sundarban mangroves was evaluated and the probable future status after a century was predicted based on the recent trend of changes in the last 30 years and implementing a hybrid model of Markov Chain and Cellular automata. At present 36.24 Tg C and 54.95 Tg C are stored in the above-ground and below-ground compartments respectively resulting in total blue carbon stock of 91.19 Tg C. According to the prediction 15.88 Tg C would be lost from this region by the year 2115. The low saline species composition classes dominated mainly by Heritiera spp. accounts for the major portion of the carbon sock at present (45.60 Tg C), while the highly saline regions stores only 14.90 Tg C. The prediction shows that after a hundred years almost 22.42 Tg C would be lost from the low saline regions accompanied by an increase of 8.20 Tg C in the high saline regions dominated mainly by Excoecaria sp. and Avicennia spp. The net carbon loss would be due to both mangrove area loss (~ 510 km2) and change in species composition leading to 58.28 Tg of potential CO2 emission within the year 2115

Optimizing rural drinking water supply infrastructure to account for spatial variations in groundwater quality and household welfare in coastal Bangladesh

Achieving water security requires reconciling multiple objectives while prioritizing scarce resources for the provision of safe drinking water supplies. We examine decision-making to invest in drinking water infrastructure in coastal Bangladesh where increasing saline intrusion in aquifers intersects with high levels of poverty for the 20 million people living in the coastal region. Multi-objective optimization is used to explore the trade-offs between two public policy goals: (a) maximizing overall access to improved water supplies (the greater good) and (b) maximizing access for the population with the lowest welfare (the greater need). To elucidate this trade-off, we make use of groundwater salinity measurements, an extensive household survey and an audit of drinking water infrastructure in 1 out of Bangladesh’s 139 polders, which is home to nearly 60,000 people. We quantify the costs of a variety of drinking water supply options including deep tube wells, desalination plants, and piped systems. The recommended solutions are sequences of investments in water supply assets that are optimized to specified locations within the polder. The method is potentially scalable and transferrable to inform investments to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal (Target 6.1) of universal access to safe and affordable drinking water

COVID-19 Related Psychological Distress, Fear and Coping: Identification of High-Risk Groups in Bangladesh

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has imposed psychological distress and fear across the globe; however, factors associated with those issues or the ways people cope may vary by country or context. This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with psychological distress, fear, and coping strategies for people living in Bangladesh during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted in August-September 2020 using online platforms in Bangladesh. People residing in Bangladesh, aged &ge;18 years, who were proficient in English and able to respond to online questionnaire. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale was used to assess the psychological stress. Level of fear was assessed using the Fear of COVID-19 Scale, and strategies to cope were assessed using the Brief Resilient Coping Scale.Results: Of the 962 participants, half of them were aged between 30 and 59 years. Being born in Bangladesh, having graduate education, perceived distress due to employment change, effect of COVID-19 on financial situation, having multiple comorbidities, and visiting a healthcare provider in the last 4 weeks were associated with higher levels of both psychological distress and fear of COVID-19. Furthermore, higher psychological distress was associated with being a female (AOR 1.81, 95% CI 1.33&ndash;2.47, p &amp;lt; 0.001), being a frontline worker (AOR 1.50, 95% CI 1.04&ndash;2.15, p &amp;lt; 0.05), having pre-existing psychiatric problems (AOR 4.03, 95% CI 1.19&ndash;13.7, p &amp;lt; 0.05), being a smoker (AOR 2.02, 95% CI 1.32&ndash;3.09, p &amp;lt; 0.01), providing care to a known/suspected COVID-19 patient (AOR 1.96, 95% CI 1.40&ndash;2.72, p &amp;lt; 0.001), having a recent overseas travel history and being in self-quarantine (AOR 4.59, 95% CI 1.23&ndash;17.2, p &amp;lt; 0.05), self-isolation without COVID-19 (AOR 2.63, 95% CI 1.68&ndash;4.13, p &amp;lt; 0.001) or being COVID-19 positive (AOR 2.53, 95% CI 1.19&ndash;5.34, p &amp;lt; 0.05), and having high levels of fear of COVID-19 (AOR 3.27, 95% CI 2.29&ndash;4.66, p &amp;lt; 0.001). A higher level of fear was associated with moderate to high levels of psychological distress (AOR 3.29, 95% CI 2.31&ndash;4.69, p &amp;lt; 0.001). People with pre-existing mental health problems were less likely to be resilient (AOR 0.25, 95% CI 0.11&ndash;0.54, p &amp;lt; 0.01), whereas those with having an income were more likely to be resilient (AOR 1.46, 95% CI 1.02&ndash;2.11, p &amp;lt; 0.05).Conclusion: Effective interventions to support the vulnerable groups including improved access to mental health services are of utmost importance during the pandemic.</jats:p