Developing multi-hazard early warning system crucial for food security: Experts

Bangladesh's geographic location makes it vulnerable to multiple natural disasters occurring simultaneously, such as floods, cyclones, droughts, river erosion, salinity intrusion, and El Niño impacts. While some individual disasters can be predicted, early warnings for simultaneous disasters and their long-term impacts are often lacking, posing a serious threat to the country's food security, said experts.

At a roundtable titled "Early Warning and Early Action for Cascading Risks to Food Security (EWAC)" held in The Business Standard's conference room today (2 July), they emphasised the urgent need to develop a Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS) as it would enhance Bangladesh's ability to manage overlapping disaster risks and ensure sustainable food security.

Saleem Ahmed, associate editor of The Business Standard, moderated the event jointly organised by Practical Action, Chatham House, Citi Foundation, and TBS.

SM Munjurul Hannan Khan, executive director of Nature Conservation Management (Nacom Bangladesh) and former additional secretary of the Ministry of Environment, said, "The government must provide early warnings not only for floods and cyclones but for all disasters, ensuring these reach everyone. Early warnings should address both food and livelihood security. Currently, there is poor coordination, with the government, private sector, and international organisations working independently without sharing information. Everyone needs to collaborate on this."

Md Shamsuddoha, chief executive of the Centre for Participatory Research and Development, said, "In disasters, we only discuss the primary impact. But due to river erosion, there are many other issues like drinking water shortages, salinity, migration, health problems, and production losses. These are long-term problems. If we can provide early warnings for these long-term issues, much damage can be reduced."

Md Tariqul Hasan Rifat, senior officer of Climate and Resilience, and Farhana Parvin, research associate of Practical Action, presented the keynote highlighting Practical Action's research. The 2023 study initially covered only Satkhira and Faridpur districts but later expanded to include Rangpur, Dhaka, Sunamganj, and Bandarban districts.

Regarding the research, Tariqul Hasan Rifat said, "Bangladesh is a multi-hazard country. Sometimes floods, cyclones, or El Niño occur simultaneously. Many have worked on these issues, but no one has focused on food security. Our aim was to highlight the impact of disasters on food security and to review how early warning can help reduce risks."

The study, conducted on a total of 735 households, found that 72% of them reported food price hikes after disasters, 27.5% were unable to access local markets, 74.7% experienced transport issues, and 62.3% reported market closures. Additionally, the study revealed that the highest levels of food insecurity occurred in July and September.

During the keynote presentation, it was explained that using the nine food security parameters established by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the survey categorised households as follows: 26.74% experienced very low food security, 22.78% had low food security, 34.65% were moderately food secure but with some insecurity, and 15.82% were fully food secure.

Ahmadul Haque, additional secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, said, "While cyclones previously caused significant loss of life, we have since made progress in overcoming these challenges, resulting in a reduced mortality rate. The government is now prioritising livelihood security. Currently, relief efforts are provided at specific times of the year to support food security. However, the government plans to expand post-disaster relief activities to better assist affected communities and ensure long-term food security in disaster-prone areas."

Mohammad Harun Or Rashid, joint secretary of the Ministry of Disaster Management, said, "Our responsibility is to build people's resilience to disasters, as geographic factors make them unavoidable. Despite some shortcomings, we have made considerable advancements in disaster management. Food security is a basic human right, and early warning systems must be utilised to secure it."

The roundtable began with a welcome speech by Ishrat Shabnam, country director of Practical Action, who said, Practical Action has been working for nearly 34 years, focusing on how early warning systems relate to food security.

At the event, Bhargabi Bharadwaj, a researcher at The Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, discussed Reflections on Cascading Risks to Food Security. 

Mirianna Budimir, senior climate and resilience expert at the Environment and Society Centre, presented on the Background of the Study and Early Warning Systems (EWS).

The closing remarks were delivered by Rakesh Supker, Asia Regional Head of Operations at Practical Action.

Md Shameem Hassan Bhuiyan, deputy director & meteorologist at the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD); AKM Saifuddin, supervising engineer (Civil) at the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB); Sarder Udoy Raihan, executive engineer at the Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre (FFWC); Md Shahjahan Shaju, coordinator of EW4All at the World Food Programme (WFP); Syeda Zinia Rashid, senior programme officer at the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh; and Md Shamsuddoha, chief executive of the Centre for Participatory Research and Development (CPRD) spoke at the roundtable.

Other attendees included Mazharul Aziz, agricultural meteorology expert and former deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension; Manoranjan Kumar Mondal, collaborative research scientist at the International Rice Research Institute; Towhidul Islam Dipu, senior disaster manager at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC); Sanjib Biswas from the Swiss Red Cross (SRC) delegation; Sikander Khan Tanveer, senior programme specialist (Crops) at the Saarc Agriculture Centre (SAC); Jannatul Mawa, executive director of Bindu Nari Unnoyon Sangathan; and Shekh Mohi Uddin from Action Against Hunger.