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Rainfall-Induced Landslide Hazard Assessment in Chittagong Metropolitan Area (CMA)

The Chittagong district of Bangladesh is known for its mountainous terrain, which makes it particularly vulnerable to landslides. The intensifying monsoon rains, coupled with rapid urbanization, have resulted in frequent landslides in the Chittagong Metropolitan Area (CMA). Furthermore, the rising monsoon rainfall caused by climate change exacerbates the risk of landslides, leading to increased frequency and damage. To address this pressing issue, this study was conducted to assess the landslide hazards in the CMA, with a focus on the impact of different recurrent rainfall events. To achieve this, the frequency ratio (FR) method and the weight of evidence (WoE) method were chosen for the landslide susceptibility analysis. These methods were selected due to their proven effectiveness and ease of implementation. Eleven key factors that contribute to landslides were identified in the initial analysis, including curvature, slope angle, LULC, and geology, among others. The digital elevation model (DEM) and Landsat 8 satellite images were used to generate the causative factor maps in order to visualize the impact of each factor. The results obtained from the analysis indicated that the FR method was more accurate than the WoE method in predicting the susceptibility of an area to landslides. The results of the analysis indicated that 29% of the hill land in the CMA is highly susceptible to landslides, which highlights the need for effective preventative measures and risk reduction strategies. A frequency analysis of cumulative five-day rainfall events was performed using rainfall data from 2000–2021. The results showed that a 5-day rainfall of 239 mm is likely to occur annually, and the combination of return period and threshold values indicates the yearly likelihood of landslides in both high and moderate susceptibility areas. Overall, the study findings may assist engineers and designers in incorporating safety measures into ongoing development projects in the CMA to protect communities from the harmful effects of landslides. The proximity to roads and slopes was identified as having the greatest influence on landslide incidents, and these factors should be taken into consideration when implementing risk reduction strategies.

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Water Quality Prediction of Buriganga River Using Remote Sensing Techniques



Surface water pollution is one of the most malignant subjects in Bangladesh, particularly in the Dhaka district. Significantly, the amount of pollution in the Buriganga River is alarming to our environment and ecosystem, primarily due to untreated industrial waste and municipal discharge. Several studies show the degradation of the water quality of this river. A handful of them include remote sensing techniques. Any reservoir's water quality can only be determined by conducting numerous, time-consuming, and expensive in-situ measurements in addition to laboratory testing. However, we can cut down on both time and cost by utilizing remote sensing techniques. The purpose of this study is to use remote sensing methods to determine the Buriganga River's water quality. To achieve this goal, 53 water samples were taken from the Buriganga River in April 2023. Using Javascript codes, a Sentinel 2 level 2A image from the same date of the water sample collection was downloaded from Google Earth Engine (GEE). SNAP software was used to extract the surface reflectance values from the Sentinel 2 image. The following parameters were measured in the water samples: pH, COD, DO, turbidity, electrical conductivity (EC), total suspended solids (TSS), and total dissolved solids (TDS). Mostly, there was positive correlation between the water quality parameters and the reflectance values of the Sentinel 2 satellite image bands (B2-B12). The linearity of each parameter was examined further by testing it against the reflective bands. A statistically significant overall effect was found between them using multiple linear regression analysis. The R-square values for each of the individual parameter tests were as follows: pH (0.258), DO (0.013), COD (0.218), EC (0.551), TDS (0.549), Turbidity (0.508), TSS (0.131), and pH (0.258). The R-square value indicates that between 1% and 54.9% of the variation in the dependent variables (EC, TDS, TSS, turbidity, pH, DO, and COD) can be explained by the predictor variables (B2-B12). Aside from EC, TDS, and turbidity, the R-square values of the other parameters were too small for the satellite image to predict. Thus, additional investigation was not done on these parameters. The empirical models that can be used in the future to estimate a specific level of pollution in a river without always needing in-situ testing were constructed using multiple linear regression. The models were then utilized in conjunction with the raster calculation function of ArcMap software to produce maps of the river's anticipated water quality parameters. Once more, ArcMap is used to generate interpolation maps for the whole Buriganga River using the water quality parameter values derived from field data and laboratory tests. The degree to which remote sensing can assess the pollution level in a body of water is discussed through a comparison of the two types of maps.

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Overview of the Atmospheric Pollution in Bangladesh: Chemical Composition, Source Apportionment, and Impact Assessment

Air pollution has a significant impact on human health, climate change, agriculture, visibility reduction, global warming, photochemistry, and ecosystem. About 7.0 million people die per year due to the outdoor air pollution, and 4.2 million people die per year for the indoor air pollution globally. Bangladesh became the topmost polluted country in the World for many years. Environmental pollution is the cause for 26% human death of the total in Bangladesh - two third of them are due to the worst air quality. Long term exposure of polluted air causes severe human health problem, e.g., chronic obstacle pulmonary disease, heart and brain stock, kidney and eye diseases, cancer, birth defect and affect the cognitive ability. The chemical composition of particulate matter (PM) is organic carbon (PAHs, VOCs, PFAS), black carbon/elemental carbon, brown carbon, water soluble ions (SO42-, NO3-, Cl-, PO43-, Na+, K+, Ca2+, NH4+, etc.), soil dusts (silicon dioxide, minerals), and trace elements (As, Cd, Cr, Ni, Hg, Fe, Zn, etc.). Fossil fuel combustion from industries, vehicles, constructions, biomass burning from indoor cooking, waste burning, dusts are significantly contributed to the worst air quality in Bangladesh. During winter transboundary air pollution from north and northwest has also been contributing to this poor air quality. The overview of the long-term trend of atmospheric PM (PM2.5 and PM10) and trace gases (SO2, NO2 and O3, etc.) with PM chemical composition, source apportionment, health impact, heating rate, economic burden, and mitigation options will be presented in the conference.

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Assessment of COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts on Rural Livelihood and their Coping Mechanism in Goyeshpur Union of Pabna District

The research intends to explore the impact of Covid-19 on people’s lives and livelihoods and suggest a range of recommendation in the name of Coping Mechanism. The prime concern of this study was to extract and analyze the impact of COVID-19 in rural section at every level of livelihoods and their copying mechanism during pandemic situation. Since this study was qualitative and quantitative in nature, I relied on convenience sampling, the most prevalent kind of non-probability sampling, in which participants were chosen at random based on how easily they could be reached. Both primary and secondary data were used for this study. Primary data were collected by house hold survey and key informant interviews. Secondary data were collected from different published and unpublished sources. Regression result and descriptive studies reveal that people's ability to make a living was negatively impacted by the pandemic's circumstances as a direct result of the difficulties produced by the restrictions imposed by the government. People were compelled to remain inside of their homes and cut off from potential sources of additional income, specifically those employed in the informal sector. In the context of diminishing household income, significant proportions of households employed a variety of coping strategies (using savings, changing occupation, sell of productive assets, took loan, support from relatives etc.) to either boost income or reduce current expenditures. This research can be helpful for the pertinent governments in implementing measures for the well-being of low-income individuals affected by this pandemic or similar future scenario. In addition, this will be a crucial for all types of researcher and policymakers for the creation and implementation of successful initiatives and programs aimed at the most vulnerable households, such as social protection and support programs.

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Analyzing the changes in river morphology of Satkhira district, Bangladesh using Earth Observation Techniques
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Despite being a wealthy nation with many rivers, Bangladesh has lost and is still losing many rivers over time. Given that the nation is among the fastest-growing in the world in terms of population and urbanization, it’s about time we paid enough attention to the issue of river degradation. River dynamics play an important role in shaping the lives and livelihood of the local communities and human interventions are greatly affecting the dynamics of the river. The study has been undertaken to investigate the shrinking and dying rate of some rivers in the Satkhira district of Bangladesh over the last 50–60 years. The objective is to determine how much river degradation occurred in a specific location over time and the associated problems with it. Another objective is to find out the root causes behind these river degradations over the past years. Earth observation techniques will be used to assess the changes in the morphology of the river. Land use-Landover classification will be carried out along with the analysis of the causal factors for morphological changes of the river and its impacts on the population, where the perception of the local community will be considered. This study will help the policymakers to understand how human interventions are affecting the morphology of the river and its impact on the environment, thereby helping the government to undertake planned interventions and raise awareness among the local communities.

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Importance of public health interventions in reducing under-five mortality in Bangladesh: findings from a bottleneck analysis using EQUIST
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Despite tremendous advances in the fight against infectious illnesses, the disease burden in under-five children remains significant, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Low-cost preventive measures like breastfeeding, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), and immunization are important public health interventions for avoiding under-five deaths. The main objectives of this study are to identify the amenable under-five deaths, and the causes responsible for these amenable deaths, and prioritize the high-impact interventions using the Equitable Impact Sensitive Tool (EQUIST) in Bangladesh. Data were collected and validated for more than 300 variables and nearly 300 intervention and coverage indicators for bottleneck analysis. One five-day long workshop, one two-day long and one three-day long workshop were held to collect and validate the data and to conduct the bottleneck analysis using the Tanahashi model. The results of the frontier analysis show that the key epidemiological causes that are responsible for inequity in the under-five mortality rate are diarrhoea, asphyxia, pneumonia, sepsis and prematurity in Bangladesh in 2020. The high-impact intervention packages which could contribute to reducing the existing disparities in the under-five mortality rate are WASH, delivery by skilled professionals, antenatal care, integrated management of neonatal and child illnesses (IMNCI) and immunization plus. The high-impact interventions that are expected to contribute to reducing the existing disparities in cases of stunting are improved sanitation, hand washing with soap, improved water sources and balanced energy supplementation. WASH and delivery by skilled professionals are major interventions capable of averting the highest number of under-five deaths in Bangladesh.

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A Comparison Between the Perception of Dhaka South and Dhaka North Residents on Urban Green Space and Its Impact on Health

The analytical framework of the study is qualitative which has been conducted through both primary and secondary research. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 100 residents of Dhaka on Google survey using simple random sampling. The resulting data from their responses have been used to compare and analyse the perceptional differences of residents from Dhaka South and Dhaka North. Key informant interviews with experts on anthropology and urban planning were conducted to get specialised knowledge on the research topic. Dhaka South residents are more aware of the chronic illnesses faced due to the lack of green spaces than the residents from Dhaka north. Despite the long distances from their homes, they frequent green spaces more comparatively and look forward to more green spaces around them. Northern residents reported that, they do not get enough time to visit green spaces and are unsure of its growth alongside Dhaka’s. Both regions are willing to volunteer to maintain and advocate for green spaces. The study suggests that, residents from both the regions are interested to having more green space, and they appreciate its positive impacts on their health.

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Sustainability of construction sand: A global review
Sand is the unsung material that has helped shape the Anthropocene. However, not much is known about the global sand system apart from that they are extracted and then fed into the industries that fuel development. By tying together environmental externalities, geopolitics, and material flow analysis indicators to determine the sand industry's place in the sustainability space, this study closes a knowledge vacuum. This research applies the ideas of material flow analysis to assess consumption patterns related to domestic sand extraction and trade. Since sand has a less documented history than cement or polymers, the biggest challenge was the absence of trustworthy and easily available data. Data collection and data verification are made highly challenging by the illegal mining and trading of sand, which prevents the true amounts from being recorded on trade and national statistics websites. The study found that China uses the most amount of recycled aggregates overall and consumes more sand than any of the other nations included in the analysis. European countries demonstrated a remarkable equilibrium in their sand systems by giving equal weight to the use of recycled aggregates and virgin sand. Beyond inflows, consumption, and the contribution of recycled aggregate, very little data was available for in-depth investigation. This study addresses the global absence of data, which is mostly caused by regulatory gaps, a lack of oversight, and a lack of interest from higher-level authorities. These circumstances offer the ideal environment for intricate syndicates and geopolitics. Since there are numerous unknown areas of sand mining's impacts and significant levels of negative environmental externalities, the sand business currently counters all of the sustainable development goals. Achieving long-term sustainability in the future will require acknowledging the significance of protecting sand supplies, enforcing and monitoring stringent rules on sand mining, developing alternatives, and creating public databases.
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Climate resilient public health in South East Asia : challenges of One Health data analytics for Antimicrobial Resistance in a changing climate

The impacts of climate change on human health are not same in all regions of the world. Least Developed Countries (LDCs) such as Bangladesh where core health determinants are threatened by changing climatic conditions are recognized as most vulnerable to negative health impacts of climate change. Increased efforts to improve the resilience of health systems and community adaptation are needed to ensure progress on SDG3 and ensure safeguard the health and wellbeing of all people in South East Asia. The burden of 60% of emerging infectious diseases that are reported globally come from animals, both wild and domestic, are mostly from this region. Over 30 new human pathogens have been detected in the last 3 decades, 75% of which have originated in animals.

Increased efforts to improve the resilience of health systems and community adaptation are needed to ensure progress on SDG3 and ensure safeguard the health and wellbeing of all people of South East Asia. A holistic, integrated approach to answering complex questions surrounding human, animal and environmental health is needed with adequate data support for new methods of addressing and understanding complex health problems to overcome the severe health challenges which transcend both national borders and disciplinary boundaries.

This systematic analysis tries to find out mapping scope of existing initiatives and capacities for One Health research and building the next generation One Health workforce in South East Asia to combat antimicrobial resistance in a changing climate of post-pandemic era. This effort includes standardized approach for assessing risks of spillover of pathogens between different animal populations and humans, and emergence of zoonotic diseases, including those arising in food systems from available and accessible data.

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Level, trend, and determinants of cesarean births in Bangladesh
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Cesarean delivery plays a significant role in reducing maternal and child death. However, unjustified cesarean section is on the rise worldwide including in Bangladesh. Cesarean section rates are increasing in Bangladesh; it increased from 2.9% in 1999 to 33.2% in 2017 which is much higher for first births. This study aims to describe the prevalence and determinants of births by cesarean section in private and public health facilities in Bangladesh. Data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Surveys (BDHS) is used in this study for the period 2011, 2014, and 2017-18. Traditionally caesarian section increases with a pattern of adequate antenatal care and we also discovered the same. Among all institutional deliveries over the observation period, the mother’s age at birth, birth order of index child, wealth index, adequate antenatal care (ANC) visit, parental education, and place of delivery (public/private) were found to have significant association over this period. In multivariate analysis place of delivery, number of ANC visits, birth order of index child, and wealth quintile were found to be significant determinants of caesarian births in Bangladesh. Our findings suggest that increased cesarean section rates in Bangladesh may be driven by both individual-level and provider-level factors. Close monitoring is required to avoid unnecessary caesarian deliveries in Bangladesh.

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