**1. Introduction**

Bangladesh has long been recognized as being very vulnerable to both environmental degradation and climate change impacts [1, 2]. Increasing changes in climate variability and extreme events have pushed the country towards greater vulnerability. This vulnerability is compounded by low economic progress of the country, inadequate infrastructure, lack of institutional capacity, improper management practices, and increased dependency on the natural resource base which makes coping strategies difficult to implement.

It has been predicted that "climate change impacts will be differently distributed among different regions, generations, age classes, income groups, occupations and genders" [3]. The IPCC also notes: "the impacts of climate change will fall disproportionately upon developing countries and the poor persons within all countries, and thereby exacerbate inequities in health status and access to adequate food, clean water, and other resources". It became an unkind or terrible reality for the communities of Bangladesh to face extreme climatic events e.g. recent prolonged and devastating floods (1998, 2004, 2007) and cyclonic events in last decades. IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) shows that the global average mean sea level rose by 1.7 mm per year during 1900–2010 and it further increased to 3.2 mm per year during 1993–2010 [4]. The most recent IPCC (2018) special report states that the global mean sea level rise is expected to be around 0.1 meter less with global temperature of 1.5°C compared to 2°C [5]. It is predicted that the sea level is likely to rise 30 and 50 cm by 2030 and 2050 respectively (World Bank, 2000). A recent report states that the range of sea level rise in the coast of Bangladesh is 6 mm to 21 mm/year during 1980–2010 [6]. This may have adverse impacts on natural resources in different degrees in different ecosystems (terrestrial and aquatic). IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) indicates that sea level rise and wave action are causing decline of vegetated coastal habitats across the world (Wong, 2014). Some other reports also state that the coastal communities of Bangladesh are exposed to risks of weather and climate related extreme events [7].

Variation in temperature, erratic behavior of rainfall, cyclonic events [Cyclone Sidr (2007), Cyclone Bijli, Cyclone Aila (2009), Cyclone Mahasen (2013), Cyclone Roanu (2016), Cyclone Fani and Cyclone Bulbul (2019) and Cyclone Amphan (2020)], salinity intrusion, droughts, extreme heat waves, cold wave etc. made their life and livelihoods miserable in the coast of Bangladesh in last decade.

Changes of climate may directly and indirectly affect freshwater resources (water availability and deteriorate water quality), fisheries biology and aquatic ecosystem, human health (increase incidences of water borne diseases e.g. diarrhea, cholera, dysentery etc.) and agriculture crops. These would result increase demand and consumption of water due to increase of temperature, increased pressure on groundwater, shortage of food due to decreased agriculture production and finally increase of morbidity and mortality of the communities with low resilience in the coast especially in Satkhira.
