Abstract
The Ganges–Brahmaputra delta enables Bangladesh to sustain a dense population, but it also exposes people to natural hazards. This article presents findings from the Gibika project, which researches livelihood resilience in seven study sites across Bangladesh. This study aims to understand how people in the study sites build resilience against environmental stresses, such as cyclones, floods, riverbank erosion, and drought, and in what ways their strategies sometimes fail. The article applies a new methodology for studying people’s decision making in risk-prone environments: the personal Livelihood History interviews (N = 28). The findings show how environmental stress, shocks, and disturbances affect people’s livelihood resilience and why adaptation measures can be unsuccessful. Floods, riverbank erosion, and droughts cause damage to agricultural lands, crops, houses, and properties. People manage to adapt by modifying their agricultural practices, switching to alternative livelihoods, or using migration as an adaptive strategy. In the coastal study sites, cyclones are a severe hazard. The study reveals that when a cyclone approaches, people sometimes choose not to evacuate: they put their lives at risk to protect their livelihoods and properties. Future policy and adaptation planning must use lessons learned from people currently facing environmental stress and shocks.
Highlights
Nature has been kind to Bangladesh by positioning the country in the world’s largest delta
People who had recently migrated to the community, or had spent a notable amount of time living elsewhere, were not selected, as the adaptation strategies aimed to reflect the history of study sites
This article provides a people-centred perspective on environmental stress, natural hazards adaptation, and livelihood resilience
Summary
Nature has been kind to Bangladesh by positioning the country in the world’s largest delta. Out of the world’s 500 million people living in deltas, 100 million live in the Ganges–Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh and India. Meghna, and other rivers criss-cross their way through the country before flowing out into the Bay of Bengal. The delta enables the country to sustain a dense population, but the delta location exposes people to natural hazards. Riverbank erosion, sealevel rise, land loss, and drought are all typical stressors in delta areas (Ahmed et al 2012; Pouliotte et al 2009; Lewis 2011). This article provides insights from study sites spread across Bangladesh; Barisal, Khulna, Rajshahi, and Dhaka division
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