Livelihood assets and food consumption status of riverbank erosion hazard people in a selected area of Bangladesh

Abstract

Riverbank erosion is a major threat to Bangladesh refers to an endemic and recurrent natural hazard of our country. The study was conducted to identify the socioeconomic characteristics, find out the root causes of riverbank erosion, determine the livelihood assets and measure the calorie intake level of the riverine people. Primary data were collected from Jamalpur district in Bangladesh. The DFID approaches of livelihood and the consumption data of riverine households of seven days was measured by per person per day calorie intake level. The findings revealed that 72% of the respondents belonged to the age up to 60 years, 33.33% respondents’ education level was primary, 36% of the respondents’ primary occupation was agriculture, and 40% respondents had annual household income more than Tk. 100000 (US$ 1556.60). Most of the households identified flood, heavy rainfall, and stream of current as the main cause of riverbank erosion. Overall, human assets were in good position. About 54% respondents used leased land for their cultivation and 37.33% respondents had cash in hand. About 80% of the respondents belonged to the poor and their calorie intake level was < 2122 K. Cal. The Water Development Board of Bangladesh needs more attention to riverine people for improvement of their livelihood and food security status.