Post-Cyclone Livelihood Strategies and Security Status of Coastal Households in Bangladesh

Abstract

This chapter identifies post-cyclone livelihood capital status, major livelihood groups, livelihood strategies, and security status of coastal households. The study is conducted in three coastal Bangladeshi villages selected purposively, which are severely vulnerable to cyclones and storm surges. The assumption of a 95% confidence interval resulted in an estimated sample size of 331 out of 788 households, chosen through a simple random sampling procedure. This study has identified three major livelihood groups: fisher, farmer, and wage laborer. Besides, fish fry collector is a disadvantageous sub-group of fisher mostly found in Island and Shoreline villages. Island reveals less livelihood capital than the Inland and shoreline among the three villages. Although the natural capital of the Island is relatively higher, however scarcity of other capitals hinders proper utilization of the potential of such capital. The social capital of the Island is significantly lower than the other two villages, which unveils the lesser social coherence of Islanders. Likewise, wage laborers owe less livelihood capital than farmers and fishers among the livelihood groups. Households in study villages diversify income wherever possible and, most importantly, face a crisis. Besides, Island villagers are relatively more food insecure (kcal/day/person) than others. Likewise, housing and sanitation in the Island village reveal dilapidated conditions due to the poor economic conditions, while the drinking water facility reveals significant improvement in all three villages. Child immunization and deaths of children are great concerns in an Island village. Similarly, the education, income, and savings of Island villagers are significantly lower than Shoreline and Inland. Therefore, such differential pictures of various livelihood security indicators reveal relatively higher post-cyclone livelihood insecurity of Islanders, followed by Shoreline and Island villagers. Therefore, it is essential to identify vulnerable locations and groups through scientific analysis of livelihood security indicators and indices. Hence, the present study advocates identifying vulnerable locations and livelihood groups, building livelihood capitals, promoting coordinated disaster risk reduction programs, and rebuilding livelihoods to ensure post-cyclone livelihood security.