Scarcity to solution: perceived reasons for safe drinking water scarcity and local coping responses in a coastal village of Bangladesh

Abstract

People are directly and indirectly exposed to changing weather patterns through changes in the quality of water, air, and food changes in ecosystems, agriculture, industry, human settlements and the economy. Hence, this study explored local perceived reasons for safe drinking water scarcity and under such circumstances the coping responses in their region. This is a descriptive study based on qualitative methods. Male and female informants (30 + years of age) were purposively identified and data for the study were collected in three ways, through observation and informal discussion, in-depth interviews (n = 18), and three focus group discussions in a coastal village of Bangladesh. Climate change consequences include damaged trees and increased salinity intrusion, leading to a scarcity of safe drinking water. To cope with such scarcity of water, small scale road side mangrove tree planting was found to protect fresh water from salt water. In addition, cost effective rainwater preservation in the community during the rainy season was taken as mitigation of the scarcity of safe drinking water. Considering the geographical and socio-economic context of any specific region, cost effective and environment friendly local adaptive measures can reduce or mitigate the impact of climate change on water resources.