Rangamati District Research Articles

Disaster risk governance for district-level landslide risk management in Bangladesh

The Government of Bangladesh has been successful in reducing death rates from tropical cyclones. However, in recent years, landslides have been a significant hazard, especially in the south-eastern part of Bangladesh. For example, the landslides of 2017 killed 110 people in Rangamati district. These deaths have raised an important question: whether district disaster risk governance at the local level is effective enough to mitigate the impact of landslide disasters? Based on literature review, nine good characteristics of disaster risk governance were selected (accountability, participation, collaboration, transparency, information sharing, shared decision making, communication, leadership and shared resources) to assess the effectiveness of district disaster risk governance for landslides underpinned by the disaster risk management cycle. These characteristics were assessed by interviewing 18 members of the Rangamati's District Disaster Management Committee. Policy documents were also reviewed to study the devolution of disaster risk governance urged by the Hyogo Framework and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. The findings suggest that the four principles (viz. accountability, participation, collaboration, and leadership) function satisfactorily during the response, evacuation, rescue and relief phases compared to the other five principles. The findings also suggest that the national Disaster Management Regulatory Framework and the Disaster Management Institutions are conducive to promote local disaster risk governance. However, there are challenges with regard to collaboration within and between state and non-state actors. As such, context specific recommendations are provided to improve collaboration and effectiveness with implications for other disaster-prone districts in Bangladesh.

Primer registro de Lestranicus transpectus (Moore, 1879) y Graphium macareus (Godart, 1819) (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea) en Bangladesh

Lestranicus transpectus and Graphium macareus are new observations of butterfly fauna to Bangladesh for the first time from Baro Chara (22.50° N, 92.18° E, 9 m), Rangamati district of Chittagong division. These two new findings signify previous sampling gaps and suggest further surveys needed to make an updated and exhaustive checklist for Bangladesh.

Water Scarcity, Seasonal Variation and Social Conflict in Mountain Regions of Bangladesh

The study intends to assess water scarcity, seasonal variations, and social conflicts through a cross sectional study based on people's perceptions. A well-structured questionnaire coupled with an interview schedule was used for data collection from the 60 households living in the mountainous two villages at Waga union of Kaptai Upazila under Rangamati District, Bangladesh. The study employed a multi-stage random sampling technique. The analysis reveals that 90% of respondents in Sapchari Monpara village mostly rely on spring for water, while 83% of respondents in Debotachari village depend on tube-wells. The study also shows that 80% of the respondents have experienced water scarcity in domestic use, while 90% of respondents have reported short duration of the rainy season causes water scarcity. More than 80% of respondents believe that shifting cultivation in upland catchments causes water quality degradation in the study villages. Most of the respondents obtain water easily in a monsoon at Sapchari Monpara, while others get from tube-wells and traditional wells in all seasons. About (87%) of respondents mention that forest conservation around the water sources can increase water availability.

Water Scarcity, Seasonal Variation and Social Conflict in Mountain Regions of Bangladesh

The study intends to assess water scarcity, seasonal variations, and social conflicts through a cross sectional study based on people's perceptions. A well-structured questionnaire coupled with an interview schedule was used for data collection from the 60 households living in the mountainous two villages at Waga union of Kaptai Upazila under Rangamati District, Bangladesh. The study employed a multi-stage random sampling technique. The analysis reveals that 90% of respondents in Sapchari Monpara village mostly rely on spring for water, while 83% of respondents in Debotachari village depend on tube-wells. The study also shows that 80% of the respondents have experienced water scarcity in domestic use, while 90% of respondents have reported short duration of the rainy season causes water scarcity. More than 80% of respondents believe that shifting cultivation in upland catchments causes water quality degradation in the study villages. Most of the respondents obtain water easily in a monsoon at Sapchari Monpara, while others get from tube-wells and traditional wells in all seasons. About (87%) of respondents mention that forest conservation around the water sources can increase water availability.

Cost-Benefit Analysis of Kaptai Dam in Rangamati District,Chittagong, Bangladesh

This study aims to assess the net benefit of the kaptai dam on the Karnafuli river in Kaptai, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Kaptai Dam, the only hydroelectricity power source in Bangladesh, provides only 5% electricity demand of Bangladesh. The Dam is located on the Karnafuli River at Kaptai in Rangamati District, 65 km upstream from Chittagong. It is an earth-fill or embankment dam with a reservoir with a water storage capacity of 11,000 skm. Though the Dam's primary purpose is to generate electricity, it became a reservoir of water used for fishing and tourism. To find the net benefit value and estimate the environmental costs and benefits, we considered the environmental net benefit from 1962 to 1997. We identify the costs of Kaptai Dam, including its establishment cost, operational costs, the costs of lives that have been lost due to conflicts, and environmental costs, including loss of biodiversity, loss of land uses, and loss of human displacements. Also, we assess the benefits of electricity production, earnings from fisheries production, and gain from tourism to Kaptai Lake. The findings show that the Dam contributes tremendous value to Bangladesh. As a source of hydroelectricity, the Kaptai Dam is a source of clean energy, and its value might have been worthy of this Dam produced a significant portion of the electricity. However, providing less than 5% of the national demand for electricity followed by various external and sensitive costs, the Dam hardly contributes to the Bangladesh economy. This study thus recommends that Bangladesh should look for other sources of clean energy that have no chances of eco-political conflicts.

Landslide susceptibility mapping in three Upazilas of Rangamati hill district Bangladesh: application and comparison of GIS-based machine learning methods

This study evaluates and compares three machine learning models: K-Nearest Neighbour (KNN), Random Forest (RF) and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) for landslide susceptibility mapping for part of areas in Rangamati District, Bangladesh. The performance of these methods has been assessed by employing statistical methods such as the area under the curve (AUC) for success rate (SR) and prediction rate (PR), Kappa index, Qs index and Friedman's test. Results show that XGBoost had the best performance with the highest AUC for both SR (95.27%) and PR (90.63%), followed by RF (SR: 89.26%; PR: 84.74%) and KNN models (SR: 85.54%; PR: 81.02%). This study provides a useful analysis for the selection of the best model for landslide susceptibility mapping and that it will be helpful for disaster planning and risk reduction.

Disparities in Risks of Malaria Associated with Climatic Variability among Women, Children and Elderly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.

Malaria occurrence in the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh varies by season and year, but this pattern is not well characterized. The role of environmental conditions on the occurrence of this vector-borne parasitic disease in the region is not fully understood. We extracted information on malaria patients recorded in the Upazila (sub-district) Health Complex patient registers of Rajasthali in Rangamati district of Bangladesh from February 2000 to November 2009. Weather data for the study area and period were obtained from the Bangladesh Meteorological Department. Non-linear and delayed effects of meteorological drivers, including temperature, relative humidity, and rainfall on the incidence of malaria, were investigated. We observed significant positive association between temperature and rainfall and malaria occurrence, revealing two peaks at 19 °C (logarithms of relative risks (logRR) = 4.3, 95% CI: 1.1–7.5) and 24.5 °C (logRR = 4.7, 95% CI: 1.8–7.6) for temperature and at 86 mm (logRR = 19.5, 95% CI: 11.7–27.3) and 284 mm (logRR = 17.6, 95% CI: 9.9–25.2) for rainfall. In sub-group analysis, women were at a much higher risk of developing malaria at increased temperatures. People over 50 years and children under 15 years were more susceptible to malaria at increased rainfall. The observed associations have policy implications. Further research is needed to expand these findings and direct resources to the vulnerable populations for malaria prevention and control in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh and the region with similar settings.

Tree species diversity of the Kaptai National Park in Rangamati district, Bangladesh

The purpose of this study was to estimate the tree biodiversity in the Kaptai National Park. The total area of the Kaptai National Park is about 4,564 ha (11,273.08 acres) under the jurisdiction of Rangamati South Forest Division, Rangamati Hill Tracts district. The study was conducted through extensive survey only on the tree species composition in the Kaptai National Park. During the investigation, a total of 65 tree species belonging to 29 families were recorded from the park. Among the plant families, Mimosaceae possessed the highest number of species (7) followed by Meliaceae (6), Ancardiaceae (5), Moraceae (4), Verbenaceae (4), Combretaceae (4), Myrtaceae (4), Dipterocarpaceae (3), Fabaceae (3), Rubiaceae (2), Bombacaceae (2), Caesalpiniaceae (2), Dilleniaceae (2) and Bignoniaceae (2) respectively. There were 15 families which contained single species. Tree species belonging to the family Mimosaceae was dominated in respect to number of species and their population as well. The findings of the present investigation will contribute in the regeneration of tree species in this degraded forest ecosystem and in the protection, conservation and sustainable management of the Kaptai National Park.
 Jahangirnagar University J. Biol. Sci. 8(2): 71-79, 2019 (December)

Evaluating the Effects of Digital Elevation Models in Landslide Susceptibility Mapping in Rangamati District, Bangladesh

Digital elevation models (DEMs) are the most obvious data sources in landslide susceptibility assessment. Many landslide casual factors are often generated from DEMs. Most studies on landslide susceptibility assessments rely on freely available DEMs. However, very little is known about the performance of different DEMs with varying spatial resolutions on the accurate assessment of landslide susceptibility. This study compared the performance of four different DEMs including 30 m Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) Global Digital Elevation Model (GDEM), 30–90 m Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM), 12.5 m Advanced Land Observation Satellite (ALOS) Phased Array Type L band Synthetic Aperture Radar (PALSAR), and 25 m Survey of Bangladesh (SOB) DEM in landslide susceptibility assessment in the Rangamati district in Bangladesh. This study used three different landslide susceptibility assessment techniques: modified frequency ratio (bivariate model), logistic regression (multivariate model), and random forest (machine-learning model). This study explored two scenarios of landslide susceptibility assessment: using only DEM-derived causal factors and using both DEM-derived factors as well as other common factors. The success and prediction rate curves indicate that the SRTM DEM provides the highest accuracies for the bivariate model in both scenarios. Results also reveal that the ALOS PALSAR DEM shows the best performance in landslide susceptibility mapping using the logistics regression and the random forest models. A relatively finer resolution DEM, the SOB DEM, shows the lowest accuracies compared to other DEMs for all models and scenarios. It can also be noted that the performance of all DEMs except the SOB DEM is close (72%–84%) considering the success and prediction accuracies. Therefore, anyone of the three global DEMs: ASTER, SRTM, and ALOS PALSAR can be used for landslide susceptibility mapping in the study area.

An investigation of the characteristics, causes, and consequences of June 13, 2017, landslides in Rangamati District Bangladesh

The primary purpose of this study is to find out and discuss the characteristics, causes, and consequences of the landslides of June 13, 2017, in the Rangamati district Bangladesh. Since rainfall triggered the landslides, debris flow accounts for 40.45% of the landslides. Most of the landslides are small (mean 274. 2 m2 with a standard deviation of 546.1 m2). Size of 62.30% of the landslides was < 100 m2. The probability density of 50–100 m2 landslides is the highest and with the increase of the size of landslides, probability density decreases. It indicates the chance of large landslides (> 1000 m2) is low. Frequency ratio, logistic regression, and Spearman’s rank correlation were used to find out the relationship between 15 landslide causal factors including elevation, slope, rainfall, aspect, land use/land cover, land use/land cover change and distance to the road network with the occurrences and size of landslides. Among the land use/land cover types built-up areas [frequency ratio (FR) = 5.67], among land-use land-cover change types: vegetation to built-up (FR = 5.31) are the most prone areas to landslides. Logistic regression models found six causal factors were statistically significant, including slope (Coefficient, ß = 1.05), and distance to the road network (ß = 0.44). The size of the landslides had a significant relationship with five causal factors, including annual rainfall (ρ = 0.52), and elevation (ρ = 0.24). Paired sample t-test on pre-event and post-event monthly incomes revealed that landslides had a significant impact on different occupations of the local people. People involved in primary economic activities like the slash and burn agriculture (locally known as jhum cultivation) and fishing are the worst sufferers of landslides as they experienced a significant fall of income after the landslides. The findings of the study would help the policymakers to mitigate landslide hazards in the Rangamati district.

Factors affecting tourists’ satisfaction: An empirical study on Rangamati as a tourism destination

This study aims to unearth the determining factors of tourist satisfaction in the Rangamati District and explores the degree of interdependence. Data were collected from 140 tourists who visited Rangamati from 2019 to onward were selected based on convenience using a survey questionnaire. The findings of the study revealed that two factors among five such as natural factors, cultural factors were found to have a positive influence in determining tourists’ satisfaction however the other three such as tourism product, destination support services, and financial factors do not influence tourists satisfaction. SPSS-2020 was used for analysis where descriptive statistics were used to express the demographic profile of the respondent and to rank the individual factors to find out which factors are most important for determining the dependent variable. Then, correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis has been used to judge the degree of relationship among independent and dependent variables. A set of recommendations was provided which will help to improve the performance of the agencies as well as tourist services and it will gradually bring satisfaction to the local and international tourists.

Effects of Integrated Nutrient Management on the Performance of Mango on Hills in Three Districts, Bangladesh

This experiment was conducted in a mango garden at Bandarban, Khagrachari and Rangamati district in hilly area of Bangladesh from 15 October 2015 to 30 May 2017 to study the effects of integrated nutrient management on the performance of mango in hills. The experiment was laid out in a randomized block design with three replications. There were four treatments Mango (5-10 yrs. old). The treatments are: 4 (four) Fertilizer packages * T1= Control, T2= N230P53K100 S 36Zn3 B4 + CD/Compost 20000 g/plant, T3= 125% of T2 and T4= 150% of T2. In Khagrachari site, Mango yield varied from 7.72-22.30 kg/plant. The highest mango yield 22.30 kg/plant wasin T4 treatment (150% of T2). In Bandarban site, Mango yield ranged between24.13-48.25 kg/plant. The highest mango yield 48.25 kg/plant found in T3 treatment (125% of T2). In Rangamati site, Mango yield varied from 9.62-23.10 kg/plant. The highest mango yield 23.10 kg/plant found in T4 treatment (150% of T2). In most cases the significant difference in yields were found in T4 treatments in three districts.

The well-being of the persons in relation to the quality of sleep

Sleep quality and well-being are interrelated. The objective of this study was to find this relationship between the well-being of persons with their quality of sleep and its correlates. It was a cross-sectional study conducted on respondents of 18 and above from September 2015 to October 2015. The study was done at Rangamati town, Kaptai Upazila of Rangamati district, three Upazila of Chittagong district, Dhaka city and Cox’s Bazar town in Bangladesh. A purposive sampling technique was used and the sample size was 109. The quality of sleep was assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and the level of well-being was assessed by the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) among the respondents. The results showed that, among the 109 respondents, good sleepers were 53 (48.6%) and poor sleepers were 56 (51.4%). Regarding well-being level, the average was 89 (81.6%) and above-average was 20 (18.3%) among the respondents. Among good sleepers, 41 (77.3%) and poor sleepers 48 (85.7%) were found in the average level of well-being. Above average level of well-being was found 12 (22.6%) in good sleepers and 8 (14.3%) in poor sleepers. Well-being level was better among the good sleepers than poor sleepers but was not statistically significant (p&gt;0.05). Here, the well-being level was better, but sleep quality was not satisfactory. Other factors which might influence the quality of sleep and well-being should also be considered. Bang J Psychiatry 2020; 34(1):14-17

Knowledge of Chakma farm women in homestead gardening in the selected villages of Rangamati, Bangladesh

The purpose of the study was to determine knowledge of Chakma farm women about homestead gardening. The study was conducted in Sapchari and Kutukchari union of Rangamati Sadar Upazila under Rangamati District. Chakma farm women of Rangamti Sadar Upazila constituted the population of the study. An update list of 400 Chakma farm women who were related to homestead gardening activities was prepared with the help of Sub-Assistant Agricultural Officer of these localities. One hundred farm women were selected as the sample of the study by using random sampling method. A well-structured interview schedule was developed based on the objectives of the study for collecting information. The researcher herself collected data through personal contact. Data revealed that majority (58%) of Chakma farm women had medium knowledge in homestead gardening followed by high knowledge (27%) and low knowledge (15%). Education, contact with extension agent, exposure to mass media and woman status in the family had significant positive relationship with knowledge of homestead gardening. Age, farm size, annual net income and cosmopoliteness had no significant relationship with knowledge of homestead gardening.

Water Crisis and Adaptation Strategies by Tribal Community: A Case Study in Baghaichari Upazila of Rangamati District in Bangladesh

Water crisis under changing climate is one of the major environmental challenges in Bangladesh. Tribal communities of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHTs) have been suffering from water scarcity since long. This study aimed to identify the available water sources, extent of water scarcity and traditional adaptation practices to cope with water scarcity in hilly area of Bangladesh. This study was conducted by face-to-face interview using a structured questionnaire in 6 villages of three union of Bagaichari upazila which were selected through stratified random sampling method. The main sources of water for drinking, domestic use and irrigation were river, streams, dam over streams (Godha), very small stream (Thagalok), well dug on hill bottom (Shillaw hoo), springs, big dug well, tube-well, ring-well, river, and pond. In every year December-April is the dry and water crisis period. To overcome the severity, people built small dams (Godha) to raise water level and use in irrigation and domestic purposes. For drinking water maximum 42% people dependent on shilaw hoo. For domestic purposes 38% households dependent on streams and 65% dependent on Ghoda for irrigation water. Tribal people of the study area have to walk a long hours to collect water from sources located about 1-2.5 kilometers away from the settlement with earthen or plastic buckets sized 10 to 15 litters. Water crisis was found in severe condition since last 5-10 years. Before that water was available in hilly region. Maximum people (89%) reported deforestation as the main reason of water crisis. This study suggests both government and non-governmental professionals to foster local communities’ adaptation capacity against the water scarcity in Bagaichari upazila. This study will play a vital role to take relevant adaptation policies both by the policy makers and practitioners.

Landslide Inventory (2001–2017) of Chittagong Hilly Areas, Bangladesh

Landslides are a frequent natural hazard in Chittagong Hilly Areas (CHA), Bangladesh, which causes the loss of lives and damage to the economy. Despite this, an official landslide inventory is still lacking in this area. In this paper, we present a landslide inventory of this area prepared using the visual interpretation of Google Earth images (Google Earth Mapping), field mapping, and a literature search. We mapped 730 landslides that occurred from January 2001 to March 2017. Different landslide attributes including type, size, distribution, state, water content, and triggers are presented in the dataset. In this area, slide and flow were the two dominant types of landslides. Out of the five districts (Bandarban, Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Khagrachari, and Rangamati), most (55%) of the landslides occurred in the Chittagong and Rangamati districts. About 45% of the landslides were small (&lt;100 m2) in size, while the maximum size of the detected landslides was 85202 m2. This dataset will help to understand the characteristics of landslides in CHA and provide useful guidance for policy implementation.

Assessment of the microbiological quality of rain water: A case study of selected water scarce area in Bangladesh

Availability as well as access to drinking water is one of the considerable constraints for achieving sustainable goals in many countries while microbial contamination has exacerbated this issue more significantly. The increasing trend of population and industrialization for economic growth has adversely been affecting fresh water resources that eventually leading to scarcity of available drinking water. Hence, controlling water pollution along with focusing on alternative water sources are important for ensuring access to safe drinking water. This study aimed to determine the biological water quality parameters of rainfall water in the water-scarce areas of Bangladesh. About sixty rainwater samples collected from seven different districts were collected for microbial analysis in particular Total Coliform (TC) and Fecal Coliform (FC) by using membrane filtration and direct counting method. The result found that 70 % of samples were free from total coliform, whereas only 5 % samples showed above 100 colonies. On the other hand, 83% samples were free from fecal coliform, whereas only 2% samples were within the range of 11-100 colonies. This study has also revealed that most of the samples collected from Rangamati and Khulna district were free from total coliform and fecal coliform. This study may also encourage people living in these water scarce areas to come forward for rainwater harvesting system as a prospective tool for achieving sustainable goal in drinking sector of Bangladesh.&#x0D; Stamford Journal of Microbiology, Vol.8(1) 2018: 24-26

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding malaria control among the slash and burn cultivators in Rangamati Hill tracts of Bangladesh

BackgroundSlash and burn cultivators are a significant risk group for malaria in South-East Asia. As envisaged in the National Strategic Plan for Malaria Elimination, Bangladesh aims to achieve zero indigenous malaria transmission by 2030. For the national plan to move from malaria control to malaria elimination, targeting the population of slash and burn cultivators is of overriding importance.MethodsThe study used an explorative mixed method design to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) regarding malaria prevention and treatment in an endemic area of Bangladesh. Adult slash and burn cultivators in two sub-districts of the Rangamati District were selected and interviewed. Four focus group discussions were conducted, and this was followed by a cross-sectional quantitative survey with 200 participants.ResultsThe respondents’ general knowledge about malaria transmission and modes of prevention and treatment was good. However, there were some gaps regarding knowledge about specific aspects of malaria transmission and in particular about the increased risk associated with their occupation. Despite a much-reduced incidence of malaria in the study area, the respondents perceived the disease as life-threatening and knew that it needs rapid attention from a health worker. Moreover, the specific services offered by the local community health workers for malaria diagnosis and treatment were highly appreciated. Finally, the use of insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITN) was considered as important and this intervention was uniformly stated as the main malaria prevention method.ConclusionsThe findings from this study on promising KAP characteristics in the slash and burn cultivator population are reassuring that the goal of malaria elimination by the year 2030 can be achieved in Bangladesh.

A preliminary survey of ethno-medicinal plants used by the Chakma community of Rangamati and Khagrachari Hill District, Bangladesh

Preliminary survey work was done in Rangamati and Khagracharihill district in the Chakma community. The study was carried out on medicinal plants used by the Chakma community. Chakma people are mostly residing in the deep forest and depend on their own traditional health care system. Information was collected by interviewing traditional herbal healers (locally called Baddhya ) and various elderly men and women. All the plants were listed along with their scientific name, family, chakma name, habit, used parts and mode of preparation. A total of 125 plant species under 46 families have been identified which are used to treat different diseases by the traditional herbal healers. Fabaceae, Rubiaceae and Euphorbiaceae are the most frequently used family to the number of species used by the Chakma Community. Mostly leaves are used for the preparation of folk medicine.

2017 Bangladesh landslides: physical rehabilitation perspective

Purpose This report describes the general impact and direct health effects including death and traumatic injuries on populations impacted by the 2017 landslides in the affected hilly and coastal districts in southeastern Bangladesh. The medical response including emergency treatment and rehabilitation provided at pre-hospital and hospital care sites is also described. Materials and methods An electronic literature search of appropriate databases was performed to identify relevant articles on landslides in Bangladesh, Southeast Asia, and other developing countries from 1990–2017. Summary landslide impact data was extracted from official government and non-government reports and injury data from selected district and tertiary level hospitals was reviewed. Results and conclusions Most fatalities in the 2017 Bangladesh landslides were due to suffocation and asphyxiation from burial. In Rangamati District, 6343 persons with minor injuries were treated in 22 emergency shelters. One hundred fifty-four injuries were treated at Rangamati General Hospital and 12 of the most severely injured persons were referred to regional tertiary Chittagong Medical College Hospital for specialized injury and rehabilitation management. Physical rehabilitation capacity and services in future landslides may be increased by providing rehabilitation technical skills training to responders and augmenting the emergency response with individual rehabilitation specialists and/or teams of rehabilitation professionals. Implications for rehabilitation Landslides may result in significant direct health effects including death and rehabilitation conditions such as severe traumatic physical injuries and less severe musculoskeletal conditions. Pre-hospital and hospital emergency medical response systems may lack capacity to adequately manage the surge of rehabilitation conditions in landslides. Physical rehabilitation treatment capacity in future landslides may be increased by providing rehabilitation technical skills training to responders and augmenting the emergency response structure with individual rehabilitation specialists and/or teams of rehabilitation professionals. Rehabilitation, disability, emergency management, and other stakeholders are advised to employ such training and workforce strategies to reduce rehabilitation-related health effects in Bangladesh and other South-East Asian countries which are heavily impacted by landslides due to seasonal monsoons.