Southwestern Coastal Bangladesh Research Articles

Driving Forces of Adaptation Decision and Strategies to Climate-Related Events: Case on Farming Households in South–West Coastal Bangladesh

This research aimed to identify the factors that influence farming households’ decisions on adaptation strategies and the highest priority strategy in South-Western coastal Bangladesh. Seven unions in Koyra Upazila were surveyed, and 60 households were interviewed from each union. The binary logit and multinomial logit models were used to analyse the data. The findings indicate that 58.6% of farming households adopted climate-related adaptation strategies, with seasonal migration being the most top priority. Similarly, the data suggested that years of education of the household heads, number of household members, land tenure, farming experience, climatic event risk perception, and farmer-to-farmer extension influenced both farming households’ adaptation decisions and the likelihood of choosing the highest priority adaptation strategies. Public–private partnerships (PPPs) can integrate funds, knowledge, and power structures. It can also balance expenses, liabilities, and opportunities. So, the development of PPPs may promote suitable adaptation strategies.

Effect of Nitrogen Rate and Application Ratio on Late Sown Sunflower in Wet Soil under Zero Tillage in the Coastal Zone of Southwestern Bangladesh

Background: The cropping pattern of southwestern (SW) coastal Bangladesh has been improving from Fallow-Fallow-Transplanted aman paddy to Sunflower-Fallow-Transplanted aman paddy. The emerging cropping pattern of SW Bangladesh from single transplanted aman paddy to double cropping, sunflower in winter after transplanted aman paddy needs new crop husbandry including nutrient management particularly nitrogen (N). Hence, the present study aimed to evaluate the yield response of late sown sunflower to rates and application ratio (basal:top dressed) of N in the coastal soil of SW Bangladesh. Methods: The field experiment was conducted during winter season (2018-19) in a randomized complete block design and replicated thrice. The experimental treatments consisted of seven N rates (0, 60, 90, 120, 150, 180 and 210 kg ha-1) and three application ratio (50%:50%, 25%:75% and 0%:100%). Result: Results revealed that with the increased of N rates, dry matter, seed yield, yield attributes and net income were substantially increased: the highest values of these parameters were found at 150 and 180 kg N ha-1 when applied @ ratio of 25%:75% (basal: top dressed) despite non-significant interaction while the agronomic efficiency was higher at 60 kg ha-1 next decreased. The findings of the study suggested that N @ 150 kg ha-1 with 25%:75% application ratio is suitable for late sown sunflower in the coastal soil of SW Bangladesh.

Evaluation of Suitable Sowing Window to Fit Wheat after Transplant Aman Rice in the Medium Highland of Southwestern Coastal Bangladesh

Evaluation of Suitable Sowing Window to Fit Wheat after Transplant Aman Rice in the Medium Highland of Southwestern Coastal Bangladesh

Evacuation Preparation Scenarios of Households during Early and Emergency Evacuation: A Case Study of Cyclone Bulbul in Southwestern Coastal Bangladesh

Bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone countries worldwide. Every year, the country sees a small- or large-scale disaster, with past disaster history showing that cyclones have been a major phenomenon. Cyclone Bulbul made landfall on the southwestern coast of Bangladesh on November 10, 2019, with an average storm surge height of 1.0 to 1.5 meters—resulting in the inundation of low-lying areas in 14 coastal districts. This study conducted a questionnaire survey of 413 households in Gabura, a union under Shyamnagar Upazila of Satkhira District, from mid-February to mid-March 2020 to investigate respondents’ evacuation experience during Cyclone Bulbul. The questionnaire survey comprised both qualitative and quantitative approaches that analyzed disaster preparedness level, successful evacuation scenarios, and early evacuation decisions and their implementation in Gabura Union during Cyclone Bulbul. The survey results revealed that approximately 55% of the respondents evacuated during Cyclone Bulbul. Among them, 47% made early evacuation decisions, but an analysis of their evacuation starting time revealed that only 35.5% of them evacuated early before Cyclone Bulbul made landfall. Moreover, this research highlighted the importance of having adequate preparation time before starting evacuation, with most of the household respondents stating that they needed 2 hours in preparation time before starting evacuation. However, the preparation time varied between 1 and 6 h depending on the evacuation stage, the type of preparation activities, and the presence of vulnerable members in the house. Both categories of respondents, that is, those who made early evacuation decisions and those who followed through, cited evacuation companions, the presence of sick members in the house, distance from home to shelter, evacuation travel time, and socio-economic characteristics as common influential factors. Respondents in the emergency evacuation category identified previous disaster experience, the presence of sick members in the house, and socio-economic aspects as the factors that they considered while making evacuation decisions during Cyclone Bulbul. This analysis of factors influencing early evacuation decisions, early evacuation, and emergency evacuation helped shed light on people’s perceptions about disasters, which can guide authorities in taking policy actions to improve early evacuation possibility and issuing early evacuation orders to ensure safe and successful evacuation during cyclones or other disasters in the future.

Water Scarcity and Challenges for Access to Safe Water: A Case of Bangladesh’s Coastal Area Vulnerable to Climate Change

Existing efforts to ensure safe water access in coastal Bangladesh are challenged by increasing freshwater salinity. This research explored/explores safe water consumption choices in coastal Bangladesh, which data are scarce to date, using a mixed-methods approach. In 2014, a cross-sectional survey was conducted in southwestern coastal Bangladesh (n=261) and data was generated on water supply and consumption. Data collection also involved 29 in-depth interviews of household care givers and focus group discussions were performed with three community groups. Descriptive statistics were applied to analyse quantitative data and thematic analysis was used for qualitative data. The survey showed that 60% of the study population used tube well water while 40% used pond water for drinking. It was observed that for cooking purposes, the use of pond water was slightly higher than the tube well water. Only 13% of the respondents mentioned that their drinking water tasted salty whereas 6% of the respondents reported health problem (diarrhoea, dysentery, gastric issues and skin problems) after using these water sources. The qualitative data reveals that water available for drinking and cooking is causing a serious threat to this coastal community, particularly during the dry season. In-depth assessments indicated that drinking water choices were less driven by concerns for health than practical issues such as travel distance and time taken and taste. The palatability of water was an important determinant of choice for drinking and other domestic uses. Furthermore, the utility of alternative options for safe drinking water is driven by beliefs and traditions and source maintenance. Given the increasing salinisation of freshwaters in many low-lying countries and likely exacerbation related to climate change-induced sea level rise, therefore, promotion of low saline drinking water along with salt reducing interventions consider that community beliefs and practices must be a made priority.

Soil Erosion and its Effects on Maize Field as Modified by Amendments in Southwestern Coastal Bangladesh

The coastal soils of Bangladesh are preferentially dominated by silt content and stressed by salinity (Na+) as well as low humus content . Hence, these soils are moderately to extremely vulnerable to water erosion, which is a major form of land degradation. The aim of this study was to estimate the soil erosion rate from maize fields in the southwestern coastal region. A field experiment was conducted on maize grown field, which is nearly level, moderately saline, and silt dominated coastal land. The plots were amended with inorganic fertilizer, sieved sand, and decomposed cow dung. Each runoff plot was connected to separate reservoirs and was exposed to rainfall. From the erosive rainstorms, representative critical rainfall intensity was determined. The entrapped eroded material in the reservoirs was collected to estimate the loss of soil. The efficacy of the applied amendments was studied in terms of lowering seasonal (maize growth period) soil loss and erosion associated deterioration of relevant soil parameters. This study revealed that CRI was ≥15 mm h-1. The soil loss during the maize growth period from inorganic fertilizer, cow dung, and sand amended runoff plots were 64(±7) t ha-1 y-1, 51(±5) t ha-1 y-1, and 23(±2) t ha-1 y-1, respectively. The changes in soil properties indicated that after initial erosion, vulnerability to further erosion increased.

Prediction of land cover change based on CA-ANN model to assess its local impacts on Bagerhat, southwestern coastal Bangladesh

This study aims to assess land use dynamics of Southwestern coastal Bangladesh using multi-temporal Landsat images. Future trend was done by CA-ANN model. Hybrid image classification method and estimation of land surface temperature along with field survey were accomplished. This study revealed that vegetation decreased significantly (11.75%) and converted mostly into wetlands whereas built-up area slightly increased (1.44%) during 2000 to 2016. According to FGD (focused Group Discussion), a major occupational transformation (from agriculture to shrimp cultivation) and internal migration towards nearby Cities are prominent here. Besides, maximum land surface temperature increased by 12.5˚C during this period as a result of land use change. Simulated land use model of 2024 revealed that 2.49% of settlement would diminish especially from southern region if any natural calamity occurs. Finally, a comprehensive land use management plan has been suggested in this study to establish a balanced and diversified use of coastal land.

Fostering disaster preparedness through community radio in cyclone-prone coastal Bangladesh

Media plays an important role during hazard emergency communication. Community radio, as a part of media, has emerged as a management tool for influencing at-risk people's preparedness for natural disasters. In Bangladesh, the concept of community radio is relatively new in terms of combating cyclone risk in coastal areas, and so far, no study applying mixed-method on role of radio in disaster preparedness has been performed. This study presents an empirical analysis of the role of community radio in disaster preparedness for people at risk in cyclone-prone south and southwestern coastal Bangladesh, where we use economic loss as a proxy of disaster preparedness. Using a multi-stage sampling, 430 households were selected for a questionnaire survey. For the quantitative approach, Ordinary Least Square (OLS) and Binary Logistic regression models were used, along with other parametric and non-parametric tools. For qualitative approach, FGD findings and individual statements were used. The main results of this study suggest that listening to hazard-related programs on both state-operated and community radio has played a significant role in cyclone-related disaster preparedness in terms of minimizing cyclone-induced economic loss. Nevertheless, the distinct feature of broadcasting early warnings in local dialects on a local basis has increased the comprehensibility, information clarity, and reliability of the warning messages delivered by community radio, and this has helped at-risk people to make proper preparations for cyclone risks. Furthermore, this radio appears to help the people at risk to enhance their knowledge and awareness on hazard preparedness, which has made them more experienced to lessen disaster loss over last decade. These issues together appear to have helped community radio listeners to incur a significantly lower degree of economic loss than that of non-listeners (z=3.11,p<0.003), implying better disaster preparedness by the listeners.

Effect of climate finance on adaptation in the southwestern coastal region of Bangladesh

ABSTRACT This article examines the effectiveness of climate finance on the engagement of poor and marginal households in adaptation measures. Data from 240 climate finance recipient households and 120 non-climate finance households in the south-western coast of Bangladesh were collected through a field survey. The results indicated that while recipient households engaged in more adaptation measures, they also spend more on adaptation from their income, savings and even loans. Some underlying constraints for households to access climate finance were identified. Finally, mislabelling regular poverty reduction activities as adaptation measures limits the support for climate finance at the household level.

Major Climate risks and Adaptation Strategies of Smallholder Farmers in Coastal Bangladesh

Rural households in South Asia’s coastal deltas face numerous livelihood challenges, including risks posed by climatic variability and extreme weather events. This study examines major climate risks, farmers’ adaptation strategies, and the factors affecting the choice of those strategies using data collected from 630 households in southwestern coastal Bangladesh. Farmers identified cyclones, excessive rain and flooding, and salinity as direct climate risks. Increased crop diseases/pests and livestock diseases were perceived as indirect risks resulting from climatic variability. Farmers used multiple adaptation strategies against those risks such as modifications in farm management, use of savings and borrowing funds from family and neighbors, and periodically reducing household food consumption. Off-farm employment and seeking assistance from governmental as well as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) were also common adaptation strategies. The results show that male-headed households are more likely to change farming practices and reduce consumption compared with female-headed households that conversely tended to take assistance from NGOs as an adaptation strategy. Ownership of land and livestock, as well as farmers’ prior exposure to climate change and educational training, also had a significant effect on the choice of adaptation strategy. Therefore, development interventions and policies that aimed at improving resource endowment and training to farmers on climatic risks and their adaptation strategies can help minimize the impact of climatic risks.

Productivity growth and efficiency changes in prawn-carp–rice farming in ‘Gher’ system in Bangladesh: A Färe-Primont index approach

‘Gher’ farming system refers to the joint operation of three enterprises: freshwater prawn, carp and HYV rice practiced widely in the southwestern coastal Bangladesh. The paper estimates growth in total factor productivity (TFP) and its six finer components (technical change, technical, scale and mix efficiency changes, residual-scale and residual-mix efficiency changes) of the prawn-carp-rice joint culture and identifies their determinants by exploring a panel database of a cohort of 90 ‘gher’ farms over a 13-year timespan (2002–14) from southwest Bangladesh. The aim is to judge sustainability of this unique farming system. Results revealed that TFP grew @ 0.86% p.a. mainly powered by technical change @ 0.54% p.a. and mix-efficiency change @0.06% p.a. while technical and scale efficiency changes declined @ 0.17% and 0.10% p.a., respectively. Farm-level socio-economic factors exerted differential impacts on TFP growth and its components. The key conclusion is that the ‘prawn-carp-rice’ joint culture in ‘gher’ system is sustainable and has the potential to support growth of the broader agricultural sector and the Bangladesh economy. Experience and education, ‘gher’ area, share of family labour and tenancy significantly improved TFP growth and technical change. The policy interventions include additional funds in education for ‘gher’ farmers, land and tenurial reforms to consolidate operation size and training for female labourers to improve long-term growth of the ‘prawn-carp-rice’ joint farming.

Groundwater salinization and associated co-contamination risk increase severe drinking water vulnerabilities in the southwestern coast of Bangladesh.

Household drinking water security is one of the major issues among coastal communities in Bangladesh. To examine the groundwater quality and social consequences, groundwater samples and household questionnaires were administered across the study area. Instrumental and statistical tools were used to analyze the water quality and social survey data. The average concentrations of electrical conductivity (EC) (7135.67 μS/cm), total dissolved solids (TDS) (3691 mg/L), Na+ (1569.51 mg/L), Ca2+ (289.5 mg/L), Mg2+ (340.51 mg/L), Cl- (2940.78 mg/L), F- (11.85 mg/L), NO3- (54.44 mg/L), NO2- (162.95 mg/L), PO43- (105.19 mg/L), Fe (4.9 mg/L), Mn (1.22 mg/L), As (16.55 μg/L), B (833.28 μg/L), and Pb (34.22 μg/L) were observed in groundwater, and exceeded the drinking water standards from 30% to 100% depending on the sampling location. Thus, the remarkably high contents of EC, TDS, Cl-, and Na+ represented possible saltwater intrusion along the coastal aquifer. The positive correlations between EC and trace and toxic elements indicated the potential influence of groundwater salinization on the dissolution of more chemical contaminants in the aquifer. These results showed that 100% of samples were unsuitable for drinking purposes. Severe drinking water scarcity is a serious issue, and local people have been affected by water-related diseases owing to the long-term consumption of contaminated water. Salinity problems in drinking water and related health diseases have increased significantly in the past several years. In addition, climate change and its associated hazards, including sea-level rise, cyclonic storm surges, flooding, and resulting inundation problems, have intensified the drinking water scarcity and health problems at the community level. To ensure household water security, environmental exposure, hydrogeology, and anthropogenic interventions must be considered to determine future sustainable water policies.

Households\u2019 Willingness to Pay for Disaster Resilient Safe Drinking Water Sources in Southwestern Coastal Bangladesh

Nonfunctionality of engineered water sources after two catastrophic cyclones—Sidr in November 2007 and Aila in May 2009—created acute scarcity of safe drinking water in coastal Bangladesh. The objective of this study was to estimate households’ willingness to pay (WTP) for disaster resilient water sources in Dacope upazila of Khulna District in southwestern coastal Bangladesh. By applying the double bounded dichotomous contingent valuation method to a dataset of 250 randomly selected households, we found that the mean WTP is BDT 263 and that inaccessibility to functional safe drinking water sources is the most significant determining factor of households’ WTP. Projecting mean WTP for a disaster resilient water source project in the study area, we measured a present value of aggregate WTP over project’s life span worth about BDT 624 (USD 7.37) million, which is about 14.30 times the present value of project’s aggregate establishment and maintenance cost. However, charging the local inhabitants a water tariff at mean WTP would lead to the exclusion of around 50% of the people from getting access to the improved water services or create a free riding problem. Through simulation exercises this study determined that the socially optimal water tariff is BDT 50 per month. This tariff would not only generate revenue of more than five times the project cost but would also create access to disaster resilient improved drinking water sources for almost 99% of the people.

Effects of Climate Finance on Risk Appraisal: A Study in the Southwestern Coast of Bangladesh

Utilising climate funds properly to reduce the impact of potential risks of climate change at the local level is essential for successful adaptation to climate change. Climate change has been disrupting the lives of millions of households along the coastal region of Bangladesh. The country has allocated support from its national funds and accessed international funds for the implementation of adaptation interventions. With the focus of the scientific community on climate finance mechanisms and governance at the global and the national level, there is a lacuna in empirical evidence of how climate finance affects risk appraisal and engagement in adaptation measures at the local level. This paper aims to examine how the support from climate finance affects risk appraisal in terms of the perceived probability and severity and the factors which influence risk appraisal. A field survey was conducted on 240 climate finance recipient households (CF HHs) and 120 nonclimate finance recipient households (non-CF HHs) in Galachipa Upazila of Patuakhali District in coastal Bangladesh. The results indicate that both CF and non-CF HHs experience a high probability of facing climatic events in the future; however, CF HHs anticipated a higher severity of impacts of climatic events on different dimensions of their households. With higher income and social capital, the overall risk appraisal decreases for CF HHs. CF HHs have higher engagement in adaptation measures and social groups and maintain alternative sources of income. Climate finance played a critical role in supporting households in understanding the risks that they were facing, assisting them in exploring as well as enhancing their engagement in adaptation options.

Comparative analysis of land-use pattern and socioeconomic status between shrimp- and rice- production areas in southwestern coastal Bangladesh: a land-use/cover change analysis over 30 years

The expansion of shrimp cultivation has changed the land-use pattern and had a negative effect on the coastal ecosystems of Bangladesh. This study aimed to examine how socioeconomic conditions have responded to the change in land-use patterns from rice to shrimp cultivation and vice versa. Satellite images were used to assess the land-use change over 30 years (1988–2017) in Khulna District. Paddy fields, the dominant land-use category (37.2% of total area) in 1988, declined continuously throughout this period to 8.8% in 2017. After 30 years, only 18% of the paddy fields present in 1988 remained, while others were converted to settlements/bare land, homestead gardens, and water bodies, which might be due to the expansion of shrimp cultivation. Therefore, two areas within Khulna, Tildanga and Kamarkhola, were compared to assess the responses to those changes. Primary data were collected by a structured questionnaire and soil testing. Shrimp cultivation was widely practiced in both areas from the 1980s until cyclone Aila hit in 2009. After 2009, 82% of the shrimp cultivators in Kamarkhola predominantly reverted to rice and other crop cultivation due to the decline in shrimp production. Their earnings were, on average, US$796 and US$125 to 3125 yr–1 household–1 from rice and other crop cultivation, respectively. In Tildanga, however, the earnings were, on average, US$531 from rice and US$1095 from shrimp, which is declining continuously.

Assessment of Groundwater Quality in a Tidal River Basin of the Ganges Delta in Bangladesh

At Shailmari River basin, located in the central Ganges Delta and the southwestern coastal Bangladesh, groundwater is the only potable source for water supply due to incompatible surface water sources. However, salinity degradation along with arsenic and iron contamination poses a serious health threat to the basin community. Considering this, an investigation was carried out along both banks of the river to assess groundwater vulnerability and its quality for drinking by conducting multi-seasonal water sampling campaigns from 20 domestic wells and analyses (both in-situ and laboratory) for several physico-chemical (pH, EC, TDS and major ions) and biological (coliforms) parameters. The results show slightly alkaline groundwater in the study area with largely variable chemical composition, i.e. EC varies from around 1900 to 2700 μS/cm. The abundance of major ions indicates as Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+ for cations and > Cl- > > > for anions. As per the Canadian water quality index (CCMEWQI), almost all groundwater samples concentrate in the marginal category meaning that groundwater is frequently threatened. Besides, it is not fully safe for drinking as revealed from comparison of geochemical data with national and WHO water quality standards.

How does nature contribute to human mobility? A conceptual framework and qualitative analysis

Wiederkehr, C., M. Schröter, H. Adams, R. Seppelt, and K. Hermans. 2019. How does nature contribute to human mobility? A conceptual framework and qualitative analysis. Ecology and Society 24(4):31. https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-11318-240431

Climate Change, Water Scarcity, and Health Adaptation in Southwestern Coastal Bangladesh

Climate change may affect human health through multiple and interactive pathways that include safe water scarcity. However, impacts of climate change-induced water scarcity on health and well-being are complex. About 80% of illnesses in developing countries are attributed to unsafe drinking water and waterborne diseases. In Southwestern Bangladesh, lack of safe drinking water is a severe crisis due to climate change. The study investigated the impacts of climate change on water resources and human health in a coastal area. A questionnaire survey was carried out in two villages of Shymnagar upazila on the southwestern coast to investigate the present status of safe water sources and health care facilities and their impacts on the local community. The results show that the local community believes that climate change is having substantial impacts on freshwater sources and health. More than 70% of the respondents identified diarrhea, dysentery, and skin diseases as the prime waterborne health risks that occur through climate-related safe water scarcity. By synthesizing the ground data, we suggest pathways to health adaptation to climate change effects and safe water scarcity through locally available adaptive practices such as the use of pond sand filters, rainwater harvesting, and importing potable water with the active participation of the government, nongovernmental organizations, and communities.

Hydrochemistry, water quality and land use signatures in an ephemeral tidal river: implications in water management in the southwestern coastal region of Bangladesh

Despite its complexity and importance in managing water resources in populous deltas, especially in tidal areas, literatures on tidal rivers and their land use linkage in connection to water quality and pollution are rare. Such information is of prior need for Integrated Water Resource Management in water scarce and climate change vulnerable regions, such as the southwestern coast of Bangladesh. Using water quality indices and multivariate analysis, we present here the land use signatures of a dying tidal river due to anthropogenic perturbation. Correlation matrix, hierarchical cluster analysis, factor analysis, and bio-geo-chemical fingerprints were used to quantify the hydro-chemical and anthropogenic processes and identify factors influencing the ionic concentrations. The results show remarkable spatial and temporal variations (p < 0.05) in water quality parameters. The lowest solute concentrations are observed at the mid reach of the stream where the agricultural and urban wastewater mix. Agricultural sites show higher concentration of DO, Na+ and K+ reflecting the effects of tidal spill-over and shrimp wastewater effluents nearby. Higher level of Salinity, EC, Cl−, HCO3−, NO3−, PO43− and TSS characterize the urban sites indicating a signature of land use dominated by direct discharge of household organic waste into the waters. The spatial variation in overall water quality suggests a periodic enhancement of quality especially for irrigation and non-drinking purposes during monsoon and post-monsoon, indicating significant influence of amount of rainfall in the basin. We recommend that, given the recent trend of increasing precipitation and ground water table decrease, such dying tidal river basins may serve as excellent surface water reservoir to supplement quality water supply to the region.

Temporal dynamics of land use/land cover change and its prediction using CA-ANN model for southwestern coastal Bangladesh.

Change analysis of land use and land cover (LULC) is a technique to study the environmental degradation and to control the unplanned development. Analysis of the past changing trend of LULC along with modeling future LULC provides a combined opportunity to evaluate and guide the present and future land use policy. The southwest coastal region of Bangladesh, especially Assasuni Upazila of Satkhira District, is the most vulnerable to natural disasters and has faced notable changes in its LULC due to the combined effects of natural and anthropogenic causes. The objectives of this study are to illustrate the temporal dynamics of LULC change in Assasuni Upazila over the last 27years (i.e., between 1989 and 2015) and also to predict future land use change using CA-ANN (cellular automata and artificial neural network) model for the year 2028. Temporal dynamics of LULC change was analyzed, employing supervised classification of multi-temporal Landsat images. Then, prediction of future LULC was carried out by CA-ANN model using MOLUSCE plugin of QGIS. The analysis of LULC change revealed that the LULC of Assasuni had changed notably during 1989 to 2015. "Bare lands" decreased by 21% being occupied by other land uses, especially by "shrimp farms." Shrimp farm area increased by 25.9% during this period, indicating a major occupational transformation from agriculture to shrimp aquaculture in the study area during the period under study. Reduction in "settlement" area revealed the trend of migration from the Upazila. The predicted LULC for the year 2028 showed that reduction in bare land area would continue and 1595.97ha bare land would transform into shrimp farm during 2015 to 2028. Also, the impacts of the changing LULC on the livelihood of local people and migration status of the Upazila were analyzed from the data collected through focus group discussions and questionnaire surveys. The analysis revealed that the changing LULC and the occupational shift from paddy cultivation to shrimp farming were related to each other. Around 31.3% of the total respondents stated that at least one of their family members had migrated. Climate-driven southwestern coastal people usually migrate from the vulnerable rural areas towards the nearest relatively safe city due to adverse effects of natural disasters. To control the unplanned development and reduce the internal migration in Assasuni and other coastal areas, a comprehensive land use management plan was suggested that would accommodate the diversified uses of coastal lands and eventually lessen the threats to the life and livelihood of the local people.