Riverbank erosion is one of the most perilous calamities which results
in vulnerabilities associated with various dimensions of physical and
human environments. Vulnerabilities to riverbank erosion is reflected in
a multi-faceted form covering ecological, physical, social, economic,
political and physical and psychological health aspects. With regard to
demographic profile, socio-economic conditions and physiographic
setting, India and Bangladesh are severely vulnerable to riverbank
erosion. This paper makes an attempt to analyze the researches on
vulnerability to riverbank erosion in India and Bangladesh. It provides
a summary and analysis of the vulnerabilities to riverbank erosion,
identifies the research gaps and irons out a way forward for future
researches. The possible research gaps are listed after carrying out a
systematic literature review over a period of 34 years from 1988 to
2021. A total of 94 articles were chosen for this study using keyword
search and thorough reading of the abstracts. The deliberation of the
articles was carried out through descriptive and thematic analysis. The
identified research gaps revealed that among various aspects of
vulnerability, political and psychological vulnerabilities to riverbank
erosion are fairly uncharted; ecological vulnerability is also
underrepresented. Studies focused on particular target groups based on
gender, age groups and other socio-cultural parameters are limited and
there is a wide scope of increasing the use of remote sensing, GIS and
hydrodynamic models in assessing vulnerability to bank erosion. Though a
substantial body of work has been produced on riverbank erosion,
vulnerabilities posed by this disaster require to be represented
adequately.