Unravelling coastal people's adaptation to salinity: evidence from Bangladesh

Abstract

Salinity as a slow onset climate change induced disaster is affecting coastal agriculture in multifarious ways. This study intends to explore various adaptation strategies that coastal people adopt to cope with the increasing saline water intrusion. To serve this purpose, the study conducted a survey with 318 landless people, 195 women and 123 men, selected purposively from two southwest coastal villages of Bangladesh. A five-point ordinal level Likert scale has been used to analyse data. Change in land use pattern, use of modern technology in agriculture, diversification of crops and income sources, using savings and harvesting rainwater were some of the adaptation strategies common in the study areas. The study found that women's ability to adapt is seriously compromised by their limited access to capital. So it is vital that the government take up specific programmes to enhance their adaptation capacity through increasing income generating activities and credit opportunities. Biographical notes: Khondoker Mokaddem Hossain is the Founder Director and a Professor of the Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies at the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Prior to 2010, he was a Professor in the Department of Sociology in the same university. He used to teach courses in forestry, environment and sustainable development. Currently, his research interests encompass disaster management challenges, adaptation, mitigation and resilience. He chaired a number of sessions in international conferences all over the world. He has been serving as a Pro-Vice Chancellor of Bangladesh Open University since 2012. He is a regular speaker in media on issues related to disaster management and environmental protection. Farhana Zaman is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Jagannath University, Bangladesh. She holds a PhD degree from the Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies and obtained her undergraduate and graduate degree in Sociology from the University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. Her research interests span the areas of climate change, disaster, vulnerability, coping, adaptation, and building resilience across the risk-prone coastal regions. Her previous research examined how gender shapes crucial aspects of life. Her article entitled 'Bangladeshi women's political empowerment in urban local governance' published in South Asia Research, Vol. 32, No. 2, highlighted the hindrances of women's political empowerment in Bangladesh. She used to write popular articles in English national dailies on various ongoing gender issues. Currently, she has been pursuing a Certificate of Graduate Studies (CGS) in Social Entrepreneurship at the Salve Regina University, Rhode Island. This program contributes to expound her social responsibility for people, community and environment.

Hydrogeologic Constraints for Drinking Water Security in Southwest Coastal Bangladesh: Implications for Sustainable Development Goal 6.1

“…Despite the good aquifer thickness of the shallow aquifer and the deep aquifer in the northern part of the polder, water availability is severely constrained by salinity. Salinity varies widely in both horizontal and vertical directions, which is consistent with the pattern across the entire coastal area [65]. In general, salinity is lower in the north and gradually increases in the south (Figure 6).…”