Livelihood dynamics and disaster vulnerabilities of char land areas

Abstract

The char lands of Bangladesh have one of the highest propensities of natural disaster. Char land is settled by the poorest and the most vulnerable community. The land less marginalized displaced settle here is search of new livelihood; have to fight hazard, remoteness, poverty and poor economy. Everyday livelihood in the char is impacted by disaster events which increases their vulnerability. Livelihood, disaster and their associated vulnerability is linked to each other. In search of the cause(s) of the vulnerability and its linkages to livelihood, the study conducted in Char Manushmara at the Brahmaputra River. The char has an area of about 6.5 sq. km, with population 1861. People are migrating in this char since 1998 from nearby chars and mainland. Agricultural land use (65%) is the dominant land use of the area and population is dependent on share cropping. Rice and jute are principle crops though pulse, watermelon, chili, peanut etc are also produced. Each of the household in the char passes early built up and mature stage to form a part of settlement. Infrastructures are poor in states, in terms of construction material and location. The study found that performance of public institutes is also very poor. 80% vegetation is done under community based program. On an average household own 3.9 livestock. 7% animals are produced on tenure. Lack of seasonal variation cause people to migrate. Existing labour force work 12-14 hours during harvesting Flood and Erosion are the two major disasters faced by the population. Due to low elevation 65% land inundates in regular monsoon. In case of flood entire char went under water. Erosion is regular 2% year, in case of flood the rate of erosion triples. High rates of erosion increase the rate of land loss and displacement of population. Livelihood in the char is poor, limited and intensified by poverty and displacement. Social and physical components of char are highly dependent on river characteristics. In char, disaster and livelihood are found to be under a chain of cohesion. As the poor and marginalized people settle to this highly disaster prone char, the livelihood dynamics is greatly influenced by disaster; making them more vulnerable. Therefore, livelihood dynamic is shaped by poverty, remoteness, poor economy and migration. All this together intensifies vulnerability in the char land. Considering the fact, they research has attempted to reveal livelihood dynamics and disaster vulnerability in char land area.