Determinants and gender considerations for survival strategies due to riverbank erosion: a case study at Dewanganj, Jamalpur

Abstract

This study focuses on the survival strategies of riverbank erosion victims of Dewanganj, Jamalpur. Coping and adaptation strategies, determinants of destination choice and gendered considerations are the key factors here. The Brahmaputra river, braided in nature, is very much prone to riverbank erosion. The most devastating phenomenon here is that the victims are bound to move or displace to another location due to the loss of homestead land. This incident severely impacts the victim’s everyday life and the socio-economic conditions of a whole community. In the study area, Dewanganj, the erosion rate is very high; almost every year, erosion happens. So giving proper attention and outreach to this condition is necessary. The study area has different types of communities where people have different requirements. However, displacing in nearby areas is a common tendency of these people. This displacement processes require different types ofsurvival strategies for the victims of different areas. Also, some gender discriminative conditions among the inhabitants make the situation worse from some perspectives. It is important to know their requirements and needs to plan policies for these erosion victims and make them sustainable.So, the study area is divided into five principalland types: IslandChar, AttachedChar, GOVT Land, Gucchogram and the Mainland. The erosion pattern of the study area was assessed,which showed the erosion accretion severity of the site from 2000 to 2020.From this analysis, it is clear that the amount of eroded area (15.84 sq. km) is nearly double of the amount of accreted area (9.23 sq. km). It shows the necessity of the planned displacement process. The information related to the inhabitants living conditions and strategies was collected through household surveys, Focused Group Discussions (FGDs) and Key Informant Interviews (KIIs). It helped to identify the key survival strategies divided into coping and adaptation strategies. ThroughSWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis, the suitability of these strategies were analyzed for the five different zones. This analysis indicated the differences in the requirements to stay or to move to any new place. Both the positive and negative influence of a zone is being cleared through this analysis.The preferred requirements to choose any new place to move and all thefactors influencing their decision-making in destination choice were then ranked based on their importance or preference.From this ranking,we get to see the differences in the expectations of people from different zones. Gender considerations related to these factors were also identified to understand the participation of different genders and their influence in decision-making. Harvard Analytical Framework is used to represent the participation in different sectors based on gender classification which showed women as the most vulnerable gender group with almost no opportunity to participate in decision-making.These gendered conditions, ranking of destination choices and suitability analysis present the expectations, requirements and exact conditions during the erosion, displacement and post-displacement periods.