Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is assisting the Government of Bangladesh and other key stakeholders in designing and promoting livelihood adaptation strategies in the agricultural sector, which is expected to help in making strategic actions to reduce vulnerability to climate change.
The present study (carried out by CEGIS in association with DAE) is an integral part of this FAO assistance to GoB and CDMP. Present study is composed of a livelihood systems assessment, vulnerable groups profiling and the studying of livelihood adaptation practices and technologies to climate hazard and long-term climate change in drought prone areas of NW Bangladesh. The study has been carried out in four selected upazilas of two districts - Nawabganj and Naogaon - of the northern Bangladesh.
Study objectives
The specific objectives and activities of the CEGIS study was to: a) assess local perceptions of climate hazard, past and present climate risk/ impact, b) study livelihood systems and establish livelihood profiles of the major vulnerable groups considering household categories, c) investigate about current and past adaptive responses and coping strategies of the vulnerable groups to risks in particular climate risk, d) review the mandates, actual roles and capacities of communities and local institutions/ organizations, e) and provide the physio-geographic environment and framework conditions of the study areas.
Physio-geographic environment of the study area
The study area is located in the northwestern part of the country under Naogaon and Chapai Nawabganj district mainly covering Barind Tract, Punarbhava floodplain and Ganges river flood plain area. Rainfall distribution of the study area shows that annual total rainfall is almost similar in nature and ranges between 1400–1500 mm and 80% of the rainfall occurs in monsoon. Water deficits occur during the dry months of the year, which is around 400–500 mm and surplus in the monsoon season. The trend of dryness is almost similar but wetness in the monsoon shows a little bit increasing trend. Change of temperature is high during the recent decades. The mean annual temperature is around 250 C and varies from 16–350 C. Mean annual humidity is around 72% and sunshine hour ranges 6.5–7 hrs in the study area.
During the dry season the surface water flow of the Mohananda and the Punarbhava rivers shows a decreasing trend. Major soils are Clay-Clayey loam and Loam with imperfectly drainage characteristics resembling very low infiltration rate. The depletion of groundwater table is remarkably high from early eighties and the irrigation coverage is increased at large scale from 1985 to onwards. Groundwater resources estimated by NWMP shows that the resources are constraint for irrigation from the shallow aquifer and irrigation development potential is only suitable from deep aquifer using DTW with full development level. The agricultural practices are mainly governed by climatic factors and the area is mainly severely drought prone due to low rainfall intensity and high temperature.
Local perceptions
The study found that the people hold various perceptions towards the current and past risks in the study area. People perceive that the current climate in the area has been behaving differently from the past years. The seasonal cycle (locally called rhituchakra) has changed, droughts became more frequent, pest and disease incidences increased, average temperature has increased in the summer while winter has shortened and the severity of some winter days increased. However, people found difficulties in expressing the degree of changes. Local people in the study area have also perceived that their boro, aus and winter vegetable, fruits (several varieties of mangoes) production remained affected due to temporal variations in rainfall, temperature and drought occurrences.
Livelihood profiles
Adopting an innovating analytical Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) the study profiles the major livelihood groups in the area. It was observed that the livelihoods are severely affected by drought situation. The access to boro, aus and rabi remains largely dependent over the access and availability of the irrigation water. Failure in getting access to DTW water in the non-irrigated areas and the occurrence of several anthropogenic factors (e.g. electricity failure, high price of agricultural input) remains as the major form of vulnerability for the farmers. The wage labourers face unemployment and crises of failed migration. Petty traders find difficulties in getting buyers on a regular basis. In this thriving situation, the large businessmen and large (or rich) farmers were found vulnerable by a lesser degree. However, these groups are found vulnerable to the climatic hazards in a covariant (all in analogous condition) way but having access to the higher degree of assets other than the natural (mostly financial, social and physical) the group actually keep them out of severe vulnerabilities caused by climatic conditions.
Local adaptive practices
In this difficult climatic conditions, the study identified that there are some local adaptive practices existing in the study area. Four major types of adaptive practices: a) traditional responses (e.g. pond and dighi excavation, retention of rainwater in khari and canals, shedding, tillage, breaking top soil), b) state supported responses (e.g. DTW facilitated irrigation), c) alternative responses (e.g. adoption of mango farming, orchard developing), and d) some domestic responses (e.g. alternative livestock and poultry/birds rearing) are existing in the study area. The study found that the successes derive from these adaptive practices are of relative nature: some are promising, some brings a limited success and some have only a low efficacy in severe conditions of severe drought or in variable climatic conditions.
Institutional assessments
The study looked into the institutional domain under which these groups are trying to survive in. Several types of institutions: government and local government agencies, NGOs, social, informal and private institutions; and farmers/water user groups were found to be operating in the area. The institutional assessment found that the agencies operating in the study area have differences both in roles, capacities and how-hows to deal with climatic risks. At the moment with their mandates in providing DTW irrigation BMDA is providing some support in their operated areas but is offering only a little to the areas where the ground water is not accessible. The local level structure of union disaster management committee for disaster management was also found officially there but it emerged from the discussion with the local people that the access to these UDMCs and capacity of these institutional entity is very week. The involvement of NGOs in local disaster risk management is not quite deeper consider to any other disaster prone areas of the country. Lack of coordination among the NGOs and NGOs and with government remained as a critical institutional weakness as well.
Conclusions and recommendations
The present study found that both the climatic conditions and the anthropogenic factors are contributing towards the vulnerability of the life and livelihoods of the people. Climatic factors are creating the vulnerabilities but due to the anthropogenic capabilities (and the access to various forms of assets) livelihoods are becoming more vulnerable and leading towards disasters and losses. This is a dual effect of climatic and anthropogenic at the same time. With this realization from the empirical domain, the present study has put forward context-based recommendations.
The study recommends multiple pathways to improve adaptive responses that would comprise of both short-term and long-term adaptive measures. Such multiple pathways could comprise of: a) treatment of the climatic risks through physical adaptive measures if possible (such as planned physical water resources management), b) the adjustment/alteration of agricultural practices (e.g. setting up adequate cropping pattern and selection of tolerant crops); c) the creation of alternative livelihoods opportunities for future other than traditional crops, and d) awareness raising and skill development.
The challenge would be to find out the right combination and integrating among these varied adaptation options that would be required for respective “geo-physical settings” and “livelihoods systems”. Setting and selecting these livelihood options are about stretching the limits of the local adaptive responses as well as the innovation, experiences, technologies appropriate to the livelihoods-culture and environment of the respective areas.
In this respect, both long-term and short-term measures for adaptation both are needed. But, for both the contexts: a) linkages between climate change adaptation and the mainstream development needs to be established, b) development of an enabling institutional environment is required for climate change adaptation where the institutional coordination and collaboration between right kind of institutions and policies is needed.
