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Governance matters: climate change, corruption, and livelihoods in Bangladesh

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Abstract

In world climate science, Bangladesh is considered a poster child of vulnerability. The primary stressors that affect the vulnerability of the Bangladeshi population include sea-level rise, biodiversity degradation, saltwater intrusion, desertification, social exclusion, unstable political conditions, and weak governance systems. Governance is an important non-climatic stressor that has not received sufficient attention. Within this framework, this paper explores the impacts of bribery and extortion on livelihoods and adaptive capacity in the face of climate change and argues that corruption significantly reduces the ability to respond to climatic stressors. Findings draw attention to this critical issue in climate change adaptation and international development in general, particularly for developing countries.

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Notes

  1. http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG accessed on October 8, 2016 at 4.47 PM EST.

  2. Mastaan is a Bengali word that refers to the rule of thugs backed by political elites. For details, please see Rahman (2015).

  3. Food for Work is a government-sponsored project in order to generate supplementary wage employment. The program started after the 1974 famine to support rural poor people. Government builds and maintain rural infrastructure through this project.

  4. http://time.com/3972820/bangladesh-tiger-100-sundarbans-survey/ accessed on July 28, 2015–07-28 at 3.48 am.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Md. Ashiqur Rahman

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  1. Md. Ashiqur Rahman
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Correspondence to Md. Ashiqur Rahman.

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Rahman, M. Governance matters: climate change, corruption, and livelihoods in Bangladesh. Climatic Change 147, 313–326 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-018-2139-9

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