Abstract
Being an agrarian region, the northwest part of Bangladesh frequently experiences recurrent droughts over the last decade. To cope with this insidious disaster, the farmers in this region practice various adaptation measures through their own efforts with institutional support. But these efforts and support are not sufficient for farmers to survive droughts. In this light, this study assesses the adaptive capacity of farmers along with institutions to develop suitable drought adaptation policy in the context of this region. The drought adaptive practices developed in this study are mainly adopted from the unique approach called socioeconomic, institutional and physical. Results reveal that establishment of mango orchard, vegetable gardening and community health care service would be helpful in enhancing drought resilience at community level. Moreover, an important policy message from this study suggests that validation of these practices through government offices, research institutes and other relevant organizations can help to develop an appropriate drought adaptation policy for this region. Similarly, by performing these practices from national to local level, farmers as well as communities in this region will be able to effectively sustain their livelihoods against droughts.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Banglapedia (2006) Drought in Bangladesh. http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/D_0284.htm. Accessed 5 Sept 2011
Bari MF, Anwar AHMF (2000) Effects on irrigated agriculture on groundwater quality in Northwestern Bangladesh. In: Proceedings of integrated water resources management for sustainable development, New Delhi. I: pp 19–21
BBS (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics) (2013) Planning division, Ministry of Planning, Government of the people’s republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka, Bangladesh. http://www.bbs.gov.bd/WebTestApplication/userfiles/Image/BBS/GDP_2012_13.pdf. Accessed 12 Dec 2012
Borron S (2006) Building resilience for an unpredictable future: how organic agriculture can help farmers adapt to climate change. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Report
Bradshaw B, Dolan H, Smit B (2004) Farm-level adaptation to climatic variability and change: crop diversification in the Canadian prairies. Clim Change 67:119–141
CCC (Climate Change Cell) (2009) Department of Environment, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Bangladesh
Elahi KM (2001) Drought in Bangladesh: a study of Northwest Bangladesh. Disaster in Bangladesh: selected readings (edi: Nazimuddin). Disaster Research Training and Management Centre (DRTMC). Graphtone, Printers & Packaging Limited, 55/1 Purana Palton, Dhaka-1000
Ericksen NJ, Ahmad QK, Chowdhury AR (1993) Socio-economic implications of climate change for Bangladesh. Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad, Dhaka
Government of Bangladesh (2005) National action programme (NAP) for combating desertification, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Secretariat, Dhaka, August 2005
Habiba U, Shaw R (2012) Bangladesh experiences of community based disaster risk reduction. In: Shaw R (ed) Community-based disaster risk reduction: community, environment and disaster risk management, vol 10. Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Bingley, pp 91–111.
Habiba U, Shaw R, Takeuchi Y (2011a) Drought risk reduction through a socio-economic, institutional and physical approach in the northwestern region of Bangladesh. Environ Hazards 10(2):121–138
Habiba U, Shaw R, Takeuchi Y (2011) Socio-economic impact of droughts in Bangladesh. In: Shaw R, Huy N (eds) Droughts in Asian monsoon region: community, environment and disaster risk management, Emerald, Bingley, 5, pp 25–48
Habiba U, Shaw R, Takeuchi Y (2012) Farmer’s perception and adaptation practices to cope with drought: perspectives from northwestern Bangladesh. doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2012.05.004
Imon AHMR, Ahmed M (2013) Water level trend in the Barind area. Malays J Math Sci 7(1):1–15
IPCC (2007) The regional impacts of climate change: an assessment of vulnerability. IPCC special report
IPCC (2007) Climate change 2007: impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contribution of working group II to the fourth assessment report. http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar4/syr/ar4_syr.pdf. Accessed 23 Nov 2012
Jabber MA (1990) Causes and effects of drought/aridity in Bangladesh using remote sensing technology. In: Proceedings of ESCAP workshop on remote sensing technology in application to desertification/vegetation type mapping, Tehran
Jabber MA, Chaudhury MU, Huda MHQ (1982) Causes and effects of drought/aridity in Northwest Bangladesh, In: Proceedings of first thematic conference on remote sensing of arid and semi-arid lands, Cairo, Egypt
Jahan CS, Mazumder QH, Islam ATM, Adham MI (2010) Impact of irrigation in Barind area, NW Bangladesh—an evaluation based on the meteorological parameters and fluctuation trend in groundwater table. J Geol Soc India 76:134–142
Jones JW (2003) Agricultural responses to climate variability and climate change. Paper presented at Climate Adaptation.net conference “Insights and Tools for Adaptation: Learning from Climate Variability”, Washington, DC, 18–20 Nov 2003
Kandlinkar M, Risbey J (2000) Agricultural impacts of climate change: if adaptation is the answer, what is the question? Clim Change 45:529–539
Karim Z, Iqbal MA (2001) Impact of land degradation in Bangladesh: changing scenario in agricultural land use, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Center (BARC), Dhaka, Bangladesh
Karim Z, Ibrahim A, Iqbal A, Ahmed M (1990) Drought in Bangladesh agriculture and irrigation schedule for major crops, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Center (BARC) Publication No. 34, Dhaka, Bangladesh
King D (2008) Reducing hazard vulnerability through local government engagement and action. Nat Hazards 47:497–508
Mahoo HF, Mkoga ZJ, Kasele SS, Igbadun HE, Hatibu N, Rao KPC and Lankaford B (2007) Productivity of water in agric: farmers’ perceptions and practices. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Int. Water Manage. Insti. (Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in Agric. Discussion Paper 5) ISBN: 978-92-9090-679-7
Marzieh K, Ezatollah K, Ali A (2010) A typology of farmers’ drought management. American-Eurasian J Agri Environ Sci 7(4):415–426
Mazid MA, Mortimer MA, Riches CR, Orr A, Karmaker B, Ali A, Jabber MA, Wade LJ (2005) Rice establishment in drought-prone areas of Bangladesh. In: Toriyama K, Heong KL, Hardy B (eds) Rice is life: scientific perspective for the 21st century. International Rice Research Institute, Manila
MoEF (Ministry of Environment and Forests) (2002) Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Dhaka
Munasinghe M (2000) Development, equity and sustainability (DES) in the context of climate change. In: Munasinghe M, Swart R (eds) Climate change and its linkages with development, equity and sustainability: proceedings of the IPCC expert meeting held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 27–29 April, 1999. LIFE, Colombo, Sri Lanka; RIVM, Bilthoven, The Netherlands; and World Bank, Washington, DC, USA, pp 13–66
NDMC (National Drought Mitigation Center) (2006) What is drought? Understanding and defining drought. http://www.drought.unl.edu/whatis/concept.htm. Accessed 23 Sept 2011
Nguyen H, Shaw R (2009) Water resource management, climate change and indigenous knowledge. In: Shaw R, Sharma A, Takeuchi Y (eds) Indigenous knowledge and disaster risk reduction: from practice to policy. Nova, Hauppauge, pp 59–72
Niggli U, Earley J, Ogorzalek K (2007) Issues paper: organic agriculture and environmental stability of the food supply. In: Conference proceedings. International Conference on Organic Agriculture and Food Security, Rome, Italy, May 3–5, 2007. ftp://fao.org/paia/organicag/ofs/OFS-2007-3.pdf. Accessed 2 Nov 2009
O’Brien G, O’Keefe P, Rose J, Wisner B (2006) Climate change and disaster management. Disasters 30(1):64–80
Orindi VA, Eriksen S (2005) Mainstreaming adaptation to climate change in the dev. process in Uganda. Ecopolicy Series 15. African Centre for Technol. Studies (ACTS), Nairobi, Kenya
Paul BK (1995) Farmers’ and public responses to the 1994–95 drought in Bangladesh: a case study. Kansas State University. B. K, Manhattan
Paul BK (1998) Coping mechanisms practiced by drought victims (1994/95) in North Bengal, Bangladesh. Appl Geogr 18:355–373
Prabhakar SVRK (2010) Promoting adaptation and disaster risk reduction in the post-Kyoto climate regime. Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction: issues and challenges community, environment and disaster risk management. Emerald Group, Bingley 4, pp 77–98
Prabhakar SVRK, Shaw R (2007) Climate change adaptation implication and drought risk mitigation: a perspective from India. Clim Change 88:113–130
Rahman A, Biswas PR (1995) Devours resources. Dhaka Cour 11(42):7–8
Rahman A, Alam M, Alam SS, Uzzaman MR, Rashid M, Rabbani G (2008) Risks, vulnerability and adaptation in Bangladesh. Human Development Report 2007/08, Human Development Report Office OCCASIONAL PAPER, 2007/13
Rayner S, Malone EL (eds) (1998) Human choice and climate change. Volume 3: the tools for policy analysis. Battelle Press, Columbus, OH
Rojas Blanco A (2006) Local initiatives and adaptation to climate change. Disasters 30(1):141–147
Saleh AFM, Mazid MA, Bhuiyan SI (2000) Agrohydrologic and drought-risk analyses of rainfed cultivation in Northwest Bangladesh
Selvaraju R, Subbiah AR, Baas S, Juergens I (2006) Livelihood adaptation to climate variability and change in drought-prone areas of Bangladesh. Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome
Shahid S (2011) Impact of climate change on irrigation water demand of dry season Boro rice in north-west Bangladesh. Clim Change 105:433–453
Shahid S, Chen X, Hazarika MK (2005) Assessment aridity of Bangladesh using geographic information Center, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Smit B, Burton I, Klein RJT, Wandel J (2000) An anatomy of adaptation to climate change and variability. Clim Change 45:223–251
Tanner TM, Hassan A, Islam KMN, Conway D, Mechler R, Ahmed AU, Alam M (2007) ORCHID: piloting climate risk screening in DFID Bangladesh. Detailed research report. Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK
Wall E, Smit B (2005) Climate change adaptation in light of sustainable agriculture. J Sustain Agric 27:113–123
World Bank Bangladesh (2000) Bangladesh agriculture in the 21st century. World Bank Bangladesh, Dhaka
Acknowledgments
The financial support provided by GCOE-ARS program of Kyoto University is highly acknowledged. The first author specially thanks the Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies for her research at Kyoto University, Japan, supported through teaching and research assistantships. The authors thank the farmers in northwestern Bangladesh who selflessly gave their time to answer questions and provide useful comments and suggestions and also to the Department of Agriculture Extension of the Ministry of Agriculture in Bangladesh for their extensive support during the survey period.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Habiba, U., Shaw, R. & Takeuchi, Y. Farmers’ adaptive practices for drought risk reduction in the northwest region of Bangladesh. Nat Hazards 72, 337–359 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-013-1011-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-013-1011-5