VULNERABILITY ANALYSIS OF THE COASTAL LIVELIHOODS IN BANGLADESH:DOES VULNERABILITY CONSTRUCT THROUGH EXOGENOUS DRIVERS OR DUE TO ENDOGENOUS REALITIES?

The nature of vulnerability perceived by various livelihood groups residing in the coastal zone of Bangladesh relates to many domains demonstrating a high degree of exposure to climate change induced natural disasters, social ecological systems, and prevailing risk factors. An empirical social-ecological assessment was conducted to understand the prevailing factors relating to the livelihoods-based vulnerability and adaptation issues in the coastal districts of Bangladesh. The vulnerability assessment focused on the major coastal livelihoods such as small farmers, artisanal fishers, urban wage laborers and rural wage laborers and found that vulnerabilities vary in nature and intensity across these livelihood groups. The assessment findings and recommendations calls for specific policies addressing the diversity of vulnerabilities experienced by these large groups in the coastal zone. Results and analysis indicated that across these major coastal livelihood groups, vulnerabilities are rather perceived to be the function of exogenous factors but due to endogenous characteristics. A major conclusion emerged from the assessment is that the vulnerabilities for each major livelihood groups varies both in nature and in intensity in the coast. The overriding chronic poverty situation on top of these have remained as a common barrier to build any strong resilience against exogenous forms of vulnerabilities. This set of finding calls for a policy implication that would compose of issues of reduction of livelihood group specific unique patterns of vulnerability as well as building multi-layered resilience against climate induced natural disasters in general. This set of findings helped the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Program (ICZMP) to better devise the Coastal Development Strategy (CDS) in the country and subsequently consolidation of the National strategies relating to various sectoral aspects of climate change adaptationfor the coastal zone at a later stage.