Momtaz Salim - Climate Change Impacts and Womens Livelihood

Very few studies have been conducted to explore the vulnerability of women in the context of climate change. This book addresses this absence by investigating the structure of womens livelihoods and coping capacity in a disaster vulnerable coastal area of Bangladesh.

The research findings suggest that the distribution of livelihood capitals of vulnerable women in rural Bangladesh is heavily influenced by several climatic events, such as cyclones, floods and seasonal droughts that periodically affect the region. Women face several challenges in their livelihoods, including vulnerability to their income, household assets, lives and health, food security, education, water sources, sanitation and transportation systems, because of ongoing climate change impacts. The findings have important policy relevance for all involved in disaster and risk management, both within Bangladesh and the developing countries facing climate change impacts.

Based on the research findings, the book also provides recommendations to improving the livelihoods of women in the coastal communities. This book will appeal to academics, researchers and professionals in environmental management, gender and development, and climate change governance looking at the effects of and adaptation to climate change, gender issues and natural disaster management strategies.

Salim Momtaz is an Associate Professor in Sustainable Resource Management at the School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Australia.

Muhammad Asaduzzaman is a Conjoint Lecturer at the School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Australia.

Series Editor: Ilan Kelman

Reader in Risk, Resilience and Global Health at the Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction (IRDR) and the Institute for Global Health (IGH), University College London (UCL)

This series provides a forum for original and vibrant research. It offers contributions from each of these communities as well as innovative titles that examine the links between hazards, disasters and climate change, to bring these schools of thought closer together. This series promotes interdisciplinary scholarly work that is empirically and theoretically informed, with titles reflecting the wealth of research being undertaken in these diverse and exciting fields.

Understanding Climate Change through Gender Relations

Edited by Susan Buckingham and Virginie Le Masson

Climate Change and Urban Settlements

Mahendra Sethi

Community Engagement in Post-Disaster Recovery

Edited by Graham Marsh, Iftekhar Ahmed, Martin Mulligan, Jenny Donovan and Steve Barton

Climate, Environmental Hazards and Migration in Bangladesh

Max Martin

Governance of Risk, Hazards and Disasters

Trends in Theory and Practice

Edited by Giuseppe Forino, Sara Bonati and Lina Maria Calandra

Disasters, Vulnerability, and Narratives

Writing Haitis Futures

Kasia Mika

Climate Change Impacts and Womens Livelihood

Vulnerability in Developing Countries

Salim Momtaz and Muhammad Asaduzzaman

For more information about this series, please visit:

www.routledge.com/Routledge-Studies-in-Hazards-Disaster-Risk-and-Climate-Change/book-series/HDC

First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2019 Salim Momtaz and Muhammad Asaduzzaman

The right of Salim Momtaz and Muhammad Asaduzzaman to be identified as authors of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested

ISBN: 978-1-138-61610-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-46247-4 (ebk)

Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC

Bangladesh is frequently cited as a country that is most vulnerable to climate change. In Bangladesh, most of the adverse effects of climate change occur in the form of extreme weather events, such as cyclone, flood, drought, salinity ingress, riverbank erosion and tidal surge, leading to large-scale damage to crops, employment, livelihoods and the national wellbeing. Although it is generally stated that women are relatively more vulnerable than men in the context of climate change, few studies have been conducted to closely examine this statement. The present study investigates the structure of womens livelihoods, livelihood vulnerabilities and coping capacity in the context of climate variability and change in a disaster vulnerable coastal area of Bangladesh. The use of the concepts of the Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF) and Disaster Crunch Model (DCM) allowed for a greater understanding of these issues on the ground. Two livelihood vulnerability indexes (LVIs), namely the LVI and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Livelihood Vulnerability Index (IPCC-LVI), are used to measure the degree of livelihood vulnerability of women in the study area. The results show that the distribution of five livelihood capitals (human, natural, financial, social and physical) of women are heavily influenced by several climatic events, such as cyclones that periodically affect the region. Women also face several vulnerabilities in their livelihoods, including vulnerability to their income, household assets, lives and health, food security, education, water sources, sanitation and transportation systems, because of ongoing climate change impacts. They only have limited adaptation strategies that enable them to reduce the climate-related risks. However, they do practise some traditional coping strategies to respond to the increasing effects of climate change. While quantifying the degree of vulnerability, both of the indexes indicate a high vulnerability level in regards to womens livelihoods. In particular, women are more vulnerable in terms of physical and financial capitals in their present livelihood system. The results indicate that it is of paramount importance to instigate strategies to help build the adaptive capacity of women to reduce the burden created by their livelihood vulnerability. Overall, this book contributes empirical evidence to current debates in the literature on climate change by enhancing an understanding of the characteristics and determinants of livelihood vulnerability of women in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. The findings have important policy relevance for all involved in disaster and risk management, both within Bangladesh and the developing countries facing climate change impacts. The findings of this book also allow identification of a range of measures that could be utilised to help address the impacts of current and future climate variability and change in regards to womens livelihoods, particularly in the poorer, rurally based coastal communities. Based on the research findings, the book also provides some recommendations to improving the livelihoods of women in the coastal communities.