Student Advising

M. Shah Alam Khan

 

 

 

Name of the student: MD. MAKSUD ALAM

Program: M.Sc in Water Resources Development

 

Title: EFFECTS OF TIDAL FLOODING AND DRAINAGE CONGESTION ON LIVELIHOODS OF URIR CHAR

 

 

Background and present state of the problem:

 

Climate change induced sea level rise will continue to affect the Bangladesh coast through permanent inundation, drainage congestion, increased intensity and frequency of cyclonic storm surge, and salinity intrusion in the low-lying areas (Hasan and Navera, 2009). This will have significant impact on local livelihoods, human health, food security, economic activities and bio-diversity of the coastal areas (IWM-CEGIS, 2007; IUCN, 2008).

 

The landmass of Urir Char has increased from 12 km2 to 100 km2 during the period 1973-2008 (CEGIS-DPM, 2009). However, people of this expanding coastal island are vulnerable to various water-related problems such as drainage congestion and water logging, tidal flooding, salinity intrusion, drought, health and sanitation, etc., that often adversely affect their lives and livelihood (Bernardini, 2007). It is estimated that because of reduction in channel conveyance capacity caused by rapid sedimentation, and absence of link canals to drain out the logged water, the internal and peripheral land areas may face severe drainage congestion in future. The peripheral and some internal land areas may be also affected more severely by tidal flooding because of sea level rise in future (CEGIS-DPM, 2009). The proposed Sandwip-Urir Char-Noakhali cross dam is expected to reclaim a vast tract of land and significantly eliminate the tidal flooding and drainage congestion problems (IWM, 2009). However, a reasonable description of the changes in water logging, drainage congestion and tidal flooding situations after construction of the cross dam, and the consequent effects on the local livelihoods is yet to be determined.

 

 

Objectives with specific aims and possible outcome:

 

The objectives of the study are to:

(i)      analyze the existing drainage and tidal flooding situations in the study area; and

(ii)    assess projected impact of the proposed cross dam on drainage, tidal flooding and livelihoods.

 

 

Possible outcome:

 

This study is expected to provide a detailed description of the progressive drainage and tidal flooding situations and related livelihood vulnerabilities at Urir Char that will be useful for water and land management.

 

 

Outline of the methodology:

 

The drainage network and catchments will be delineated through review of maps and satellite images available from secondary sources, and their verification in the field. Adequacy of drainage channels will be checked by rainfall-runoff analysis. This analysis will be also useful to locate the areas suffering from drainage congestion and water logging problems. The tidal data (flood/ebb and Spring/Neap) will be analyzed using a digital elevation model (DEM) of Urir Char to identify areas affected by tidal flooding. The DEM will be also used to understand the implications of sea level rise and construction of the cross dam in tidal flooding and water logging situations. Progressive accretion pattern after construction of the cross dam will be assessed from secondary information.

 

Resource maps will be prepared by different livelihood groups in the study area. These maps will be used as references for subsequent discussions. A set of livelihood indicators based on secondary information will be preliminarily identified. The indicators will be finalized after verification in the field through focus group discussions with different livelihood groups. Pair-wise ranking of the finally selected indicators will be done by the stakeholders in the study area to find out the relative importance of the indicators. Indicator value assessment (quantitative) will be done through a questionnaire survey among different livelihood groups in selected wards of the study area. This survey will provide a quantitative indication of the effects of tidal flooding, drainage congestion and cross-dam construction, together with the effects of sea level rise, on the local livelihoods.

 

 

References:

 

Atakpu, L. (1999). Dams, Food Security and Livelihoods: Understanding Benefits and Impacts, The Nigerian Experience, Submission to the World Commission on Dams, Presented at the Africa / Middle-East Regional Consultation, Nigeria.

 

Bernardini, F. (2007). A Modern Approach to Water Management: The UNECE Protocol on Water and Health. Law, Environment and Development Journal (LEAD), Vol. 3/2, pp. 234-245.

 

CEGIS-DPM (2009). Draft Final Report on Feasibility Study for the Development of Urir Char under Char Development and Settlement Project-III (CDSP-III). Government of People's Republic of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Water Development Board, Dhaka.

 

Elasha, B.O., Elhassan, N.G., Ahmed, H. and Zakieldin, S. (2005). Sustainable Livelihood Approach for Assessing Community Resilience to Climate Change: Case Studies from Sudan. AIACC Working Paper NO. 17, Sudan.

 

Hasan, M.M. and Navera, U.K. (2009). Effects of Climate Change Induced Disasters for Hatiya and Sandwip Island in Bangladesh. 2nd International Conference on Water and Flood Management. Vol. 2, pp. 417-425.

 

IUCN (2008). Energy, Ecosystems and Livelihoods: Understanding Linkages n the face of Climate Change Impacts. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.

 

IWM (2009). Survey and Modeling Study of Sandwip-Urir Char-Noakhali Cross Dam for Land Reclamation. The Char Development and Settlement Project-III (CDSP-III), Bangladesh Water Development Board, Dhaka.

 

IWM-CEGIS (2007). Final Report on Investigating the Impact of Relative Sea Level Rise on Coastal Community and their Livelihoods in Bangladesh. IWM-CEGIS, Dhaka.

 

Parvin, G.A., Takahashi, F. and Shaw, R. (2009). Coastal Hazards and Community-Coping Methods in Bangladesh. Journal of Coastal Conservation, Springer Netherlands. Vol. 12(4), pp. 181-193.

 

 

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