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conferenceseries
.com
Volume 9
Journal of Earth Science & Climatic Change
Natural Hazards Congress 2018
July 26-27, 2018
July 26-27, 2018 Melbourne, Australia
2
nd
International Conference on
Natural Hazards and Disaster Management
People’s experience of climate change impacts and community led adaptation in drought prone
northern Bangladesh
Edris Alam and Assaduzzaman Sarkar
University of Chittagong, Bangladesh
B
angladesh is one of the worst affected countries of climate change in the world. Bangladeshi communities’ climate change
experiences were mainly evidenced from the perspective of tropical cyclones and floods, leaving a conspicuous lacks
grounded research in drought prone northern Bangladesh. This research has attempted to identify local level climate change
perceptions, symptoms and effects of climate change as well as community led adaptation strategies with drought events in
Nilphamari district of northern Bangladesh. Both qualitative and quantitative data were used for this research. Primary data
were collected through questionnaire surveys, in-depth interviews, Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and case studies. Data
were analyzed by using MS Excel and SPSS software version 21.0. To evaluate the change, likert-type response anchors was used
and it was calculated through weightage methods. The findings suggested that most of the local communities do not have clear
idea about climate change, but they perceived it by experiencing extreme drought events. Through interviewing with 188 local
residents who live with continuous droughts, the research suggests that temperature was increased, rainfall was decreased, the
intensity of drought was increased and the occurrence of monsoon flood was decreased. The local communities experienced
recurrent flash floods in recent decades. Approximately, 68% respondents opined that cold wave has increased. Most of the
respondents (86%) perceived that drought was the most occurring hazards in Nilphamari district. Drought was associated with
the losses of agricultural production, aquaculture and fish production as well as the shortage of drinking water and losses of
fruit producing trees. The local communities have undertaken both short term and long-term adaptation strategies to survive
in drought condition.
edrisalam@yahoo.comJ Earth Sci Clim Change 2018, Volume 9
DOI: 10.4172/2157-7617-C2-043