1. Course No: URP 4156
Course Title: Thesis/Project I
Riverbank Erosion Induced Displacement at
Kazipur Union in Sirajganj: A Study of Impacts
and Coping Mechanisms.
Presented By:
Md. Saliur Rahman
Student ID: 080420

2. Objectives
 To understand the impact of riverbank erosion on peoples’ livelihood.
 To explore the coping mechanisms and survival strategies of displaced
people.
 To assess the institutional responses of the governments, NGOs and civil
society organizations.

3. Operational Definition
Displacement:
Displacement refers the forced migration of people by natural disasters.
The International Organization for Migration defines forced migration as any
person who migrates to escape persecution, conflict, repression, natural and
human-made disasters, ecological degradation, or other situations that
endanger their lives, freedom or livelihood.
Coping mechanism:
Coping is a capacity, a capacity to respond and to recover from something
stressful, e.g. a disaster.
Coping mechanisms are remedial actions undertaken by people whose survival
and livelihood are compromised and threatened.

4. Conceptual Framework
Riverbank Erosion
Losses Displacement Gains
•Physical assets Improved access to
• Sources of income some basic facilities
• Avenues of expenditure due to government
• Education Adaptation and NGO initiatives
• Health facility
Short Term Coping Mechanisms Long Term Survival Strategies
Immediate movement Credit and loan
 Immediate needs  Occupational mobility
 Sale of property  Migration
 Place of resettlement Demote the Sufferings  Affiliation to institutions
 Sources of help
 Relief materials
Comparatively Better
Livelihood

5. Literature Review
C. E. Haque and M. Q. Zaman (1989) ‘Coping with Riverbank Erosion
Hazard and Displacement in Bangladesh: Survival Strategies and
Adjustments’
Analyze the nature of human adjustment systems, by examining aspects of
social and cultural life of displaced people.
Displaced people are dependent upon their kin and local groups for assistance
and support in the absence of institutional public assistance.
Ancestral emotions lead people to move short distances even after
experiencing multiple displacements and the threat of sudden attack.
 David Hutton and C. Emdad Haque (2004) ‘Human Vulnerability,
Dislocation and Resettlement: Adaptation Process of River-bank Erosion-
induced Displacees in Bangladesh’
•Role of socio-economic variables in determining the coping ability and
recovery of the riverbank erosion induced displacees is most significant.

6. Literature Review
Dr. M. Zulfiquar Ali Islam, ‘Social Resilience of the Riverbank Erosion
Displacees in Bangladesh: A Case of Environmental Disaster’
Explore the prodigious needs of the riparian community induced by the
catastrophic ferocity of riverbank erosion displacement.
Mirror the pattern of responses the people received from different sources to
their needs.
Spotlight the unflinching resilience the displcees show in confronting with the
critical and uncertain situations.
Explore the indigenous mechanisms to cope and demote the socioeconomic
losses.
B. K. Paul (1997), ‘Survival Mechanisms to Cope with the 1996 Tornado
in Tangail, Bangladesh’
 Explore and analyze how victims adjusted to the destruction.

7. References
Haque, C., E. and Zaman, M., Q. (1989) ‘Coping with Riverbank Erosion
Hazard and Displacement in Bangladesh: Survival Strategies and Adjustments’,
Disasters, 13(4), pp.300-314.
Hutton, D. and Haque, C., E. (2004) ‘Human Vulnerability, Dislocation and
Resettlement: Adaptation Process of River-bank Erosion-induced Displacees in
Bangladesh’, Disasters, 28(1), pp.41-62.
Islam, D., M., Z., A. ‘Social Resilience of the Riverbank Erosion Displacees in
Bangladesh: A Case of Environmental Disaster’, [Online] Available
at:<http://www.ecoinsee.org/T.S.%201A%5Cislam_social.pdf > [Accessed 22
July 2011].
 Paul, B., K. (1997), ‘Survival Mechanisms to Cope with the 1996 Tornado in
Tangail, Bangladesh’, [Online] Available
at:<http://www.colorado.edu/hazard/research/qr/qr92/qr92.html> [Accessed 22
July 2011].

8. Thank you for your attention