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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Sustain.
Sec. Resilience
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/frsus.2024.1525483

Climate change impacts on shoreline migration and community livelihood resilience: Evidence from coastal Bangladesh

Provisionally accepted
Md. Tariqul Islam Md. Tariqul Islam 1*Md. Monabbir Hossain Md. Monabbir Hossain 2Nur Mohammad Ha-Mim Nur Mohammad Ha-Mim 3Md. Zakir Hossain Md. Zakir Hossain 3Sujit Sikder Sujit Sikder 4
  • 1 Cranfield University, Cranfield, United Kingdom
  • 2 Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Dhaka, Bangladesh
  • 3 Khulna University, Khulna, Khulna, Bangladesh
  • 4 Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development (LG), Dresden, Lower Saxony, Germany

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The livelihoods of coastal people are at risk as shoreline migration is accelerated by climate change. To safeguard these communities and maintain their economy, it is imperative to strengthen resilience via adaptive strategies. Therefore, this study aims to estimate the rates and impacts of physical shoreline migration over the past 9000 years using geospatial analysis and focus on understanding the livelihood resilience of coastal at-risk communities using indepth interviews with environmental experts. The dynamic system of the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna is highly complex and causes continuous shoreline migration. Historical data and more recent satellite remote sensing imagery analysis identified that the shrinking of the delta system has resulted from the migration of the shorelines at the mouth of the river system. Since 5000 BP, it has been expanding towards the Bay of Bengal -meaning land gains at the coast. Land gain provides an opportunity for the extension of coastal communities but also increases their vulnerability to natural hazards. Moreover, by 2050, the salinity isoline with a 5-ppt is expected to shift inland by ⁓8 km in the south-east (Bhola-Patuakhali) and ⁓24 km in the southwest (Khulna-Satkhira) region. The in-depth interviews reveal several adaptive practices to effectively deal with the situation, including community knowledge, stakeholder engagement, local-led adaptation, and most importantly, temporal migration. The findings also highlighted the urgent need for an adaptation plan for the sustainability and resilience of coastal communities, considering indigenous knowledge with local cultural orientation and incorporation of scientific standards.

    Keywords: Climate Change, Shoreline migration, spatial analysis, Remote sensing-GIS, Adaptation practices, mixed method

    Received: 09 Nov 2024; Accepted: 20 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Islam, Hossain, Ha-Mim, Hossain and Sikder. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Md. Tariqul Islam, Cranfield University, Cranfield, United Kingdom

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.