Assessing vulnerability of fishermen communities in coastal Bangladesh: A “climate vulnerability index”- based study in Assasuni Upazila, Satkhira, Bangladesh

Abstract

Climate Vulnerability Index (CVI) is developed to measure the susceptibility of communities to climate change using a case study. The index includes factors for each of the three aspects of vulnerability, including ‘Exposure’, ‘Sensitivity’, and ‘Adaptive Capability’. Sensitivity is determined by “Health”, “Food”, and “Water”, Adaptive Capability is characterized by “Socio-demographic profile,” “Livelihood strategies,” and “Social networks”, and Exposure is identified by “Natural Disaster” and “Climate Variability”. A study was conducted to investigate the vulnerability of fishermen in Assasuni Upazila, Satkhira, Bangladesh. The study involved individual surveys of randomly identified 100 fishermen from three groups: Gher-based, Ocean-based, and River-based. The findings indicate that the Gher-based fishing community exhibits higher levels of adaptive capacity (0.39), sensitivity (0.57), and exposure (0.74) in comparison to the other two communities. The sub-indicator about the migration of individuals for Gher-based livelihoods exhibits a relatively higher value of 0.85, in contrast to the relatively lower values of 0.23 and 0.11 for river and ocean-based livelihoods, respectively. The utilization of index-based output observations may aid policymakers from national to local levels in identifying and implementing the appropriate adaptation practices that prioritize the welfare of fishing communities residing in the coastal regions of Bangladesh.