The paper looks at the relationships between climate change, inequality and vulnerability relationship of

disadvantaged groups. It discusses climate change-related hazards, inequalities and research gap, it

determines the impacts of and vulnerability to climate change and it identifies some of the deficiencies in

the discussions on climate change and inequality as well. It also explores evidences of inequality in

human society, such as geographical, social, political and economic inequality and how they play role in

enhancing vulnerability of certain group of people. Moreover, it looks at existing coping mechanism and

provides overviews on potential adaptation measures. Finally, the paper looks at a case study of different

hazards and how these differently affected the vulnerable communities in different countries.

* The authors are affiliated with the Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Views and opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the United

Nations.

2

1. Introduction

According to Dossa et al. (2016), some groups and regions are more exposed to risks

associated with climate change, such as droughts and floods, than others. Though climate

change affects everyone, some people are more likely to be adversely impacted than others,

exacerbating pre-existing inequalities (Stern, 2007; Otzelberger, 2014; Velan and Mohanty,

2015). Such inequality is partly to blame for the reasons that some people are more adversely

affected by climatic events, such as flooding, droughts, or tropical storms, than others

(Otzelberger, 2014). Even when people and communities are exposed to similar climate

change-related events, they can be affected to different degrees in terms of losses and damage

to property and livelihoods; this is known as differential vulnerability (Oppenheimer et al.,

2014).

Thus, the rest of this chapter will look at the relationships between climate change, inequality

and vulnerability relationship of disadvantaged groups. The next section will discuss climate

change-related hazards, inequalities and research gap. It will determine the impacts of and

vulnerability to climate change. It will identify some of the deficiencies in the discussions on

climate change and inequality as well. Section three will explore evidences of inequality in

human society, such as geographical, social, political and economic inequality and how they

play role in enhancing vulnerability of certain group of people. Section four will look at

existing coping mechanism while Sections five provides overviews on potential adaptation

measures. Section six will look at a case study of different hazards and how these differently

affected the vulnerable communities in different countries.

2. Climate change and inequality – concepts and concerns

2.1. Climate change induced hazards- focusing flood, sea level rise and salinity

intrusion

There is close link between climate change and evolution of inequalities, which needs to be

assessed from different dimension (Aghion, 2015). The same report states that the

geographical dimension will influence the effects of climate change induced hazards

including temperature rise, flood and drought. The countries located close to equator may be

affected more by the changing condition than the northern countries such as Canada (Aghion,

2015). At the country level, many people living in the hard to reach and remote areas

including coastal region, haor1, baor

2, chars

3 and hilly are often disadvantaged and may be

more vulnerable to climate change impacts in Bangladesh (Ahmad, 2016). In addition, the

capacity to deal with climate change consequences also varies from countries to countries.

For example, most of the developed countries are well equipped with technologies while

1 Haors are bowl- shaped depressions of considerable aerial extent lying between natural levees of the rivers or

the high lands of the north eastern region of Bangladesh (Draft Master Plan of Haor Areas, 2012, GoB) 2 Baors are oxbow lakes, formed by dead arms of the river.

3 Char a tract of land surrounded by the waters of an ocean, sea, lake, or stream; it usually means, any accretion

in a river course or estuary.

3

many poor countries in Africa and Asia are extremely vulnerable to climate change but do

not really afford to obtain them. Aghion (2015) states “the world is thus faced with a

problem of deepening inequality where countries most affected by global warming are least

equipped to react.” Socioeconomic factors also play vital role for communities to deal with

climate change impacts in different countries. The education, skills and economic capacity

make people in rich countries much easier to adjust with changing circumstances of climate

but lack of education, skills and poverty keep the people in many developing countries in

danger of climate change. In fact, it is those who are marginalised, whether socially,

culturally, politically, economically or institutionally, who are most vulnerable to the impacts

of climate change (IPCC, 2014). This is because the ability of people to respond to the

impacts of climate change depends on their education and social and economic welfare

(Aghion, 2015). The flood, sea level rise and salinity intrusion caused by climate change will

further intensify the current inequalities.

2.2. Deficiencies of the discussion of the linkages between climate change and

inequality

According to Olsson et al. (2014), climate change research to date has not adequately

addressed the complex poverty dynamics. Most research only focuses on one or two aspects

(Olsson et al., 2014). In addition, crucial assumptions made in many economic models are not

well suited to capture poverty dynamics, making it difficult to accurately predict future

poverty levels (Olsson et al., 2014). It also mentions that conceptualization of poverty has

been widened in different dimension in last six decades. In fact, UNDP (1990) acknowledged

poverty as multidimensional issue, influenced by a number of factors including social,

economic, cultural and other drivers. Olsson et al., 2014 clearly states that “attention to

multidimensional deprivations—such as hunger; illiteracy; unclean drinking water; lack of

access to health, credit, or legal services; social exclusion; and disempowerment—have

shifted the analytical lens to the dynamics of poverty and its institutionalization within social

and political norms”. Moreover, studies looking at climatic effects on livelihoods and poverty

have focused on climate variability on an annual basis rather than long-term climatic trends,

leading to a lack of evidence of climate change impacts on livelihoods and poverty (Cramer

et al., 2014). Furthermore, the imbalances in power and inequalities that determine

differential vulnerabilities to climate change are largely ignored (Olsson et al., 2014). Despite

an increase in awareness of the links between climate change and gender, other social factors

such as race, class/caste, age and (disability are yet to have a sufficient literature base (Olsson

et al., 2014). Indeed, very little research has been conducted to increase knowledge and

understanding of the role of social factors apart from gender, such as those mentioned

previously in addition to religion, ethnicity and health status, in determining how people

respond to climatic shocks (Otzelberger, 2014).

4

3. Climate change, inequality and vulnerability nexus

3.1. Conceptualizing climate change, inequalities and vulnerability of

disadvantaged groups

The following conceptual framework encompasses some key climatic factors and multi-

dimensional inequalities that further enhance the vulnerability of the disadvantaged

population across the world. It depicts how the different types of inequalities play vital role to

catalyse the sensitivity to socially disadvantaged or socially excluded people on the ground

(please see Fig 1 for more details). Social inequality is one of the dimensions of inequality

that breaks down further into several other dimensions that need to be handled individually,

none being less important than the next. Each sub-dimension within can have telling

implications on the wellbeing of the society and the victims that fall under it. Below are given

these sub-dimensions.

During the Cyclone Sidr, that hit the Khulna-Barisal region of Bangladesh in 2007, about

3500 people who died, most were either elderly or young people; age ranges that have

difficulty in quick mobility (BCCSAP, 2009; BBS, 2012; MoDMR, 2010; BCAS, 2010). It

was reported that about 2 millions of families were affected by Cyclone Sidr. Nearly 1.5

millions of houses and crops of about 0.7 million ha were damaged (MODMR, 2010).

Cyclone Aila also affected millions of people in 2009 in the coast. In most of the cases, the

poor were the hardest victims in almost every affected district. The livelihoods of the poor

communities were extremely challenged. Over 60000 people had to migrate to explore jobs in

nearest urban areas or in other districts keeping the family members left behind (IA, 2009).

The women were affected more than men by climate change induced disasters as reported in

a number of studies. For example, cyclone 1991 in Bangladesh and heat wave in Europe in

2003 affected more women than men (Jonsson, 2011). Another report indicates that the

incidences of water borne diseases were higher for women than men (e.g. diarrhoea, skin

diseases, dysentery and so on) immediately after cyclone Aila hit (IA, 2009). Cyclone 1991

killed about 138,000 people in the coast, of which nearly 80% were women (DFID, 2011). In

Philippines, Typhoon Haiyan affected about 16 millions of people, of which 6 millions were

Children (EC, 2014). While experiences from Mali reveals that climate change would cause

higher risks for women by increasing workloads without increasing income (Djoudi and

Brockhaus, 2011). Furthermore, the elderly and the young are also susceptible to the

aftermaths of disasters, being more prone to disease outbreaks and trauma. Cyclones, floods,

intensive rainfall and other such violent and damaging disasters can have big implications on

infrastructure such as school buildings and roads and other forms of communication. In many

areas of the world, schools closing down during such disasters are a common phenomenon.

Since such disasters vary vastly from region to region, a drastic inequality exists in the realm

of education throughout the world. In Bangladesh, schools in the coastal regions have been

reported to be shut down for 6 to 12 months on end due to extensive damage to the buildings

and roads from cyclones and storm surges in many areas including Khulna (BCAS and

ICCCAD, 2014). This does not occur in most other regions of the country. Only in Sylhet and

Sirajganj are their instances of schools having to close down, but these were due to floods.

5

Socioeconomic groups, such as gender, class/caste, ethnicity, religion, sexuality, (dis) ability,

age, and health status play a role in determining vulnerability to the impacts of climate

change, as they contribute to the extent of marginalisation and consequent exposure to

climatic and even non-climatic hazards (Oppenheimer et al., 2014; Otzelberger, 2014).

Female-headed households, children, indigenous communities and people in informal

settlements are especially vulnerable due to multiple factors such as a lack of urban

infrastructure, governmental support and insecure land tenure (Olsson et al., 2014; Ahmad,

2016).

But there are also other vulnerable groups. Campbell et al. (2009) found that, in addition to

the single mothers and female-headed households with small children, in Vietnam, widows,

the disabled and the elderly are vulnerable to storms, floods and slow-onset events such as

drought and salinity intrusion. Even within the poorest communities in the world, there is

inequality: ethnicity, gender and age can play a role in access to resources that enable coping

with the impacts of climate change (Otzelberger, 2014).

Changes in ecosystem

services and loss of environmental resources

Alteration of freshwater

availability

Changes in fisheries, livestock, forestry and

agriculture productivity

Changes in frequency of

health disorders

Modify human productivity

Risks on economic incentives/benefits

Climate Change

Flood

Adaptation

Adaptation to reduce vulnerability and build resilience

Other Elementes

Salinity Intrusion

Sea Level rise

Women

Children

Elderly Group

Single Parent

Low income

Group

Disable People

Indigenous Group

Exposure

Multi-dimensional Inequality

Key Sensitivity Factors

Immediate adaptation to

reduce exposure

Institutions, policy,

programmes and projects

Fig.1.Conceptualframeworkonclimatechange,inequalityandvulnerabilitypathwaysofdisadvantagedgroups

Social inequality

Disadvantaged Groups

Sensitivity, inequality and vulnerability pathway of disadvantaged groups

Income inequality

Gender inequality

Geographic inequality

Political inequality

Cultural inequality

Disproportion

ate rate of vulnerability to hazards

Increased

mortality and mobidity

Least

prepared for resilience

Enhanced

insecurity on food

Increased freshwater

crisis

Vulnerability

ModifiedfromRabbanietal.,2013

6

3.2. Evidences on the adverse effects of climate change (including flooding, SLR

and salinity intrusion) especially on the assets of disadvantaged communities

Out of all the climate change impacts, sea level rise is among the ones that threaten to have

the greatest impacts, particularly along deltas; this is because it will increase the frequency,

duration and intensity of floods (Thuy and Anh, 2015). With rising global temperatures, sea

levels will continue to rise as a result of large-scale glacial melt and the collapsing of ice

sheets (Stern, 2007). Over the past 50 years, a trend has been noticed with regards to extreme

weather events: there has been an increase in the number of hot days and a decrease in the

number of cold ones (Cramer et al., 2014). Such changes are likely to impact both human

comfort and health as well as crops and natural ecosystems (Schneider et al., 2007). In areas

where precipitation does increase both in frequency and intensity, there is likely to be an

increase in the frequency of both flash floods and large-area floods; this is likely to be seen at

high latitudes and will be exacerbated by glacier and snowpack melt (Schneider et al., 2007).

According to Rabbani et al. (2010), about 0.83 million hectares (5.6 % of the total land) of

land in Bangladesh is affected by saline intrusion, which is decreasing crop yields. Poor

health, in the form of diarrhoea and dysentery also coincides with salinization of water and

soil. Such saltwater intrusion will increase with sea level rise. As seawater inundates coastal

areas, both coastal waters and groundwater aquifers ‘will become more saline and soil

salinity will increase’ (Hossain, 2011, p.268). This will adversely affect the health, assets and

common resources on which the community mostly depend.

3.2.1. Exposure

Sea level rise could also cause major flood damage for millions of poor people who live in

the low-lying coastal areas in South Asia, ‘along the coasts from Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka,

and Bangladesh through to Myanmar’ (Rabbani et al., 2010, p.20). IFAD (year not known)

(states “About 70% of South Asians live in rural area and account for about 75% of the poor,

who are the most impacted by climate change”. Millions of people are exposed to severe

flood in most of the South Asia countries including Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Nepal.

The following table provides an overview of the economic and non-economic loss and

damages caused by severe flood in last ten years:

Country Location Death (no) Economic loss (USD) Month/Year

India Uttarkhand 6500 45 Billion June/2013

Pakistan Indus Basin 2000 43 Billion July 2010

Nepal Dadeldhura 98 294.4 Million June-

August/2010

Bangladesh 39 out of 64

districts

500 1.06 Billion June/2007

7

Source: Dewan, 2014

Flooding also poses a major threat to communities globally. Floodwater contaminates the

water, causing an increase in the prevalence of diseases such as diarrhoea and cholera

(Brouwer et al., 2007). The increases in flooding as a result of climate change will not only

damage infrastructure but also result in losses of life (Kasperson and Kasperson, 2001).

Flooding also threatens food security, as the floodwater destroys crops such as rice, cassava

and sugarcane and damages trees (Beckman et al., 2002). But flooding does not only threaten

food security through directly damaging crops. By disrupting transport and communication

systems as well as storage facilities, flooding has the potential to increase loss of food via

damage, thus adversely affecting food security indirectly (Parvin et al., 2015). Furthermore,

whilst coastal and riverine settlements are particularly exposed to the risk of flooding, ‘urban

flooding could be a problem anywhere that storm drains, water supply, and waste

management systems have inadequate capacity’ (IPCC, 2001, p.13).

As mentioned previously, small island states are particularly exposed to the impacts of

climate change, as they often comprise of large settlements along beaches and sand terraces

(Kasperson and Kasperson, 2001). Even a low level of sea level rise will lead to substantial

erosion and loss of land, in addition to increasing the risk of flooding, ‘salinization of

freshwater aquifers, and the loss of protective coral reefs and sand beaches, increasing

exposure to hurricanes and storm surges in the coastal zone where much biological diversity

and most of the population, agricultural land and capital assets are located’ (Pelling and Uitto,

2001, p.56). Yet Bangladesh is expected to be exposed to a 32cm rise in sea levels by 2050

(Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF), 2005). Such rises in sea levels are likely to

result in the inundation of low-lying coastal areas and increase the rate of coastal erosion,

adversely impacting agricultural activities, ecosystems and infrastructure (Rabbani et al.,

2015).

Those who are most exposed to the impacts of climate change are those who live along coasts

and floodplains (Dossa et al., 2016). Few and Tran (2010) found a clear connection between

exposure to climatic hazards and poverty – those households that lived in exposed areas had

low incomes. For example, in urban areas, the poor and marginalised often have no choice

but to settle along rivers or canals, which increases their exposure to the risks associated with

flooding or sea level rise (Adger, 2006; Oppenheimer et al., 2014). Indeed, Brouwer et al.

(2007) also found that those who live along floodplains tend to have lower income levels.

This is because such exposed lands are what is left for the poor and marginalised to settle on,

as wealthier households can afford to settle elsewhere. Low-lying coastal regions, such as the

Mekong River Delta in Vietnam, are incredibly exposed to the risk of flooding (Thuy and

Anh, 2015). But agricultural communities who dig canals for irrigation are also likely to

experience increased flood risks. Datta and de Jong (2002) found that, in India, irrigation

canals with poor drainage increased the likelihood that the area would experience

waterlogging.

8

Coastal areas are particularly exposed to saline intrusion. This is because, as mentioned

previously, sea level rise is likely to result in an increase in salinity of both freshwater and

soil. This is because salinity is often caused by seawater intrusion into coastal areas and rivers

(Chaitanya et al., 2014). Intrusion of seawater onto the land leaves much salt in the soils

(Rengasamy, 2006). Indeed, in low-lying coastal areas such as Bangladesh, saltwater is

‘already intruding into fresh water resources and reservoirs, increasing the soil and water

salinity levels’ (Rabbani et al., 2015, p.175). This salinization is most likely to affect arid and

semi-arid regions (Chaitanya et al., 2014), as they experience a lack of regular precipitation.

This, coupled with poor irrigation practices and evaporation of the water, result in the

accumulation of salt ions in the soil (Chaitanya et al., 2014). Indeed, more than 800 million

hectares of land across 100 countries are affected by salinity, most of which is in arid and

semi-arid areas (Chaitanya et al., 2014). It is those who depend on agriculture for their

livelihoods who are most likely to be affected, as such increases in salinity may adversely

affect the production of crops such as rice, but it can also improve the conditions for certain

aquacultural activities such as shrimp farming (Chaitanya et al., 2014;Thuy and Anh, 2015).

3.2.2. Susceptibility (disadvantaged groups)

As a result of social inequalities, as climate change impacts decrease, the ability of people to

cope, ‘the livelihoods, health and future prospects of men, women, boys and girls are affected

in different ways’ (Otzelberger, 2014, p.8). According to Rabbani et al. (2009), different

groups, such as men, women and children, experience potential risks (such as lack of food,

mortality, lack of access to safe drinking water) differently. This is supported by Kundzewicz

and Parry (2001, p.680), which states that ‘climate change impacts will be differently

distributed among different regions, generations, age classes, income groups, occupations and

genders’.

Perhaps the most obvious division when discussing climate change and inequality is the rich-

poor gap. At present, the world’s richest 80 people have as much as the poorest 3.5 billion

(Otzelberger, 2014). Yet it is the poorest, who lack the institutional, economic, scientific and

technical capacity to respond to climate change, who are threatened most by its effects

(Otzelberger, 2014; Velan and Mohanty, 2015). In other words, the impacts of climate

change are mostly affecting the poorest and most vulnerable in the world (Ahmad, 2016).

This is because Climate change vulnerability is determined in part by livelihood resilience

(such as access to assets), household wellbeing (e.g. health and nutritional status) and

governance (for example, power relations and social capital) (Campbell et al., 2009). The

poor lack those assets and resources that are essential for coping with the impacts of climate

change and depend on climate-sensitive resources for their livelihoods (Campbell et al.,

2009). As a result, climate change, by disproportionately affecting those who are already poor

and vulnerable, will increase pre-existing social and economic inequality across the world

(Cramer et al., 2014). This is partly because climate change will damage crops, infrastructure

and houses, destroying economic activities, and thus exacerbating poverty (Ahmad, 2016). In

this way, climate change is displacing an increasing number of people by destroying

9

homesteads and assets through flooding and by decreasing the productivity of agricultural

land, in the case of rural areas, through prolonged periods of drought and through increasing

salinity (Ahmad, 2016). With the increasing frequency of climate-induced disasters and the

consequent economic losses, which are doubling each decade, climate change ‘threatens to

reverse over 20 years of progress in reducing extreme poverty’ and inequality (Otzelberger,

2014, p.32).

Social structures, economic capacity, culture and prevalence of environmental disruptions all

play a role in determining the ability to adapt to climate change and, consequently,

vulnerability (Smit and Pilifosova, 2001). Those with ‘limited economic resources, low levels

of technology, poor information and skills, poor infrastructure, unstable or weak institutions,

and inequitable empowerment and access to resources have little capacity to adapt and are

highly vulnerable’ (Smit and Pilifosova, 2001, p.879). This is because the adaptive capacity

(the ability to adapt) is often determined by the socioeconomic, institutional, technological

and political conditions of the area (Smit and Pilifosova, 2001). Because rural people in

developing countries rely on agriculture and aquaculture for their livelihoods and food

security, and both agriculture and aquaculture depend on water, it is those people who are

most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change (Thuy and Anh, 2015). But this can be

broken down into two types of vulnerability: individual and collective vulnerability (Kelly

and Adger, 1999). Individual vulnerability is determined by resource access and income

diversity as well as social status within a community, whereas collective vulnerability is

based on institutional and market structures in addition to infrastructure (Kelly and Adger,

1999). Indeed, diversification of income can lead to greater inequality if opportunities are

only available to those individuals or households that are better-off (Neil Adger, 1999). This

points to Reardon and Taylor’s (1996) findings that income inequality increases in rural areas

where the poorer households lack access to off-farm activities. Furthermore, Few and Tran

(2010) found that those who rely on a particular livelihood (such as net fishing or agriculture)

will wade through floodwaters to continue their livelihood, are more at risk of injury or

waterborne disease, thereby making them more susceptible to health-related impacts.

Flooding can damage crops, thus resulting in food shortages. This is partly because

households, particularly in countries such as Bangladesh, have trouble storing food before

floods, thus reducing the amount of available food after flood events (Parvin et al., 2015).

Such food shortages would increase the risk of nutritional deficiency, which, in turn, would

reduce the ability of people to fight off disease, particularly in children (Dossa et al., 2016;

Few and Tran, 2010). When there are food shortages, women and girls are particularly

vulnerable because gender plays a role in household food distribution (Otzelberger, 2014).

Despite women producing the food, they are often disfavoured when it comes to the

allocation of that food (ADB, 2013). Indeed, Rabbani et al. (2009) found that women

consume less food and water during periods of flooding in order to ensure that the men and

children (particularly boys) have their fill. Furthermore, UNESCAP (2009) suggests that

women often choose to eat less so that the men and children have enough food to eat. This is

because of cultural norms that value men and boys higher than women and girls. Indeed,

limited access to education and employment opportunities weakens the bargaining position of

10

women and girls in the family (ADB, 2013). This, in turn, leads to ‘differential feeding and

caregiving practices favouring boys and men’ (ADB, 2013, p.ix). As a result, women and

children often face higher risks of malnutrition than men (Skinner, 2011). Furthermore,

Rabbani et al. (2009, p.244) argue that females are ‘the most vulnerable in both flood prone

and salinity prone areas’. They found that, during floods, 96% of children suffer from lack of

safe water, whereas 94% of males over the age of 18 suffer, but as many as 97% of women

suffer from the inadequate supply of safe water after floods. This is because women are

responsible for the domestic activities such as cleaning, washing, cooking and taking care of

the elderly and children, and during flood events women find it difficult to collect safe water.

3.2.3. Ability to cope and recover-existing coping mechanism of the disadvantaged

groups

Campbell et al. (2009) identified several key assets that help rural households cope with the

impacts of climate change, including: (i) access to labour; (ii) support through social

networks and relationships; (iii) ability to supplement or diversify income; and (iii) sufficient

savings to enable investment in agriculture. Indeed, large-scale access to credit and extension

services is important for being able to cope in the face of climate change (Campbell et al.,

2009). In developing countries, many poor people have trouble recovering from the impacts

of climate change (Stern, 2007). This is because of their low incomes and consequent

struggle to access loans, credit systems and insurance (Stern, 2007). Furthermore, farmers

often lack the training and education required to maximise the use of the resources available

and to facilitate access to extension services (UNESCAP, 2009). As Otzelberger (2014)

argues, because of the unlikelihood of these poorer households being able to access insurance

and social protection and their inability to mobilise assets to help recover from disasters, they

are less able to cope with the adverse effects of climate change. This inability to respond to

extreme weather and climatic events may move those from transient poverty into chronic

poverty and often there is more than one factor at play (Olsson et al., 2014). Those who are

socially or economically marginalised are particularly likely to become chronically poor

(Olsson et al., 2014). As a result, the ability to change and try new strategies is a crucial asset

in being able to cope with the impacts of climate change (Otzelberger, 2014). This ability

often depends on gender, as social norms often differentiate access for men and women to

financial products, services, technologies and business opportunities (Otzelberger, 2014).

This highlights the ‘gender gap in the distribution of assets, services and information

important for producing food and coping with shocks and stresses’ (Otzelberger, 2014, p.21).

In rural areas, because of gender discrimination, women often have less access to resources,

such as finances, education and land, than men do (Vincent et al., 2014). This, coupled with

exclusion from labour markets and decision-making processes, reduce the ability of women

to cope with the impacts of climate change (Vincent et al., 2014). Indeed, women struggle to

access extension and market services and are often excluded from the benefits of agricultural

research and information (ADB, 2013). They do not have the same access to credit, land,

climate information, agricultural inputs and technologies as men (Otzelberger, 2014).

11

Otzelberger (2014) found that women only hold 10%-20% of land titles and only 5% of

agricultural extension services target women. This is because access to credit and extension

services often depends on having secure land tenure, which is unusual for women (ADB,

2013). This access barrier faced by women reduces the amount of assets available to women,

further magnifying the gender gap (ADB, 2013). Indeed, the challenges women face in

gaining land ownership not only reduce their access to assets, but also reduces their ability to

have a voice (Mukherjee, 2009). However, women are generally able to access micro-credit

and can borrow money from relatives, neighbours and sometimes even from money-lenders,

though that usually comes with high interest rates (Campbell et al., 2009). Furthermore,

where women can access loans, these loans may be controlled by male relatives (ADB,

2013).

Income diversification also facilitates coping with the impacts of climate change. However,

only those households that are relatively better off can diversify their incomes, for example,

by ‘borrowing to invest in farm machinery which can then be leant to others’ (Campbell et

al., 2009, p.viii). Nielsen and Reenberg (2010, p.466) found that many villagers from their

study in Burkina Faso earned most of their money through ‘labour migration, working for

development projects, horticulture, small-scale commerce – especially by the women – and

selling livestock’. Beckman et al. (2002) found that many poor households in Vietnamese

villages engage in work as day labourers or engage in seasonal migration to work in other

provinces during times between crop harvests. Those households that were better off had a

greater diversity of income-generating activities such as engaging in animal husbandry and

generation of cash crops in addition to non-land-dependent activities such as trading

(Beckman et al., 2002). However, in general, rural women struggle to engage in activities to

diversify their incomes, as they lack the financial capital that comes from access to

productive land (Skinner, 2011). This is because women face restrictions when it comes to

land ownership (Skinner, 2011).

Beckman et al. (2002) suggest that many coping mechanisms are reliant on the availability of

land, but sometimes working the land is more difficult due to flooding decreasing the amount

of productive land available. Temporary migration is a common coping strategy, but it is

mostly only an option for men and those who already have some labour capital and resilience

(Campbell et al., 2009). This out-migration by men often increases the workload for the

women and also has emotional costs for the men, who would prefer to stay at home

(Campbell et al., 2009). Permanent migration or relocation is an option, however, to those

households that have a certain underlying asset base that enables them to afford to relocate

(Campbell et al., 2009). Furthermore, when the men are working away from home, the

agricultural workload burden increases for women, but without the resource (technical,

financial, social) access that the men would have (Skinner, 2011). Indeed, many of these ‘de

facto’ female-headed households with men working in urban areas struggle to ensure food

security without vital access to extension, technology, credit and financial services that are

available to men (Mukherjee, 2009). When individuals and households run out of all other

options, they often have no choice but to sell assets and land and migrate to other areas in

search of new livelihoods (Skinner, 2011). However, this is only a viable option to those

12

households that have a certain underlying asset base that enables them to afford to relocate

(Campbell et al., 2009).

4. Case Study on climate induced extreme events, inequalities

and vulnerabilities of disadvantaged communities

4.1. Flood in Bangladesh

Flood (riverine flood, flash flood and tidal flood) affects the people of Bangladesh almost

every year. The country is situated at the convergence of three big rivers; the Ganges, the

Brahmaputra and the Meghna (GBM). About 80 % of the country is low-ying and prone to

seasonal and annual inundation. Salehin et al., 2007 classified the flood events into three

categories-i. When 20 % of the country is inundated by overflow of the surrounding rivers, is

called as a normal flood year; ii. if 35% area is inundated, people often call it as a moderate

flood year, and iii. for more than 60% inundation, it is termed as severe or major flood year.

IPCC, 2002, WGII reports that nearly 26 % of the country may experience annual flooding

and an additional 42 % may be at risk of inundation with different intensity. While another

report states that an increase of 10% monsoon rainfall could cause additional overflow depth

by 18 to 22 % (Qureshi and Hobbie, 1994). The following table provides the differences in

loss and damages caused by flood events in different years in the country. Usually, the

disadvantaged groups including poor communities/farmers, women, children, indigenous and

physically challenged people are the main victims of loss and damages. It appears (Fig 2) that

these people are more vulnerable because of climate change as the inundation will be

intensified by 2080.

Table 1. Loss and damages of the major floods in different years in Bangladesh (Source

World Bank in Kausher, AHM. 2010)

Item 1988 1998 2004 2007

Inundated area of Bangladesh (%) 60 68 38 42

People affected (million) 45 31 36 14

Total Deaths 2300 1100 750 1110

Livestock killed (nos) 172,000 26,564 8,318 40,700

Crops damaged (fully/partially in

million ha)

2.12 1.7 1.3 2.1

Loss of rice production (million tons) 1.65 2.06 1.00 1.2

Road damaged (km) 13,000 15,927 27,970 31,533

13

No of houses partially/fully damaged

(million)

7.2 0.98 4.00 1.1

Total loss in USD (billion) 1.4 2.0 2.3 1.1

Fig. 1. Area of inundation during 1998 flood in Bangladesh (Source: Kausher, AHM. 2010)

14

Fig. 2. Potential area to be inundated because of climate change by 2080 (Source: Kausher,

AHM. 2010)

15

4.2. Exposure to flooding in Bangladesh

The population density along coastal zones and on floodplains in Bangladesh is among the

highest in the world (Werle et al., 2000). As a result, when the country experience major

flooding, people and livestock are killed and property is damage. Indeed, the cyclone in 1991,

which resulted in the deaths of about 138,000 people, revealed that ‘storms and tidal surges

affecting the flat coastal plains and low-lying islands can reach 6 to 7 m in height and

advance many kilometres inland at a rapid rate of about 2.5 m/s’ (Werle et al., 2000, p.149;

MODMR, 2010). This highlights the disastrous effects such storms can have on the rapidly

growing population in these areas. Indeed, as a result of Bangladesh’s flat terrain and the low

gradient of the rivers, a significant proportion of the country is affected by floods each year,

with much damage done to both lives and properties (Akter, 2004). These floods are a result

of the accumulation of rainfall over the entire river basin, rather than simply the rainfall that

occurs in Bangladesh alone (Guiteras et al., 2015).

Flooding in Bangladesh damages infrastructure and destroys crops. Indeed, 55 per cent of

households that were affected by the severe flood in 1998 lost an average of 16 per cent of

their total assets, and 47 per cent of households were subject to a 59 per cent loss in terms of

housing value as a result of flood damage (Ninno et al., 2001). However, these losses were

not distributed evenly. Those households who were exposed to higher levels of flooding

experienced greater losses and damage to their assets (Ninno et al., 2001). Brouwer et al.

(2006) added that flooding also results in losses of fish stock in ponds. These losses and

damages lead to increases in food insecurity and the prevalence of disease where there are

already high poverty and malnutrition rates (Buttenheim, 2006). Furthermore, changes in land

cover and the ways in which the land is used have reduced the ability of the flood plains to

absorb water, while structures such as embankments and levies, which are constructed to

reduce the risk of flooding in some areas, direct the water towards more vulnerable areas

(Buttenheim, 2006). Thus, the presence of an embankment or other means of keeping water

away from a homestead plays a role in determining exposure to flooding in Bangladesh.

4.3. Susceptibility to flooding in Bangladesh

Inadequate facilities and support systems both during and after floods in Bangladesh often

result in health problems and other hardships (Akter, 2004). Though both rich and poor alike

may lose assets as a result of flooding in Bangladesh, the poor are more adversely affected, as

they start with fewer assets (Ninno et al., 2001). For example, the vulnerability of the poor is

exacerbated, as they suffer from loss of assets in the form of material goods in addition to the

fear of losing their social networks (Akter, 2004). As the floodwaters destroy crops and

damage roads, food prices are likely to increase due to reduced access to food (Buttenheim,

2006). This will further exacerbate the food insecurity of the poor, as they struggle to afford

the higher prices. Furthermore, flooding can damage houses and other productive assets,

hindering livelihoods. Indeed, Buttenheim (2006) suggest that employment opportunities for

day labourers are significantly reduced after floods and there are higher levels of food

insecurity coupled with increases in the prevalence of diarrhoeal and respiratory diseases.

16

This suggested reduction in employment of day labourers was supported by Brouwer et al.’s

(2006) findings that there were income losses from both trade and day labourers during flood

events. Such decreases in crop production in addition to asset losses and reductions in

employment opportunities as a result of flooding in Bangladesh all exacerbate food insecurity

issues (Ninno et al., 2001). Furthermore, Ninno et al. (2001) found that both agricultural and

non-agricultural economies in addition to transport systems continued to be affected by the

1998 floods for several months after the floodwaters receded. This would leave households

even more vulnerable to additional floods.

Women are perhaps among those who are most affected by floods, as they bear the burden of

‘the disruption of normal livelihood in terms of collection of safe water, sanitation, preparing

and distributing whatever food they could manage among family members (keeping little for

themselves and keeping the family together’ (Akter, 2004, p.6). The difficulties surrounding

collection of safe water during flood events come from the contamination of the water

sources, which result in a scarcity of safe drinking water (Akter, 2004). In cases such as

these, women sometimes need to travel much greater distances to fetch water from

undamaged tubewells and, when no such water can be found or people do not have the know-

how nor the ability to treat the water, dirty water is drunk (Ninno et al., 2001).

4.4. Ability to cope and recover from flooding in Bangladesh

Flood events exacerbate the erosion of riverbanks, which results in the displacement of more

than 20,000 Bangladeshi families each year (Akter, 2004). This often pushes them into a

cycle of chronic poverty, from which they struggle to recover. Though many people can

borrow money in order to survive, they often struggle to repay it. Indeed, in order to cope

with the aftermath of floods, households often enter into debt or buy food on credit and many

depend on the availability of food aid and cash transfers from NGOs and the government

(Buttenheim, 2006). Ninno et al. (2001) found that households tend to cope with floods by

trying to reduce their spending in addition to selling assets, though borrowing was the most

common coping mechanism. They found that richer households borrowed more than the

poorer households. However, this was likely because the wealthier households tend to have

greater access to credit and borrow large amounts of money for agricultural and business

purposes, whereas poorer households borrow primarily to enable them to purchase food.

In order to cope with the increases in food insecurity as a result of lower crop yield, asset

losses and the lack of employment opportunities that come from flood events, households

tend to alter their food consumption, be it reductions in the number of meals and/or the

variety of foods that are eaten (Ninno et al., 2001). Furthermore, Ninno et al. (2001) suggest

that in extreme cases of food scarcity, household food distribution may discriminate against

some household members (primarily women as discussed previously in this paper) in order to

ensure that others survive. In addition, there are occasions where flooding in areas of

Bangladesh makes people’s homes unliveable to the point where they have to temporarily

move to a flood shelter (Ninno et al., 2001). However, these shelters are often unhygienic

17

with human waste out in the open (Akter, 2004). This increased the prevalence of illnesses,

particularly diarrhoeal ones, and the medical supplies available in the flood shelters were

found to be inadequate (Akter, 2004). Thus, climate change in Bangladesh adversely affects

those who are poorest and most exposed as well as women more than other socioeconomic

groups.

18

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