This document summarizes a PhD research project on strengthening community resilience to flooding in rural Bangladesh. The project will identify community perceptions of flooding and how water management has impacted livelihoods. It will compare community views to water management practices in Bangladesh and the Dutch delta. An indicator framework will be developed to assess resilience at the community level. The research will develop a multi-actor learning approach to enhance resilience through knowledge sharing with the community. Data collection methods will include interviews, surveys, and participatory activities with communities in flood-prone areas of Bangladesh.

1. Towards preaching what is practiced?
From practices to possibilities for living with flood in
rural area of Bangladesh delta
Mahmuda Mutahara
PhD Candidate
Wageningen University, Netherlands
Date: 2 December 2012

2. Project Background

3.  Poverty and hunger
 Social insecurity
 Social and institutional
conflict
 Ecological disruption

4. Focus Area
Region:
South-west
Districts:
Jessore,
Khulna,
South-
Western
Satkhira
Region
SATKHIRA
River System:
Upper Bhadra,
Hari, Kobadak,
Bhairab

5. Behind the Problem
 Frequent cyclone and storm
surges
 Un available upstream flow
from Ganges River
 Changing nature of tidal
action
 Shifting pattern of seasonal
rainfall
 Structural Interventions
(Coastal Embankment and polder)

6. Problem Statement

7. Objectives
Innovate a learning process and contribute for strengthening rural
community resilience
i) Identify peoples’ perception to flood and changes in livelihoods
ii) Show the relationship/gap between water management system
and community practise
iii) Compare community views to WMP in Bangladesh and Dutch
delta
iv) Develop an indicator framework to assess community resilience
i) Innovate a Multi Actor Learning Approach to enhance community
resilience

8. Main Research Questions
Research Sub - Questions
 How do people define the flood culture in SW area of Bangladesh delta?
 How do water management initiatives influence the livelihoods and
community development in such flood vulnerable rural coastal area?
 What is the community view and how do they respond to practiced water
management system in Bangladesh and Dutch delta in terms of future
climate vulnerability?
 How does community resilience be assessed in a flood vulnerable rural
area of Bangladesh delta?
 How does a knowledge approach contribute to enhance the community
resilience in rural delta of Bangladesh in context of climate risk?

9. General Research Concept
Definition:
Issue and vulnerability
Integration: Interaction:
Integrate social, economic, Community, management
environmental factors options, Policy maker (different
level of actor)
Identification:
Current capacity to cope with climate
change (level of resilience)
Innovation:
Knowledge to community level capacity
enhancement

10. Data Collection:
 Literature review/institutional survey
 Participatory Rural Appraisal
 Mobility map
 Social Map (Village map)
 Group Discussion or FSM
 Actors dialogue and feed back
 Questionnaire survey
 Case studies
 Interview with experts and agencies

11. Study Components
Development of MASL framework
Assess community resilience
(Using DROP Model)
Identification of resilience factor for
locality
Comparative analysis between
community view and response to
WM in BD and NL
Identification impact to livelihood
system
Review and scenario generation of
certain issue (flood & water
logging)

12. Work Plan
Period Place Proposed activities
From March to August 2012 The Attending courses and work on research proposal,
Netherlands literature review
From September 2012 to Bangladesh First field visit: defining study area; Secondary
February 2013 information collection; Institutional survey and data
collection
From March to May 2013 The Reviewing information gathered and draft of first and
Netherlands second articles
From June 2013 to February 2014 Bangladesh Second field visit: Questioners survey, Stakeholder
consultation
From March to May 2014 The Review of collected data, data analysis and draft of 3rd
Netherlands articles
From June 2014 to August 2015 Bangladesh Final field visit: FGD and stakeholder workshop; data
analysis and report writing
From September 2015 to The Reviewing previous articles and writing final thesis
February 2016 Netherlands