Dynamics and Manifestations of Vulnerability: A Nexus between Riverbank Erosion and Charland Women
Keywords:
Dynamics and Manifestation, Vulnerability, Riverbank Erosion, Charland, WomenAbstract
The present paper primarily examines dynamics and manifestations of vulnerability on the riverbank erosion affected impoverished, marginalized, and vulnerable charland women in Pal Dangi village, focusing on the unstable Padma riverine habitat in Bangladesh. The affected charland women face vulnerabilities due to their impoverished social and economic status, as well as displacement caused by riverbank erosion, which affects their daily subsistence activities. This study is wedded to clarify the social vulnerability of the charland women as the exposure to harm resulting from demographic and socioeconomic factors that heighten the acquaintance to riverbank erosion. Concurrently, this study tries to categorize the dynamics and manifestations of women's vulnerability into three types: fundamental dynamic of vulnerability; spatial dynamics of vulnerability triggered by recurrent riverbank erosion; and dynamic natures in prolonged vulnerability. This study also attempts to explore the multidimensional vulnerabilities of charland women to riverbank erosion displacement, analyzing its physical, social, and psychological effects on impoverished women's lives. The study uses empirical data from interviews, FGDs, case studies, and stakeholder interviews to analyze charland women in purposively chosen study village.
Downloads
References
Alexander, R., & Siriporn Wajjwalku. (2023). Making Disaster Safer. Springer Nature.
Balch, J. K., Iglesias, V., Braswell, A. E., Rossi, M. W., Joseph, M. B., Mahood, A. L., Shrum, T. R., White, C. T., Scholl, V. M., McGuire, B., Karban, C., Buckland, M., & Travis, W. R. (2020). Social‐Environmental Extremes: Rethinking Extraordinary Events as Outcomes of Interacting Biophysical and Social Systems. Earth’s Future, 8(7). https://doi.org/10.1029/2019ef001319
Bradley, S. J. (2022). Understanding Vulnerability in Girls and Young Women with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder. Women, 2(1), 64–67. https://doi.org/10.3390/ women2010007
Bhuiyan, M. A. H., Islam, S. M. D.-U., & Azam, G. (2017). Exploring impacts and livelihood vulnerability of riverbank erosion hazard among rural household along the river Padma of Bangladesh. Environmental Systems Research, 6(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40068-017-0102-9.
Chynoweth, S. K. (2008). The Need for Priority Reproductive Health Services for Displaced Iraqi Women and Girls. Reproductive Health Matters, 16(31), 93–102. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0968-8080(08)31348-2.
Colenbrander, S., Dodman, D., & Mitlin, D. (2017). Using climate finance to advance climate justice: the politics and practice of channeling resources to the local level. Climate Policy, 18(7), 902–915. https://doi.org/10.1080/14693062.2017.1388212.
Collins, T. W. (2008). The political ecology of hazard vulnerability: marginalization, facilitation and the production of differential risk to urban wildfires in Arizona’s White Mountains. Journal of Political Ecology, 15(1), 21. https://doi.org/10.2458/ v15i1.21686.
Couasnon, A., Eilander, D., Muis, S., Veldkamp, T. I. E., Haigh, I. D., Wahl, T., Winsemius, H. C., & Ward, P. J. (2020). Measuring compound flood potential from river discharge and storm surge extremes at the global scale. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences, 20(2), 489–504. https://doi.org/10.5194/ nhess-20-489-2020.
CSR Disclosure in Polish-Listed Companies in the Light of Directive 2014/95/EU Requirements: Empirical Evidence. (2017). Sustainability, 9(12), 2304. https://doi.org/10.3390/ su9122304
Cutter, S. L., Boruff, B. J., & Shirley, W. L. (2003). Social Vulnerability to Environmental Hazards. Social Science Quarterly, 84(2), 242–261. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-6237.8402002.
Dalei, N. N., & Gupta, A. (2022). Economics and Policy of Energy and Environmental Sustainability. Springer Nature.
Evans, R. D., Wilson, S. K., Fisher, R., Ryan, N. M., Babcock, R., Blakeway, D., Bond, T., Dorji, P., Dufois, F., Fearns, P., Lowe, R. J., Stoddart, J., & Thomson, D. P. (2020). Early recovery dynamics of turbid coral reefs after recurring bleaching events. Journal of Environmental Management, 268, 110666. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.jenvman.2020.110666
Friedman, V. J., & Desivilya, H. (2010). Integrating social entrepreneurship and conflict engagement for regional development in divided societies. Entrepreneurship & Regional Development, 22(6), 495–514. https://doi.org/ 10.1080/08985626.2010.488400.
Ghosh, A., Chakraborty, T. R., & Huda, S. (2020). Knowledge Management by Women for Climate Change Adaptation in Agriculture. Research in Agriculture Livestock and Fisheries, 7(2), 225–233. https://doi.org/10.3329/ralf.v7i2.48862
Haloy, M., & das, P. (2025). A Study on the Socio-Economic Status of Charland Dwellers in Nalbari District, Assam. Cosmos: A Journal of Geography, 2(2), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.70558/ cosmos.2025.v2.i2.25428.
Hayton, J., & Dimitriou, D. (2019). What’s in a word? Distinguishing between Habilitation and Re-habilitation. International Journal of Orientation & Mobility, 10(1), 1–4. https://doi.org/10.21307/ijom-2019-007.
Huho, J. M. (2015). Vulnerability of Women in Natural Calamities in Kenya: The Bunyala Floods Experiences. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 2(4). https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.24.1034
Islam, A., Podder, T., Rahaman, M. A., Islam, S., & Aktar, S. (2022). Energy Utilization Strategies for Transportation and Commercial Activities in the Precarious Habitat: A Case of Disaster-Affected Communities in Charland Bangladesh. Springer Nature Singapore. 33–61. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-5061-2_3
Kadir, M. N., & Naher, T. (2023). Review of Riverbank Erosion and Deposition Phenomena in Bangladesh. International Journal of Research Publication and Reviews, 4(11), 766–775. https://doi.org/10.55248/gengpi.4.1123.113014.
Knops, J. M. H., Tilman, D., Haddad, N. M., Naeem, S., Mitchell, C. E., Haarstad, J., Ritchie, M. E., Howe, K. M., Reich, P. B., Siemann, E., & Groth, J. (1999). Effects of plant species richness on invasion dynamics, disease outbreaks, insect abundances and diversity. Ecology Letters, 2(5), 286–293. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1461-0248.1999.00083.x.
Kvamme, E., & Ytrehus, S. (2015). Barriers to health care access among undocumented migrant women in Norway. Society, Health & Vulnerability, 6(1), 28668. https://doi.org/10.3402/sh v.v6.28668
Lave, R., & Lane, S. (2025). The Field Guide to Mixing Social and Biophysical Methods in Environmental Research. Open Book Publishers.
Li, J., & Zhou, F. (2021). What Helps Early Recovery of Disaster-Affected Small Businesses: A Case Study of a Local Cooperative Affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. Journal of Disaster Research, 16(8), 1234–1242. https://doi.org/ 10.20965/jdr.2021.p1234
Moussa, H. (1991). Women Refugees: Empowerment and Vulnerability. Refuge: Canada’s Journal on Refugees, 12–14. https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.21622
Maxmen, A. (2020). Why more coronavirus testing won’t automatically help the hardest hit. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-01781-z.
Moseley, W. G. (2022, February 15). The trouble with drought as an explanation for famine in the Horn and Sahel of Africa. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/the-trouble-with-drought-as-an-explanation-for-famine-in-the-horn-and-sahel-of-africa-177071.
Onwutuebe, Chidiebere J. “Patriarchy and Women Vulnerability to Adverse Climate Change in Nigeria.” SAGE Open, 9(1), Jan. 2019, https://doi.org/10.1177/215824401982 5914.
Pachauri, R. K., Allen, M. R., & Minx, J. C. (2015). Climate Change 2014 - Synthesis Report. https://doi.org/10.59327/ipcc/ar5-9789291691432
Pande, R. (2022). Women’s Work in the Unorganized Sector. Taylor & Francis.
Pelling, M., & High, C. (2005). Understanding adaptation: What can social capital offer assessments of adaptive capacity? Global Environmental Change, 15(4), 308–319. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2005.02.001.
Tanjeela, M., & Rutherford, S. (2018). The Influence of Gender Relations on Women’s Involvement and Experience in Climate Change Adaptation Programs in Bangladesh. SAGE Open, 8(4), 215824401881262. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 2158244018812620
Tulika Podder, M Zulfiquar, Saha, R. K., & Islam, S. (2022, February 19). Vulnerabilities and Adaptive Strategies of the Riverbank Erosion Displacee Char Children of the Padma Riverine Bangladesh. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/358729007.
Rahman, M. H. (2015). Riverbank erosion displacement in Bangladesh: Adaptation and coping strategies [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Dhaka.
Raju, E., Boyd, E., & Otto, F. (2022). Stop blaming the climate for disasters. Communications Earth & Environment, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s4324 7-021-00332-2.
Rusca, M., Messori, G., & Di Baldassarre, G. (2021). Scenarios of human responses to unprecedented social‐environmental extreme events. Earth’s Future, 9(4), https://doi.org/10.1029/2020ef001911.
Saikia, M., & Mahanta, R. (2023). Riverbank Erosion and vulnerability – A study on the char dwellers of Assam, India. Natural Hazards Research. 4(2). June 2024, Pages 274-287
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nhres.2023.10.007.
Samanta, G., & Lahiri-Dutt, K. (2018). Uncertain Livelihoods: Survival Strategies of Women and Men in Charland Environments in India.
Sannigrahi, S., Zhang, Q., Joshi, P. K., Sutton, P. C.,
Keesstra, S., Roy, P. S., Pilla, F., Basu, B., Wang, Y., Jha, S., Paul, S. K., & Sen, S. (2020). Examining effects of climate change and land use dynamic on biophysical and economic values of ecosystem services of a natural reserve region. Journal of Cleaner Production, 257, 120424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020. 120424.
Sarker, M., Wu, M., Alam, G., & Shouse, R. (2019). Livelihood Vulnerability of Riverine-Island Dwellers in the Face of Natural Disasters in Bangladesh. Sustainability, 11(6), 1623. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11061623.
Savelli, E., Rusca, M., Cloke, H., & Di Baldassarre, G. (2022). Drought and society: Scientific progress, blind spots, and future prospects. WIREs Climate Change, 13(3). https://doi.org/10.1002/wcc.761.
Suryahadi, A., Sumarto, S., & Pritchett, L. (2000). Quantifying Vulnerability to Poverty: A Proposed Measure, Applied to Indonesia. In Policy Research Working Papers. The World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-2437
Susan, Dr. I. V. (2012). Insight Into Early Marriage and Girls Education. Global Journal for Research Analysis, 3(8), 1–2. https://doi.org/10.15373/ 22778160/augu st2014/150
Tanjeela, M., & Rutherford, S. (2018). The Influence of Gender Relations on Women’s Involvement and Experience in Climate Change Adaptation Programs in Bangladesh. SAGE Open, 8(4), 215824401881262. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018812620
Ni Aolain, F. D. (2010). Women, Vulnerability and Humanitarian Emergencies. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1611818
Yoshihama, M., Yunomae, T., Tsuge, A., Ikeda, K., & Masai, R. (2018). Violence Against Women and Children Following the 2011 Great East Japan Disaster: Making the Invisible Visible Through Research. Violence against Women, 25(7), 862–881. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801218802642
Williams, B. D., & Webb, G. R. (2021). Social vulnerability and disaster: understanding the perspectives of practitioners. Disasters. 2021 Apr; 45(2):278-295. doi: 10.1111/disa.12422. Epub 2020 Jun 11. PMID: 31714606.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.