Rural Poor in Sidr Affected Southern Bangladesh: How secured are their livelihoods?

The major objectives of the study were to assess the damage of existing livelihoods of the people of coastal region due to Sidr and advocate strategies to secure alternative livelihoods to cope with the devastation. The study was conducted in December 2007 in selected three major cyclone-hit districts namely Barguna, Pirojpur and Bagerhat. The investigation heavily depended on qualitative methods like Focus Group Discussion, Key Informants’ Interview, Scored Causal Diagrams and Observation. The author himself conducted the study with the help of team members following The Livelihood Assessment Tool-kit of FAO/ILO. The poor people, having insecure food supply, were the most vulnerable groups of Sidr-strike. Diversity in livelihoods needs to be addressed instead of single income-earning source. Prospect of non-farming livelihood strategy may be created in the Sidr-hit areas to secure alternative and better livelihoods. Heavy dependence on fishing in open water causes destruction of fish diversity and ecological imbalance. Thus, awareness creation of fishing-folks by extension agencies can play a good role in this regard. Trust among the authorities and civil society, investment in human development and social capital, attention to vulnerable groups and attention to lifetime infrastructure are a few points that should be ensured to mitigate human sufferings in disasters through secured livelihoods. There is necessity of good governance, which can be ensured by social cohesion and solidarity that can be achieved through selfhelp and citizen based social participation at community level.