Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences

The livelihood sustainability of the Rohingya refugees relocated in Bhashan Char, Bangladesh, has been questioned by various international stakeholders due to the remoteness and perceived vulnerabilities of the island. The Bangladesh government, a few international organizations, and some non-government organizations are working on developing livelihood opportunities in there. But there is scarce study about the livelihood opportunities and challenges of the Rohingyas living there. This study explores the vulnerabilities and livelihood opportunities of Rohingyas in Bhashan Char so as to help increase their resilience. The vulnerabilities include natural, geographical, and climatic shocks and stresses (e.g., cyclone, floods, storm surge, sea-level rise, geographical position). However, there are ample opportunities for their livelihood development, despite some challenges which can be overcome with concerted efforts. The opportunities include intensification and extensification of livelihood activities, such as modern agriculture, fish farming, livestock rearing, small business, handicraft, fishing net mending, crab fattening, biofloc aquaculture, and fish cage culture, but turning these opportunities into reality requires sufficient investment and internationally positive attitude. Better shelter, better disaster preparedness, cultural practices, education, and skill development can increase their capacity to bounce back, absorb shocks, and make them more resilient. National and international humanitarian organizations should plan to enhance the resilience of the Rohingya communities living in Bhashan Char and the island itself so that they can sustain in the long run, even after their anticipated repatriation to Myanmar.

This study empirically assesses the impacts of climatic events on the inland fishers (i.e., migratory and non-migratory) in Bangladesh and explores their responses to those events. Here, the migratory refers to the fishers who change their fishing location seasonally and voluntarily, whereas the non-migratory fishers fish in the same area. It is assumed that there exist differences in both the impacts of an event and the responses to the event between migratory and non-migratory fishers and therefore, a ‘difference triangle’ conceptual framework is developed and tested empirically under this research. Employing mix-method (qualitative and quantitative), a field study was conducted during July–October 2015 from the Padma River depended fishers. Identified climatic events under this study are: storms, changes in rainfall and temperature and riverbank erosion. The migratory and non-migratory fishers were affected quite similarly by storms and changes in rainfall and temperature. However, riverbank erosion affected only non-migratory fishers. Both the migratory and non-migratory fishers adopted different strategies to cope with different climatic events, like, they took shelter in safe places, sold productive assets, reduced food consumption, took credit from informal sources and employed their school-going children. As adaptation strategies, they modernized their fishing boats, intensified fishing, built embankments and diversified livelihoods. Unlike the impacts, considerable differences were found in their coping and adaptation strategies. Comparing to non-migratory fishers, a smaller number of migratory fishers sold their assets, took informal credit and intensified fishing and diversified their livelihoods. The result of this study indicates the significance of differences in the impacts of climatic events for the migratory and non-migratory fishers and therefore, this research has policy implication for the betterment of fishers’ community in general.