What binds us to a disaster-prone land? Climate adaptation and 'place obduracy' in southwestern Bangladesh
M M Golam Rabbani, University of York Matthew Cotton, Teesside University
Abstract: This qualitative study explores the concept of ‘place obduracy’ in the southwestern region of Bangladesh, an area highly susceptible to extreme weather events such as flooding, waterlogging, droughts, and saline intrusion. We examine how environmental changes outpace the structural and cultural capacities of communities, affecting approximately one million residents in 144 villages in the Jashore-Khulna-Satkhira districts of Bangladesh. Despite significant environmental stressors and a shift from traditional agricultural to less profitable aquacultural livelihoods, these communities exhibit a strong resistance to migration. Through 15 household interviews, we document the lags in climate adaptation, the impact of extreme weather on livelihoods, and the resilience displayed by local populations. The study critiques the effectiveness of the Bangladesh Water Development Board's structural adaptation interventions and advocates for tidal river management as a more viable solution. The place obduracy concept raises questions for governmental organisations, donors, and aid agencies to reflect upon the effectiveness and temporality of adaptation practices and attitudes towards climate-induced migration.
Background
By 2050, it is estimated that 143 million people across Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia will be displaced due to extreme weather events caused by global climate change (Rigaud et al., 2018). Before contemplating migration, people typically attempt to mitigate losses through diversifying livelihoods and engaging in often ineffective adaptation strategies (Penning-Rowsell et al., 2013). The strong ties of households to their cultural, social, and environmental contexts frequently delay successful migration. This article reports qualitative findings from the Satkhira-Khulna-Jashore region of Bangladesh to explore dimensions of ‘place obduracy’; a phenomenon where sociocultural and structural changes are outpaced by environmental changes, leading to maladaptation (Rabbani et al., 2022). Place obduracy describes a rate and scale of adaptation practice that lags behind a household's (new and emerging) needs and circumstances due to cultural and social attachments to place, even when the threat to life, well-being, and livelihood from environmental risk is growing rapidly. These lags occur as communities struggle to adjust adaptively due to deep-rooted connections to their locale, despite increasing environmental risks.
The Satkhira-Khulna-Jashore region of Bangladesh is frequently impacted by extreme weather events like inundation, droughts, saline intrusion, and heatwaves. Their impacts are further exacerbated by human-made interventions such as the Farakka barrage, which has slowed local rivers, i.e., Kopotakkho, Bhairab and Betna flows from the north and increased siltation (Awal, 2014). Environmental changes, including rising tidal levels from the Bay of Bengal in the south and decreasing freshwater flows from the Ganges in the north, further threaten affected communities (Mondal et al., 2013). Many households switch between various income-generating activities in different seasons as a coping mechanism, yet continue to face economic hardships, health disparities, and educational barriers. These environmental changes have led to significant loss of livelihood, new health problems, and forced migration.
In the past two decades, more than one million residents across 144 villages have experienced severe livelihood losses (Awal, 2014). Maladaptive strategies and altered weather patterns have severely affected agricultural productivity. The impact on the local economy is acutely felt as agriculture remains the main source of income for most residents. Some workers have turned to aquaculture as an adaptive response. However, aquaculture is generally less profitable than farming. Flooding and resultant waterlogging have destroyed homes, sanitation facilities, fruit trees, and livestock. Education provision has been disrupted, with schools closing and children missing out on key stages of their academic development. The lack of food and potable water ultimately leads to forced migration as a coping strategy, as people need to move to urban areas to ensure basic survival.
Lags in Adaptation Practices
Several efforts by the Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB) to mitigate environmental stressors in the southwest region through coastal embankment projects and water pumping schemes have been largely ineffective. Specifically, three projects—the Coastal Embankment Project (CEP), the Khulna Coastal Embankment Rehabilitation Project (KCERP), and the Khulna-Jessore Drainage Rehabilitation Project (KJDRP)—have inadvertently exacerbated waterlogging in several areas including Jashore Sadar, Manirampur, Keshabpur, and Abhaynagar Upozilas of Jashore, and Dumuria Upazila of Khulna. Sluice gates, including the Bhabodaho sluice gate, have obstructed the natural outflow of monsoon waters, exacerbating silt accumulation in rivers such as Hari, Teka, Mukteshwari, and Upper Bhadra. This makes them a maladaptive infrastructural intervention. Around 52 Beels, billabong-like agricultural wetlands, are supposed to move water in rivers and canals in Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna Deltas. The beels also have an important socio-ecological function, as they supply most farms, and provide habitats for various species of fish, birds, and other wildlife. Obstructed sluice gates, i.e., the Bhabodaho Sluice gates, have hindered the natural drainage of monsoon waters. This leads to increased silt accumulation in local rivers and prolonged flooding of residential and agricultural land.
Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), one of the national authorities, is dredging sediments of river Hari in Kapalia, Manirampur, Jashore. Photo taken by Chanchal Roy in March 2021
Criticism from residents and experts captured in our interview data highlights the inadequacy and poor planning of these measures. In contrast, tidal river management (TRM) is proposed as a more effective alternative. TRM involves constructing embankments with openings to facilitate natural water flow and sediment management. Despite overseeing extensive infrastructure, including 37 polders, 566 kilometres of embankments, and 282 drainage sluices, the BWDB's initiatives have failed to effectively address the region's chronic waterlogging issues (Al Masud et al., 2020).
Witness Statements and Analysis
In March 2024, semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 15 individuals from the disaster-prone districts of Jashore, Khulna, and Satkhira in Bangladesh to examine unsuccessful adaptation initiatives that reduce adaptive capacity and trigger socioeconomic and cultural aspects of place obduracy. This concept of place obduracy builds on a previous qualitative study (Rabbani et al. 2022) involving 60 similar interviews in Kalapara, another vulnerable coastal area in Bangladesh. All interviews were conducted in Bangla and subsequently translated into English. These interviews explored loss and damage from extreme weather events as well as maladaptive initiatives and attitudes towards migration. Three testimonies exemplify the persistence of place obduracy against climate change vulnerability.
A fish farmer in Monoharpur refuses to migrate despite observing detrimental changes such as waterlogging and the need to shift from traditional agriculture to less productive aquaculture using costly inputs. Despite facing annual losses, he emphasises his deep connection to his land and community.
“Until the 2000s, my parents cultivated three crops yearly in our beels. Now, our beels lack crops, fish, and wildlife due to waterlogging. We are limited to farming king prawns once a year, using costly fries and chemicals. In some years, low rainfall prevents fish farming. In other years, saline water intrusion from TRM affects our beels, making it difficult to farm freshwater fish. Waterlogging leads to skin diseases. Although southern regions suffer more, we are also affected by the intrusion of saline water into our beels and homes. Many farmers, like me, face losses annually, yet I refuse to migrate. My life, family, and land are here. Despite challenges, we have to make our life here whatever adjustment is needed.”
The above perspective highlights how traditional agricultural practices are being replaced by aquaculture due to the failure of some adaptation initiatives. Yet, the cultural significance of staying on ancestral land prevails, indicating an inherent cultural resistance to relocation.
A college teacher from Moshiahati details the severe impacts of disconnected water bodies and prolonged flooding on his family's life, stressing the cultural unacceptability of migration and criticising the corruption and poor planning that hinder effective water management.
A waterlogged home in Dumurtala, Avainagar, Jashore. Photo taken by Chanchal Roy in July 2021
“We always had floods in our area. But the beels were connected, and the flood water used to recede to the rivers. Now, the rivers have died and the beels are not connected. Our yard, homestead gardens, and roads are underwater for over seven months every year. Cooking food, managing drinking water, and safe sanitation are pretty challenging. We can grow only one crop per year. Our children struggle to go to school. Their playgrounds are underwater most of the time. We were born here and grew up here. Where shall we go from here? Instead of migration, we should be able to channel the water out. Corruption and poor planning have failed all efforts.”
This participant’s statement reflects a strong normative belief that migration is not a desirable or acceptable option for resolving the risk, influenced by his deep-rooted ties to his community and homeland. It also highlights corruption and poor planning, underscoring the socio-political barriers to effective climate adaptation. This suggests that place obduracy stems from systemic governance failures in water management and climate adaptation planning.
A retired schoolteacher from Monoharpur discusses the drastic changes in weather patterns and soil degradation that have marred his environment, yet he remains tied to his homeland, illustrating a strong sense of place shaped over decades.
“We no longer have six seasons. It has come down to prolonged periods of crouching heat in summer, heavy rain in shorter spans, and shorter winter. Temperatures during the nights in the summer no longer go down like before. Unregulated uses of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in the fish and paddy firms have killed most species in our area. The quality of the soil is very poor. We only had little grass, bushes, and trees, which helped to keep the weather cooler. Ponds, rivers and beels dry up so quickly after the rainy season. Most tube wells struggle to pump the groundwater during the winter. We are old. This is our home. That is why we live here. However, none of our children live here. They would not live here.”
This participant’s narrative highlights how his sense of place has been shaped over decades, making relocation unimaginable despite the deteriorating conditions.
These witness statements collectively underscore the complexity of place obduracy in the context of climate change adaptation. They reveal how emotional bonds, cultural significance, adaptation initiatives, and socio-political factors interplay to create a strong resistance to migration. The testimonies highlight the need for adaptive strategies that respect and integrate these deep-rooted connections to place, suggesting that adaptation initiatives should go beyond structural interventions to include community-based, culturally sensitive approaches that enhance informed adaptive capacities.
Conclusion
Climate change exacerbates challenges for rural communities, reducing their adaptive capacity in the face of growing risks. Migration, primarily to nearby towns or abroad, is an adaptive action commonly taken among those with strong and broad-ranging social and familial networks across rural and urban regions. However, many remain in place despite the elevated risk profile of the region. This means that the poorest subsistence farmers face growing threats to life, health, and well-being, as well as increasing vulnerability and workload to continue their livelihood. Efforts to adapt from government planning to manage water logging and flood risk, are poorly planned and governed, leading to further risks to livelihoods. Personal adaptation actions, such as investing in seeds or alternative employment, similarly fall short against climate threats like inundation, droughts, heatwaves, and waterlogged land. The resultant economic vulnerability that they experience then deepens as recurrent losses increase debt burdens, hindering the improvement of well-being. Despite this, none of the interviewed households considered leaving as a solution. Governmental organisations, donors, and aid agencies face the dilemma of either supporting local adaptation or encouraging relocation to safer areas. There is no easy answer to this complex issue of environmental migration, which continues to grow worldwide.