Climate Change-Induced Livelihood Vulnerability and Adaptation of St. Martin’s Island’s Community, Bangladesh

Bangladesh, amongst the countries most vulnerable to climatic impacts, is facing a significant impact on the livelihood of the community, especially in the coastal areas, where subsistence mostly depends on the natural resources. This study analyzes the livelihood vulnerability caused by climatic hazards in St. Martin’s Island, Bangladesh, with reference to different well-being groups and their adaptation strategies. Both primary and secondary data were used. The primary data were collected from three well-being groups (well-off/rich, medium, and poor groups) of the community using key informant interviews, vulnerability matrices, and focus group discussions. The major climatic hazards identified include storms, cyclones, rainfall, salinity intrusion, and tidal water increase, which significantly affect the priority livelihood activities such as tourism business, agricultural practices, fishery practices, and other occupations. Cyclones momentously affect all three groups of people, despite their economic differences. Tidal water increase, on the other hand, affects mostly the poor and medium groups of people. Heavy rainfall causes damage mostly to the poor group. Interestingly, salinity intrusion has profound effects on the rich and medium groups of people compared with the poor group. Collectively, the rich (score: 8.25) and medium (score: 8.25) groups of people have a higher level of vulnerability due to major hazards than the poor group (score: 7.50), although the variation is not statistically significant (p value = 0.953). To cope with the impacts, the islanders are following short-term traditional adaptation strategies, i.e., changing crop variety, changing fishing patterns, selling more livestock, and selling corals, handmade ornaments, dry fish, and mollusks. However, to live with the climatic impacts in the longer-term and maintaining sustainable livelihoods, long-term, proactive and effective adaptation strategies need to be taken, e.g., enhancing cooperation among the community people, improving infrastructure, incorporating modern fishing technology, and producing new as well as diversified livelihood activities, amongst others.