Impact of Climate Change on Urban Slum Dwellers in the Barishal City Corporation of Bangladesh

Abstract

The impact of climate change in Bangladesh is visible now and it is becoming more unpredictable every year. Living with the phenomenon of climate change is a daily issue for the residents of Barishal's slums, as different seasons bring different types of climatic hazards. The specific objectives of the study were to assess the impact of climate change on slum dwellers; current interventions on Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change Adaptation and mitigation and response to Climate Change Adaptation and other coping mechanisms adopted by the slum dwellers at Barishal City Corporation (BCC). To carry out this study, both primary (individual surveys, group meetings, focus group discussions, and key informant interviews) and secondary (books, newspapers, journals, online articles, websites, and UNICEF offices) data were gathered. Water logging and high population density are the main problems in the study area, according to the findings. Water logging (38%) and river bank erosion (26%) are categorized main problems of BCC. The findings show that poor communities are more vulnerable to climate change as a result of their geographic location and population size. Sixteen percent of respondents used non-sanitary latrines and 26% of people used sanitary latrines at present. Sanitary latrines should be assured in slum areas to reduce to water pollution and health risk. The study identifies that due to waterborne diseases, the majority of the respondents (95.44%) suffered illness in the last decade, and in that area, the community is deprived of regular food consumption (66%) and faced limited access to information (82%). In the slum community, the drainage system is too much poor. Eve-teasing, child mortality, drug addiction, and child labor are regular problems; another problem is protecting children. Indirect impact on income loss, migration, loss of land etc. Another issue is child protection, income loss, migration, and land loss. The study found several existing DRR and CCA-related activities and implemented mechanisms in the study area that need to be improved, as well as relevant policy responses to mitigate the impact of climate change on slum inhabitants.