Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

River bank erosion and livelihood vulnerability of the local population at Manikchak block in West Bengal, India

  • Published:
Environment, Development and Sustainability Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper attempts to assess the vulnerability to river bank erosion of human communities in different mouzas of selected blocks of Diara sub division of Malda District of India. A primary household survey has been done to collect data on socio demographic profile, livelihood strategy, health, food, water, social network, natural disaster and river bank erosion indicators which were selected for Livelihood Vulnerability Index (LVI) and Livelihood Vulnerability Index-Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (LVI-IPCC) analyses to predict and compare the vulnerability of mouzas currently suffering from frequent flooding, river bank erosion and embankment breaching on an annual basis. Secondary data are collected from the Human Development Report of Malda district; Regional Agriculture office and analyzed through relevant charts, diagrams and calculating index values. A GPS survey has been conducted to identify locations of affected mouzas due to river bank erosion. The results indicate that the study area has experienced rise in water level, higher amount of water discharge, riverbank line change, constant land loss, embankment breaching and changing land use, which have had impact on vulnerability, particularly of poorer riverine people. From the result of both LVI and LVI- IPCC, high to moderate vulnerability condition has existed within the selected mouzas. The high vulnerable mouzas are Dharampur, Manikchak, Kesarpur, Mirpur, Mathurapur, Jot Bhabani and relatively less vulnerable mouzas are Suksena, Duani Tafir and Paschim Narayanpur in respect to both indices. The poor conditions of LVI components of the selected mouzas in the study area make them more expose and sensitive and decrease their adaptive capacity. These findings enable policymakers to formulate and implement effective strategies and programs to reduce vulnerability and enhance resilience by improving the livelihoods of the vulnerable riverine community of all other parts in India as well as world.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11
Fig. 12
Fig. 13
Fig. 14
Fig. 15

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adger, W. N., Arnell, N. W., & Tompkins, E. L. (2005). Successful adaptation to climate change across scales. Global Environmental Change, 15(2), 77–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adger, W. N., Dessai, S., Goulden, M., et al. (2009). Are there social limits to adaptation to climate change? Climatic Change, 93(3–4), 335–354. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-008-9520-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ahmed, A.U. (2006). Bangladesh climate change impacts and vulnerability: A synthesis, department of environment, Government of Bangladesh, Dhaka.

  • Alberini, A., Chiabai, A., & Muehlenbachs, L. (2006). Using expert judgment to assess adaptive capacity to climate change: Evidence from a conjoint choice survey. Global Environmental Change, 16(2), 123–144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arif, Md., Rao, D. S., & Gupta, K. (2019). Peri-urban livelihood dynamics: A case study from Eastern India. Forum Geografic. https://doi.org/10.5775/fg.2019.012.i

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandyopadhyay, S. (1997). Natural environmental hazard and management: A case study of Sagar Island, India. Journal of Tropical Geography, 18(1) 20–45.

    Google Scholar 

  • Banu, N., & Fazal, S. (2017). A pragmatic assessment of livelihood status in the peri-urban interface: A case from developing India. Asian Geographer. https://doi.org/10.1080/10225706.2017.1296366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Below, T. B., Mutabazi, K. D., Kirschke, D., Franke, C., Sieber, S., & Siebert, R. (2012). Can farmers’ adaptation to climate change be explained by socio-economic household-level variables? Global Environmental Change, 22(1), 223–235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, N., Adger, W. N., & Kelly, P. M. (2005). The determinants of vulnerability and adaptive capacity at the national level and the implications for adaptation. Global Environmental Change, 15(2), 151–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Census of India (2001). Provisional population totals, West Bengal, Table—4. Maldah District (06). Government of West Bengal. http://web.cmc.net.in/wbcensus/DataTables/02/Table4_6.htm. Retrieved 2011–07–21

  • Cutter, S. L., Boruff, B. J., & Shirley, W. L. (2003). Social vulnerability to environmental hazards. Social Science Quarterly, 84, 242–261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Das, J. D., Dutta, T., & Saraf, A. K. (2007). Remote sensing and GIS application in change detection of the Barak river channel, N.E. India. Journal of the Indian Socirty Remote Sensing, 35(4), 301–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Das, T. K., Halder, S. K., Gupta, I. D., & Sen, S. (2014). Riverbank erosion induced human displacement and its consequences. Living Review in Landscape Research, 8(3), 1–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • DFID (Department of International Development). (1999). Sustainable livelihoods framework guideline sheets. UK: Department of International Development.

    Google Scholar 

  • Douglas, I. (2009). Climate change, flooding and food security in south Asia. Food Security, 1(2), 127–136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dow, K. (1992). Exploring differences in our common future(s): The meaning of vulnerability to global environmental change. Geoforum, 23(3), 417–436. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7185(92)90052-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Drinkwater, M., & Rusinow, T. (1999). ‘Application of CARE’s livelihood approach’, Paper presented at DFID Natural Resources Advisers’ Conference, 1 June.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, F. (2000). Rural livelihoods and diversity in developing countries. Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Emel, J., Peet, R. (1989). Resource management and natural hazards, In: Peet, R & Thrift, N (eds), New Models in Geography, pp. 49–76.

  • Fussel, H. M., & Klein, R. J. T. (2006). Climate change vulnerability assessments: An evolution of conceptual thinking. Climatic Change, 75(3), 301–329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gbetibouo, G. A., Ringler, C., & Hassan, R. (2010). Vulnerability of the South African farming sector to climate change and variability: An indicator approach. Natural Resource Forum, 34(3), 175–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gopinath, G. (2010). Critical coastal issues of Sagar Island, east coast of India. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 160(1–4), 555–561. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0718-3

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gopinath, G., & Seralathan, P. (2005). Rapid erosion of the coast of Sagar Island, West Bengal – India. Environmental Geology, 48(8), 1058–1067. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-005-0044-9

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hahn, M. B., Riederer, A. M., & Foster, S. O. (2009). The livelihood vulnerability vulnerability index: A pragmatic approach to assessing risks from climate variability and change—a case study in Mozambique. Global Environmental Change, 19(1), 74–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2008.11.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, D., Bouapao, L. (2010). Social Impact Monitoring and Vulnerability Assessment: Regional Report, Mekong River Commission, Vientiane.

  • Hinkel, J. (2011). Indicators of vulnerability and adaptive capacity: Towards a clarification of the science-policy interface. Global Environmental Change, 21(1), 198–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • India-WRIS Wiki. Flood Management”, project homepage, National Remote Sensing Centre. URL (Accessed 18 September 2014): http://india-wris.nrsc.gov.in/wrpinfo/index.php?title=Flood_Management&oldid=38886.

  • IPCC. (2007). Climate change 2007 impacts, adaptation and vulnerability, contribution of working group to the fourth assessment report of the intergovernmental panel on climate change, intergovernmental panel on climate change. UK: Cambridge University Press Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC. (2014). Climate change 2014: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability, Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects, Contribution of Working Group II to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. UK: Cambridge University Press Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iqbal, S. (2010). Flood and erosion induced population displacements: A socio-economic case study in the Gangetic riverine tract at Malda district, West Bengal India. Journal of Human Ecology, 30(3), 201–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, W., Eldridge, J., Silva, P., Schiessler, N. (2007). LIFE and Europe Rivers: Protecting and Improving our Water Resources, Life Focus, European Commission, Luxembourg.

  • Kates, R. W., Ausubel, J. H., & Berberian, M. (1985). Climate impact assessment. Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kent, W. R., Malcom, S. P., Muller, D. R., Saunders, D. A., & Ghose, C. N. (2002). 40Ar/39Ar geochronology of the Rajmahal Basalts, India, and their relationship to the Kerguelen Plateau. Journal of Petrology, 43(7), 1141–1153.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kundu, S., Khare, D., & Mondal, A. (2017). Interrelationship of precipitation, temperature and reference evapotranspiration trends and their net response to the climate change in Central India. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 130(3–4), 879–900. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-016-1924-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kundu, S., Mondal, A., Khare, D., et al. (2014). Shifting shoreline of Sagar Island Delta. India. Journal of Maps, 10(4), 612–619. https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2014.922131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lobell, B. D., Burke, M. B., Tebaldi, C., Mastrandream, M. D., Falcon, W. P., & Naylor, R. L. (2008). Prioritizing climate change adaptation needs for food security in 2030. Science, 319(5863), 607–610.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Majumdar, S., & Mandal, S. (2020). ‘Acceptance of BANCS model for predicting stream bank erosion potential and rate in the left bank of Ganga river of Diara region in Malda district. North East India. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41324-020-00334-w

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mandal, S. (2017). Assessing the instability and shifting character of the river bank ganga in Manikchak Diara of Malda district, west Bengal using bank erosion hazard index (BEHI). RS&GIS. European Journal of Geography, 8(4), 6–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mandal, S., & Choudhury, B. U. (2015). Estimation and prediction of maximum daily precipitation at Sagar Island using best fit probability models. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 121(1–2), 87–97. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-014-1212-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mili, N., Acharjee, S., and Konwar, M. (2013). Impact of flood and river bank erosion on socioeconomy: A case study of Golaghat revenue circle of Golaghat district, Assam. International Journal of Geology, Earth & Environmental Sciences, 3(3): 180–185. URL (Accessed 18 September 2014): http://www.cibtech.org/jgee.htm.

  • Molua, E. L. (2009). An empirical assessment of the impact of climate change on smallholder agriculture in Cameroon. Global Planetary Change, 67(3–4), 205–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mondal, I., Bandyopadhyay, J., & Dhara, S. (2017). Detecting shoreline changing trends using principle component analysis in Sagar Island, West Bengal. India. Spatial Information Research, 25(1), 67–73. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41324-016-0076-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moser, C., & Felton, A. (2007). The construction of an asset index measuring asset accumulation in Ecuador. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1646417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Niang, I., Ruppel, O. S., Abdrabo, M. A., Essel, A., Lennard, C., Padgham, J., & Urquhart, P. (2014). Climate Change 2014: Impacts. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pandey, R., & Jha, S. (2012a). Climate vulnerability index-measure of climate change vulnerability to communities: A case of rural lower Himalaya, India. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 17(5), 487–506.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parua, P. K. (2002). Fluvial geomorphology of the river Ganga around Farakka. Journal of the Institute of Engineering, 82, 193–196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pati, J. K., Lal, J., Prakash, K., & Bhusan, R. (2008). Spatio-temporal shift of western bank of the Ganga river at Allahabad city and its implications. J Indian Soc Remote Sens, 36(3), 289–297.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paul, B. K. (1998). Coping mechanisms practised by drought victims (1994/5) in North Bengal, Bangladesh. Applied Geography, 18(4), 355–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Phukan, A., Goswami, R., Borah, D., Nath, A. and Mahanta, C. (2012). River Bank Erosion and Restoration in the Brahmaputra River in India. Clarion, 1(1): 1–7. URL (Accessed 18 September 2014): http://clarion.ind.in/index.php/clarion/article/view/17.

  • Purkait, B. (2009). Coastal erosion in response to wave dynamics operative in Sagar Island, Sundarban delta, India. Frontiers of Earth Science in China, 3(1), 21–33. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11707-009-0001-0

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rahman, M. A. T. M. T., Islam, S., & Rahman, S. H. (2015). Coping with flood and riverbank erosion caused by climate change using livelihood resources: A case study of Bangladesh. Climate and Development, 7(2), 185–191. https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2014.910163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ravi, A. (2008). Climate change risk: An adaptation and mitigation agenda for Indian cities. Environment and Urbanization, 20(1), 207–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rinaldi, M. (2003). Recent channel adjustments in alluvial rivers of Tuscany, central Italy. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 28(6), 587–608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sarma, D. (2013). Rural risk assessment due to flooding and riverbank Erosion in Majuli, Assam, India, Master’s thesis, University of Twente, University of Twente. URL (Accessed 18 September 2014): http://www.itc.nl/library/papers_2013/msc/gfm/sarma.pdf.

  • Schneiderbauer, S., & Ehrlich, D. (2006). Risk, hazard and people’s vulnerability to natural hazards: A review of definitions, concepts and data. European Commission-Joint Research Centre (EC-JRC), Brus-sels.

  • Sengupta, S. (1998). Upper Gondwana stratigraphy and paleobotany of the Rajmahal Hills, Bihar India. Geol Surv India Monogr Paleaontologica Indica, 98, 180.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shah, K. U., Dulal, H. B., Johnson, C., et al. (2013). Understanding livelihood vulnerability to climate change: Applying the livelihood vulnerability index in Trinidad and Tobago. Geoforum, 47, 125–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2013.04.004

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shamsuddoha, M., & Chowdhury, R. K. (2007). Climate change impact and disaster vulnerabilities in the coastal areas of Bangladesh. COAST Trust and Equity and Justice Working Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Showkat, I. (2010). Flood and erosion induced population displacements: a socio-economic case study in the Gangetic riverine tract at Malda District, West Bengal India. Journal of Human Ecology, 30(3), 201–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, C. (2002). Calculating a water poverty index. World Development, 30, 1195–1210.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vincent, K. (2004). Creating an index of social vulnerability to climate change for Africa’, Working Paper 56, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research and School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia.

  • Vincent, K. (2007). Uncertainty in adaptive capacity and the importance of scale. Global Environmental Change, 17(1), 12–24.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warner, R. F., & Paterson, K. W. (2008). Bank erosion in the Bellinger Valley, New South Wales: Definition and management. Australian Geographical Studies, 25(2), 3–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warrick, R.A., Ahmad, Q.K. (eds). (1996). The Implications of Climate and Sea-Level Change for Bangladesh. Kluwer Academic Publishers.

  • WDR (World Disaster Report). (2001). World Disaster Report 2001. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography, University of Gour Banga, Malda, West Bengal, India

    Samrat Majumdar

  2. Department of Geography, Diamond Harbour Women’s University, Sarisha, South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India

    Arijit Das & Sujit Mandal

Authors
  1. Samrat Majumdar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Arijit Das
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Sujit Mandal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Samrat Majumdar.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

There is no conflict of interest between authors.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Majumdar, S., Das, A. & Mandal, S. River bank erosion and livelihood vulnerability of the local population at Manikchak block in West Bengal, India. Environ Dev Sustain 25, 138–175 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-02046-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-02046-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation