Sustainable Economic Security for Building Disaster-Resilient Communities in Vulnerable Coastal Areas of Bangladesh

The present study was conducted in Dacope Upazila, a sub-district located within the Khulna District of the coastal region in Bangladesh. The research methods employed included the implementation of 350 household questionnaire surveys (HQSs), 12 focus group discussions (FGDs), and 20 key informant interviews (KIIs) to assess economic security status in disaster-vulnerable areas. The findings indicate that the economic well-being of the region is precarious due to a paucity of revenue sources and the occurrence of various calamitous events, induced risks, and vulnerabilities. To achieve long-term economic security for households, a considerable proportion of the population (approximately 22%) in the study areas is dependent on agricultural activities for their livelihoods. The study also revealed that approximately 22% of households in the study areas reported experiencing salinity intrusion. Furthermore, most of the households, around 68%, reported cyclones as their primary obstacle to building disaster-resilient communities. Consequently, the prevailing local and institutional strategies to ensure economic security were found to be inadequate and unsustainable in the study upazila. Therefore, the study resulted in the formulation of a conceptual framework intended to measure the contribution of economic security to the adaptability and sustainability of disaster-resilient communities in vulnerable coastal areas of Bangladesh.