In Bangladesh, the chars within the river channels are an important part of its landscape. However, these land masses continue to remain isolated, deprived of services, and pockets of poverty in the country. The char dwellers are vulnerable to natural hazards like flood and erosion. In addition to these hazards, the coastal chars are faced with the imminent problem of widespread inundation due to sea level rise resulting from climate change. Within this context, the book Living on the Edge: Char Dwellers in Bangladesh has brought together valuable scholarship on the diverse issues relating to the chars and the communities living in there. This comprehensive collection, with contribution of experts on the subject from across the globe, provides an understanding of the problems faced by the char dwellers and also comes up with policy prescriptions for ensuring overall welfare of char communities in the country.

Autorentext
Mohammad Zaman is an international development/resettlement specialist and advisory professor, National Research Center for Resettlement, Hohai University, Nanjing, China. He carried out extensive ethnographic research on disaster and displacement in the Brahmaputra-Jamuna floodplain. For many years, his core research has been on char settlement, their economies and social organizations and how these have been historically shaped by the colonial and post-colonial land tenure and administration with regard to alluvial and diluvial lands. He is a Fellow of the Society for Applied Anthropology, and advisor to the Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, India.
Mustafa Alam, a Professor (Retired) in Economics, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, has a rich background in research on issues relating to integrated water resources management. He participated as a professional team member in several Flood Action Plan study components in Bangladesh, where his involvement in the multidisciplinary Charland Study figured prominently. Prof. Alam gained valuable experience about char life in the country through this study, whereby he carried out extensive fieldwork in numerous chars spread around all the major river systems of the country. Apart from miscellaneous reports he produced on issues relating to chars in Bangladesh, he has a number of valuable publications to his credit on the subject. Given this background, Prof. Alam's role as an editor of this volume certainly adds value to the discourses contained in it.

Inhalt

I INTRODUCTION

Background, Context and Organization of the Book

Mohammad Zaman and Mustafa Alam

II THEORIZING DELTA AND CHARLAND

  1.      The Delta and Charland in Historical and Comparative Perspectives

Mohammad Zaman, Mustafa Alam and Benoit Ivars

2.      Chars as Destabilizers

Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt

1. Char Dwellers' Right to Development
   Indrani Sigamany and Jay Drydyk

III GEOMORPHOLOGY OF BENGAL DELTA

1. Morphologic Instability and Erosion Problems in the River Systems of Bangladesh
   Harun Rashid and Munshi K. Rahman

2. Use of Remote Sensing Data to Study the Behavior and Dynamics of Riverine Chars in Bangladesh
   Iffat Huque, Maminul Haque Sarker and Knut Oberhagemann

3. Geomorphological Evolution of Riverine Chars
   Knut Oberhagemann, Maminul Haque Sarker and Iffat Huque

4. The Dynamics of Coastal Chars in Bangladesh
   Maminul Haque Sarker, Iffat Huque and Knut Oberhagemann The Soils of  Bangladesh's Charlands Hugh Brammer 9.      Evaluating Future Risk: Quantifying the Effects of Climate Change on Riverine and Coastal Chars

Shampa and Anisul Haque

IV CHAR SETTLEMENT IN HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY CONTEXTS

  Charland Colonization and Settlements in the Floodplains and Delta Mohammad Zaman

1. Dynamic Land and Adaptive People of Bengal Delta: A Spatio-Temporal Perspective
   C. Emdad Haque and Mohammad Jakariya

2. Coping Strategies and Future Resettlement Options of People Displaced by Riverbank Erosion in the Lower Meghna Estuary
   Bimal Kanti Paul, Munshi Khaledur Rahman, Thomas Crawford, Scott Curtis,                       Md. Giasuddin Miah, Rafiqul Islam and Md. Sariful Islam

3. Floods, Charlands Erosion and Settlement Displacement in the Ganges-Padma River Basin
   Shafi Noor Islam

4. Flood Proofing Measures for Char Communities in Bangladesh**
   Ian Tod

5.  Char Development for Addressing Riverbank Erosion related Displacement
   Atiur Rahman

V CHAR ECONOMY, LIVELIHOOD, GENDER AND OUTMIGRATION

1. Understanding Char Economy: Household Perspective and the National Context
   Mustafa Alam

Vulnerability to Natural Hazards and Community-based Adaptation in Agriculture: A Case Study

Zobaer Ahmed, Herman Lotze-Campen and Md. Humayun Kabir

1. Coping of Char Agricultural Marketing System to Hydro-meteorological Hazards
   M. Aminur Rahman, M. Shahjahan Mondal and M. Rezaur Rahman

2. Role of NGOs in Post-Flood Rehabilitation in Chars in Gaibandha District, Bangladesh <...