Sonia F. Hoque
Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Claire H. Quinn
Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Susannah M. Sallu
Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds
Adaptive cycle; Desirable state; Salinity; Shrimp aquaculture; Social-ecological system
Socio-economic and Policy
Trend analysis
A mixed-method approach comprising of focus group discussions (FGDs), participatory wealth ranking (PWR), household questionnaire surveys, and livelihood trajectory interviews was used to collect empirical evidence in late 2014. Data fromWR and household surveys were used to stratify households by wealth class. Understanding the drivers of social-ecological change involved the analysis of qualitative data from FGDs and interviews in relation to the characteristics of the adaptive cycle,whereas assessments of well-being impacts were based on both survey and interview data. PWR was used to identify the number of wealth classes with in each village and outline the main characteristics that differentiate one class from another. Coincidentally, participants in both villages disaggregated households into five wealth categories,namely, rich, upper middle, lower middle, poor, and extreme poor,using agricultural land ownership as the most important determinant along with indicators such as relative income,housing materials, education, and food security. Asset ownership data from household surveys were used to generate household wealth indices and calculate the numbers of sample households belonging to each of the five categories. Principal component analysis (PCA) was carried out using 17 indicators under seven dimensions. All components with an eigenvalue > 1 were extracted, of which the factor scores and factor loadings of the first principal component (PC1) were considered as the household wealth indices and indicator weights, respectively. K-means cluster analysis with five clusters was then applied on the PC1 factor scores to quantitatively disaggregate households into five wealth classes. PCA also revealed the variation in asset ownership within and between different classes and inequality in wealth distribution within the two communities. Following translation and transcription, qualitative data from FGDs and livelihood trajectories were scrutinized, and chunks of text related to historical events were coded as per the spatial scale (international, national, regional, or local) and the domain in which they occurred (socio-political, agro-ecological, oreconomic). The events closely adhered to the characteristics defining each of the four phases of the adaptive cycle in terms of the system’s potential (that is, the wealth of the system) and connectedness (that is, the internal controllability of the system for details of data analysis).The events were then arranged chronologically, demarcating boundaries between the phases for the two villages respectively. Although this demarcation aided structuring and analysis of data,it should be noted that these boundaries are highly flexible and represent broader time periods instead of rigid start and end dates. Quantitative data from household surveys were used to construct bar charts on households’ changes in well-being resulting from the changes in farming systems. The questionnaire included an open ended question asking respondents whether they were better off, worse off, or same as before, and why. Using this subjective line of inquiry resulted in a wide range of responses in which relational factors such as having a peaceful community of ten emerged in addition to the usual objective factors such as income and assets. These were also supplemented with qualitative data from interviews that provided deeper insights into individuals’ values, struggles, and aspirations. Individuals’ responses may not be representative of all members within the household; however,because we primarily focused on understanding the power dynamics between different wealth classes, intra household differences and gender dimensions were not studied. STUDY SITES The study villages, Mithakhali and Kamarkhola, are located in southwestern coastal Bangladesh, an active deltaic floodplain characterized by high vulnerability to salinity intrusion and cyclones accompanied by tidal surges. Salinity intrusion is largely a seasonal phenomenon; changes in upstream river flows lead to a relatively freshwater regime during the wet season and high levels of water and soil salinity during the dry season. However, this natural process has been exacerbated by the construction of the Farakka dam on the Ganges River in India, the establishment of hundreds of coastal embankments in Bangladesh, and the growth of brackish water shrimp farming since the 1970s . Thefunnel-shaped configuration of the coastline provides a breeding ground for cyclones, which generally strike in late May or early November (Ministry of Environment and Forests 2009). Two of the most recent events, the 2007 cyclone Sidr and the 2009 cyclone Aila, had devastating effects on coastal communities, with Kamarkhola being one of the four worst affected places (Disaster Management Bureau 2010).
Ecology and Society 22(2):45.
Journal