River erosion
How building back better can help create a more resilient community
It is poor communities who usually live in the most risk-prone areas such as on river embankments or flood plains because they cannot afford to live in safer areas. When floods hit or the embankment erodes, people are faced with the task of starting all over again.
Practical Action is working with these communities, helping them rebuild their lives so that they can be stronger and more resilient against future adversity.
Helping communities to regain their strength
The process:
- Strengthening and supporting the capacity of the target community and institutions to cope with natural disasters;
- Providing alternative livelihoods opportunities through, skills development, technology transfer and small enterprise development;
- Developing and supporting basic infrastructure services (water, health, housing), and enable poor people to access existing government services
- Raising awareness on basic rights of the community, with particular emphasis on land rights and rights of women.
Shahana and Mohammed Akter from the Gaibandha district of Bangladesh
In the Gaibandha district of Bangladesh, hundreds of the poorest families have to survive in basic structures, having lost their previous homes due to increased flooding and erosion.
Practical Action has developed the disappearing lands project to help rebuild the lives of these vulnerable communities through construction of secure housing, the provision of basic service facilities and the facilitation of new livelihood opportunities.
Shahana and Mohammed Akter and their daughter Soma, have benefited from a new home through the project. Prior to this, their lived with Shahana’s father in a house perched precariously on an embankment with no access to clean water.
Now Mohammed is trained on the project and his wife has been trained in vegetable production, providing an additional source of income.
Shahana told us: "For the first time, we feel safe and secure. The village has good water and sanitation facilities and the cluster layout of the housing encourages a community spirit."
Their daughter, Soma, told us: "I remember the bad floods and having to live on the embankment with no fresh water. I never went to school before but now I can and have made many new friends. I want to grow up to be a teacher."
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Our Pathways from Poverty project aims to improve the livelihoods of 16,850 vulnerable char land households living in 120 flood protection embankments located in four northern districts of Bangladesh, adjacent to the Brahmaputra and Tista rivers. This is part of the larger Shiree initiative funded by DFID Bangladesh.
You can read more about our earlier work with poor communities affected by river erosion in Bangladesh in the Disappearing Lands project, which ran until 2009.
Our disaster risk reduction programme in Nepal also works to help communities cope with river erosion and flood early warning.
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