Browsing by Author "Sikder, Sujit Kumar"

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    Climate change impacts on shoreline migration and community livelihood resilience: evidence from coastal Bangladesh
    (Frontiers, 2024) Islam, Md Tariqul; Hossain, Md Monabbir; Ha-Mim, Nur Mohammad; Hossain, Md Zakir; Sikder, Sujit Kumar
    The livelihoods of coastal people are at risk as shoreline migration is accelerated by climate change. To safeguard these communities and maintain their economy, it is imperative to strengthen resilience via adaptive strategies. Therefore, this study aims to estimate the rates and impacts of physical shoreline migration over the past 9,000 years using geospatial analysis and focus on understanding the livelihood resilience of coastal at-risk communities using in-depth interviews with environmental experts. The dynamic system of the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna is highly complex and causes continuous shoreline migration. Historical data and more recent satellite remote sensing imagery analysis identified that the shrinking of the delta system has resulted from the migration of the shorelines at the mouth of the river system. Since 5,000 BP, it has been expanding towards the Bay of Bengal – meaning land gains at the coast. Land gain provides an opportunity for the extension of coastal communities but also increases their vulnerability to natural hazards. Moreover, by 2050, the salinity isoline with a 5-ppt is expected to shift inland by ⁓8 km in the south-east (Bhola-Patuakhali) and ⁓24 km in the southwest (Khulna-Satkhira) region. The in-depth interviews reveal several adaptive practices to effectively deal with the situation, including community knowledge, stakeholder engagement, local-led adaptation, and most importantly, temporal migration. The findings also highlighted the urgent need for an adaptation plan for the sustainability and resilience of coastal communities, considering indigenous knowledge with local cultural orientation and incorporation of scientific standards.
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    Sensing spatial inequality of socio-economic factors for deploying permanent deacons in the UK
    (Frontiers, 2024-11-01) Islam, Md Tariqul; Rooney, Paul; McGrail, Peter; Sikder, Sujit Kumar; Charlesworth, Mark
    Integrating spatial inequality perspectives in strategic decision-making can ensure positive impacts on resource distribution for public welfare and sustainable development. This study aims to apply evidence-based approaches in deploying permanent deacons. The empirical case study has been conducted at the St Helens denary of the Liverpool archdiocese, UK. Assisting with charitable works is one of three served areas by the Roman Catholic Church facilitated by deacons. The deployment of permanent deacons could benefit from being evidence-based so that a deacon can serve to ease the socio-economic (e.g., population density, long-term health conditions, housing system, employment status, education level, social status) inequality in the most deprived area. We used geographic information system (GIS) based algorithms, Getis-Ord Gi* for hot spot analysis to find the clustered area by considering the socio-economic factors. The open/freely available government census dataset was found to help extract socio-economic parameters. Furthermore, a GIS-based multi-criteria assessment technique was conducted by applying map algebra (raster calculator) to identify the deprived area with ranks considering multiple socio-economic conditions, where served areas by the existing deacons were considered to constrain. The served areas were estimated by applying network analysis where OpenStreetMap and location existing deacons were used as input. Our empirical case study identified the central and northern parts of the deanery as the most and least deprived areas, respectively. Finally, Liverpool archdiocese could consider deploying new permanent deacons in St Helens denary based on suggested deprivation ranks. Therefore, the appropriate number of deacons in the deprived areas can quickly and effectively respond to the needy and enhance communities’ resilience and sustainable development by ensuring proportionate resource distribution.
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    Spatial transition dynamics of urbanization and Rohingya refugees’ settlements in Bangladesh
    (Elsevier, 2023-08-28) Islam, Md. Tariqul; Sikder, Sujit Kumar; Charlesworth, Mark; Rabbi, Atta
    Urbanization needs to conceptualize land use policy beyond the city boundaries. It might be explained by exploring complex and interconnected interdependencies in regional key driving factors that can have tele-coupling effects during sudden shocks. Over one million Rohingya have settled in the rural/forest area in Cox’s Bazar for locational proximity and comparatively easy escape from Myanmar after domestic conflicts. This study aims to explore the spatial dimension of urbanization in a regional transition context focusing on the newly built refugee settlements in the south-eastern coastal area of Bangladesh. Additional, we also identify further research scopes and gaps in the context of the case study. Analysis of openly available global data products from historical built-up expansion from 1975 to 2021 suggests that refugee settlements impact spatial development intensity (annual rate ⁓2.55 ha/year) and population density (annual rate ⁓9431 person/year) dimensions, which have a transition (rural-to-urban) of a greater regional scale than local urbanization. Our results from the expert-based key informant interviews have a broad agreement with the quantitative findings; however, the environmental: deforestation, economic: increasing business and employment opportunities and daily living expenses; and socio-cultural impacts: increasing conflict between host and refugee communities due to prostitution, drug dealing, and insecurity, are more local than findings from the geospatial analysis. Therefore, the local development policies need an urgent adjustment to comply with the local and regional balances in the above factors, along with that international development actors may also need attentive measures in the policy formulation. Further investigations in scenario-based urbanization dynamics are required to avoid an urban desert initiated in the absence or relocation of refugee settlement. Similar kinds of studies may also be replicated even in prosperous global North countries in order to conceptualize the spatial transformative process of rapid migration influx on urbanization with innovative open data in the absence of up-to-date official datasets and adoptions of mixed methods approaches with related actors including policymakers.