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According to the population census 2001, the total population of coastal area was about 28 million, which is about 22% of total population of Bangladesh. Adjusted population in 2010 was estimated about 31 million in the coastal area. Regionally the population is highest in Barisal (37%) and lowest in Noakhali (17%). The ratio of urban-rural population in the coastal region is 17:83. According to Population census 2001, the average population density is 719 per sq.km, average literacy rate is about 50% and average household size is 5.4 in the coastal zone.
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The livelihood activities of coastal population are multidimensional. According to Population census 2001, agriculture, livestock and fisheries provide the principal source of income for around 60% of households in most parts of the coastal zone; although on the Chittagong Coastal Plain the proportion is lower (53%). In this area, there are more households whose income comes from services and employment in the commercial, industrial and government sectors than in other parts of the coastal zone – 23% compared with 15-16% in the GTP and about 20% in the MDP. Across the whole coastal zone, “business” provides the principal source of income for about 13% of households.
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The economic activities of farmers usually are concentrated to land and water resource based activities such as agriculture, fisheries, salt farming, etc. Similarly fishermen are engaged mainly in fisheries, agriculture, fish related business, salt farming, etc. The economic activities of wage labors are more diversified than other groups, although most of them are engaged in agriculture works. Woman are usually engaged in household based works like homestead gardening, poultry and livestock farming, cottage industry, small business, fish fry collection, etc.
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In some areas, especially along the eastern coast and in the area north of the Sundarbans, brackish water aquaculture is important for the production of shrimp. Along the east coast there is also widespread production of salt during the dry season, often in association with shrimp during the wet season.
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Economic activity in this zone is subject to damage and disruption by cyclones and from tidal and erosion processes that are a permanent feature of the area. The vulnerability of the area and its population to these factors means that development of the area is partly dependent on measures taken to mitigate them. Protecting social and physical infrastructure and productive investments (in agriculture, industry and services) is an important component, in this zone, of the efforts to reduce poverty, improve livelihoods and increase economic activity.
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In addition, a large part of the population has poor access to safe drinking water supply and sanitation and public health facilities due to poor infrastructures, communication system and natural hazards like arsenic and salinity. Improvement of the coastal polders may facilitate development of communication and infrastructures for supporting public utility services.
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Moreover, there are local government institutions and NGOs working in the coastal region. However, they are not institutionally and financially very strong and are largely dependent on the central government or development partners, which limit development activities that could be taken by themselves on priority basis. Regarding water management, BWDB has been establishing Water Management Organizations (WMOs) for long time who can manage water management infrastructure in different projects. Nevertheless, the initiative was poorly implemented due to social conflict on sharing responsibilities and benefit/ loss of the projects.
4.5Assessment of Intervention Requirement from Baseline Survey -
It is found from baseline survey of the coastal polders that mainly two types of interventions, such as embankment raising/ repairing /re-aligning and construction/repairing of regulators and drainage cum flushing-inlet/sluice, will be implemented in most of the coastal polders in all the four zones. It is estimated that about 100% of embankments and 87% of total number of regulators and drainage cum- flushing inlet / sluice need to be either repaired or newly constructed in whole coastal area. About 70% of total number of inlets needs to be either repaired or newly constructed in whole coastal area. About 60% of total length of the drainage channels needs to be re-excavated in the coastal region. Distribution of each type of interventions with respect to total requirement in whole coastal area show that constructing/repairing of regulators, drainage cum flushing sluices/ inlets will be carried out mainly in GTPW and GTPE zones and drainage channel re-excavation works will be more or less equally required in all zones in coastal area. Table 4.6 summarizes the overall assessment of the possible and necessary interventions as observed in the field.
Table 4 7: Improvement works to be done for each type of interventions under CEIP project
Structures
|
Whole coastal area
|
GTPW
|
GTPE
|
MDP
|
CCP
|
Embankment
|
Existing Embankment (km)
|
5460
|
1854
|
1940
|
878
|
690
|
Embankment repairing required (km)
|
Although small portion of embankment (about 50 km in whole coastal area) has been breached, almost all embankment need to be repaired/ raised to withstand the tidal/ storm surge in future
|
% of total length of embankment to be repaired
|
Regulators and drainage cum flushing-inlet/sluice
|
Existing regulators and drainage cum flushing-inlet/sluice (No.)
|
1831
|
653
|
690
|
168
|
307
|
Regulators and drainage cum flushing-inlet/sluice to be repaired or newly constructed (No.)
|
1586
|
653
|
471
|
168
|
294
|
% of total number of existing regulators and drainage cum flushing sluice that need to be repaired or newly constructed
|
87%
|
100%
|
67%
|
100%
|
96%
|
Inlet
|
Existing inlet (No.)
|
453
|
70
|
326
|
7
|
40
|
Inlet to be repaired or newly constructed (No.)
|
306
|
65
|
199
|
7
|
35
|
% of total number of existing inlets that need to be repaired or constructed
|
68%
|
93%
|
59%
|
100%
|
88%
|
Drainage channel
|
Existing drainage channel (km)
|
7002
|
1887
|
2704
|
1341
|
892
|
Drainage channel to be re-excavated (km)
|
4256
|
1337
|
1418
|
978
|
523
|
% of total length of existing drainage channel that need to be re-excavated
|
61%
|
71%
|
52%
|
73%
|
59%
| |