Indian Journal of Traditional Knowledge
Vol. 10 (1), January 2011, pp. 80-90
Reading Nature’s Mind: Disaster management by indigenous peoples of
Bangladesh
Haseeb Md. Irfanullah* & Mohammad Abdul Motaleb**
Practical Action, Bangladesh Country Office, House 12/B, Road 4, Dhanmondi, Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh;
(**Present address: IUCN, Bangladesh Country Office, House 11, Road 138, Gulshan 1, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh)
E-mail: [email protected]
Received 20.09.2010; revised 04.01.2011
The paper summarizes the traditional means of forecasting and preparedness against 17 natural hazards by the
indigenous communities of the South-eastern hilly region of Bangladesh. It also records the communities’ perceptions of the
onset, frequency and severity of these hazards over the last 10 yrs. The paper comments on the effectiveness, opportunities,
limitations and challenges of the traditional disaster management system and outlines some possible actions, especially
under changing climatic conditions.
Keywords: Community capacity; Climate change; Climate variability; Chittagong Hill Tracts; Traditional forecasting;
Traditional preparedness; Traditional knowledge
IPC Int. Cl.8: E04H, G01W
Human endeavours to overcoming natural hazards are
as old as human history. To enable them to survive
natural calamities, people over the world have been
constantly accumulating knowledge through careful
observations and identifying effective techniques and
approaches by trial and error. Prior to modern early
warning systems and mitigation technologies, people
have tried their best to understand nature, to predict
possible disasters, and to prepare themselves for
these. The entire spectrum of currently accepted
disaster management protocols can be seen in the
knowledge systems of indigenous communities–
resistant structures (houses and boats that survive
storms); resource management (water storage against
drought); disaster forecasting (by observing the signs
in nature); and planning, communications and social
organization (taking effective preparation to save
lives and assets)–indicating the diversity and strength
of traditional knowledge and practices in disaster
management1-8. It has also been argued that
integrating modern technologies with traditional
practices can contribute to risk reduction in a given
locality, especially under unpredictable future climate
regimes4,9,10.
In Bangladesh, traditional knowledge and practices
related to weather, climate and agriculture are welldocumented in folk literature (e.g. in the Khanar
___________
*Corresponding author
Vachan, proverbs told by a lady named Khana in the
ancient times)11,12. In recent years, several studies
have identified remedies and practices of local
communities for overcoming the challenges of
various hazards, disasters, and climate variability and
change. These include floating seedbeds (dhap or
baira) in water-logged conditions7,13; construction of
floating platforms for cattle refuge during floods7;
building earthen embankments supported by bamboo
fences and grass planting to reduce flood erosion8;
implementing water drainage systems (konkona)
around homesteads to stop salinity intrusion in the
soil14; early cyclone warning systems in coastal
areas3,15; and shifting cultivation time to avoid floods7.
The knowledge associated with native rice varieties of
Bangladesh also indicates their potential to tolerate
drought, salinity, tidal submergence, and waterlogging expected under climate change regimes16.
However, studies of ethnic communities in
Bangladesh focus mainly on people’s rituals, beliefs,
folk literature, and norms11, rather than on their
perceptions and practices relating to environment,
climate change or disaster response. Although some
noteworthy investigations were carried out on the
traditional use of medicinal plants by indigenous
communities in the area of ‘Ethnobotany’17-19, only a
couple of recent studies (on Hajong, Khasia, Oraon
and Santal communities of North and Northeast
Bangladesh20 and on Rakhain community of south
IRFANULLAH et al.: DISASTER MANAGEMENT BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF BANGLADESH
Bangladesh21) have been aimed at documenting ethnic
communities’ knowledge of weather forecasting,
disaster preparedness, and climate change.
The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in the
Southeastern region of Bangladesh consist of three
hill districts: Bandarban, Khagrachhari and
Rangamati. This region is the home of 13 distinct
ethnic communities – the highest for any part of the
country. The vulnerability to climate change of these
peoples, as well as those of the rest of the country, has
recently been assessed, using a few development
indicators and risk of exposure to hazards, and some
policy recommendations were offered to enable
improved adaptive capacity for the indigenous
communities22. The discussions on disaster in
Bangladesh, like many climate change discussions,
are very much dominated by consideration of floods
and droughts of the plain regions and of cyclones and
tidal surges along the coast (major floods in 1988,
1998, 2004 & 2007, and major cyclones & tidal
surges in 1970, 1991, 2007 & 2009)23. Given its hilly
topography, hazards/disasters in the CHT are often
confined to relatively restricted areas. Due to the low
population density (around 100 people/sq km, in
contrast to the average for Bangladesh of
approximately 1000 people/sq km)24, the overall
impact of disasters affects fewer people compared
with the plain lands and coastal regions, and official
monetary estimates of the destruction are often not
readily available. Further to this relative dearth of
information, no organized study on traditional disaster
management methods used by the indigenous
communities in the CHT had previously been
undertaken. Consequently, the present study was
initiated, in the Bolipara union of Bandarban hill
district with an aim to answer to the following
questions:
81
5. Capacity under climate change regime: If
people recognize such changes and trends, do
they have enough capacity to cope with such
unpredictability?
Methodology
Study area
Bolipara is a union (smallest local government unit)
of Thanchi upazila (longitude 21º78’, latitude 92º42’)
of Bandarban in the Southeastern corner of
Bangladesh. This union consists of more than 30 para
or villages, with an estimated more than 10,000 people.
Marma is the most dominant ethnic community in this
area, followed by Chakma; other communities include
Khumi, Mro and Tripura. Jhum (shifting cultivation or
slash and burn cultivation) is the traditional method of
crop production in this area. Livestock rearing also
makes up a significant proportion of livelihoods of the
communities25. Numerous traditional, religious and
cultural rituals and norms bind these societies together.
In the recent past, the CHT was blessed with semievergreen forests; but extensive deforestation has
reduced the tree cover significantly. Basic,
chronological weather information of the study area is
not available as there is no meteorological station in
Thanchi upazila or Bandarban district (the nearest
station is in Rangamati district). Compared with the
entire country, Thanchi upazila tribal communities
suffer from a high proportion of extreme poverty, with
very low food security, very low supplies of safe
drinking water, inadequate sanitation facilities, a very
low literacy rate, and high in-migration and
displacement by non-tribal people– all suggesting a
relatively low capacity of people to face hazards and
natural disasters26-28. It is for this reason that the area
was focused on for the study.
Data collection
1. Disaster trends: What are the natural hazards
people have been facing over the last 10 yrs?
2. Disaster forecasting: How do people
traditionally know when hazards (major
disturbance events) are coming or are
transforming into disasters (or devastating
events)?
3. Disaster preparedness: What do people
traditionally do to prepare themselves for such
disasters? How effective are these measures?
4. Climate variability: Are people aware of any
changes in timing, frequency and intensity of
climate-related disasters?
To understand the local ethnic communities’
hazard perception and disaster management
knowledge and practices, two focus group discussions
(FGDs) were conducted in August 2010, with
participation by representatives of 62 randomly
selected families (including 18 female participants)
from nine villages. About 60% of the participants
were over 50 yrs of age, while 30% were between 35
and 50 yrs. Staff members of a local, indigenous, nongovernmental organization introduced the authors to
the knowledge providers and worked as interpreters to
gather information. Prior informed consent (PIC) was
taken from the knowledge providers before collecting
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INDIAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL. 10, No. 1, JANUARY 2011
information and the compiled information was shared
with them in their local language. The participants first
identified major natural hazards they face in their area.
Then they recalled these hazards over the last 10 yrs
(2000-July 2010) and assessed the severity of each
hazard against a scale of 1 (minimum) to 5
(maximum). The frequency and severity of hazards
were further validated by allowing the participants to
rate recent disasters as well as changes in timing and
frequency of such events (disaster calendar). This
helped to capture the unpredictability of disasters under
the current climate variability and climate change
regime. The impacts of these disasters on people’s
lives, assets, livelihoods, health and natural resources
were identified. Traditional means of predicting and
preparing for disasters were listed from the discussions
among the knowledge providers. Disaster preparedness
includes measures by which people’s lives, food,
livestock, crops in the field, fish in ponds, water
sources, infrastructure (houses, shelters, schools &
roads), etc. are protected or loss and damage
minimized. Effectiveness of these measures was also
assessed by the participants.
Results and discussion
Disaster trends
Seventeen different types of natural hazards or
major disturbance events were identified by the local
communities. Figures 1a-h show the occurrence of
these hazards, sometimes as major disasters, since
2000, up until July 2010, along with a rating of their
severity. Disasters – including high temperatures,
drought, torrential rainfall, flash floods, hailstorms,
insect attacks on humans, diseases of livestock, pest
attacks on crops, high weed infestation in jhum fields,
and earthquakes – have shown significant increase in
intensity in the recent years. The risk of landslides is
always very high in this area. Cyclones and floods
showed moderate intensity, whereas cold waves and
thunderstorms showed moderate to high intensity over
the last decade. Flash flooding showed a cycle of 4-5
yrs; the same could be seen in the occurrence of
thunderstorms. Attacks from wild boars used to be high
in the past, but not within the time frame of the study.
It is said that, rat attack is related to bamboo flowering,
thus its peaks at regular intervals are expected.
However, it was mentioned in the discussion that,
previously, rat attacks used to occur at 15-20 yrs
intervals, but now occur at 8-10 yrs intervals. In the
CHT, the most recent bamboo flowering event took
place in the late 200729. Table 1 tabulates the observed
Figs.1a-h.Severity of 17 natural hazards from 2000 to July
2010 in Bolipara union; a-d, hydro-meteorological hazards; e-g,
biological hazards; h, geological hazards. Severity ranking
ranges from 1 (minimum) to 5 (maximum) while 0 is absence of
a hazard. Kalboishakhi, a type of storm takes place in AprilMay; Flash floods, sudden and short duration surge of water
over an area due to heavy rainfall at higher altitude; Floods,
water-logged condition in the valleys of study area after heavy
rainfall or flash flood; Jhum, shifting or slash and burn
cultivation; Rat attacks, result of extraordinary increased in rat
population (locally called idur bonna literally means ‘rat flood’)
after long intervals.
IRFANULLAH et al.: DISASTER MANAGEMENT BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF BANGLADESH
83
Table 1Hazards turning into disasters: impacts on lives and resources in Bolipara
Hazards
Very high temperature/ Heat waves
Impacts of disasters
1. Increased occurrence of diseases like diarrhoea and malaria, leading to increased medical
expenses
2. Crop damage (e.g. bitter gourd, bottle gourd, cucurbits, paddy and snake gourd), thus reduced
food production in the locality
Severe cold/ Cold waves
1.
2.
3.
4.
Increased suffering of children from coughs and colds
Death of livestock
Crop damage, including rotting of pumpkins and other cucurbits
Reduced household income due to fewer outside jobs
Heavy rainfall
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Increased flooding
Increased landslides
Crop damage (e.g. banana, paddy, tobacco, and jhum crops as a whole)
Damage to arable land due to mud deposition
Inundation of ponds leading to reduced fish stock
Drought
1.
2.
3.
4.
Increased occurrence of skin disease and diarrhoea
Reduced supply of drinking water
Crop damage (as above) leading to reduced crop production
Less water for irrigation; difficulties in cultivation
Flash floods
1.
2.
3.
4.
Death of humans and livestock
Increased landslide
Damage to water sources
Crop damage (whole jhum cultivation)
Floods
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Increased occurrence of water-borne diseases like diarrhoea and dysentery
Destruction of roads, cultivable land and water sources
Crop damage (e.g. banana, paddy, tobacco, and jhum crops as a whole)
Overflow of ponds causing fish loss
Increased insect infestation (e.g. mosquito)
Cyclones/ Kalboishakhi
1. Damage to human, houses, shops, livestock, trees, wild boars, etc.
2. Crop damage (as above) leading to low food availability in the locality
Hailstorms
1. Injury to humans
2. Crop damage (as above), reducing food production and increasing food prices
Thunderstorms
1. Injury to humans and livestock
2. Damage to field crops and trees
Insect attacks on humans
1. Human diseases and disorders, like swelling of limbs and eyes, and sore at bitten area
Diseases of livestock
1. Death of many cattle within a very short time
2. Disease spread among domestic animals and also to humans
Pest attacks on crops
1. Damage to jhum crop; it leads to low food production, thus low income
Severe weed infestation in jhum field
1. Low food production
2. Low productivity of land
3. Increased production cost
Rat attacks
1. Crop damage (jhum crops) thus less food availability in the locality
2. Rats enter into the house and damage household materials, food and other important items
Wild boar attacks
1. Damage to humans, crops and houses
Earthquakes
1.
2.
3.
4.
Increased occurrence of landslide
Death and injury to humans and livestock
Damage to houses and roads
Reduced supply of water to drink and for irrigation; reduction of pond water
Landslides
1.
2.
3.
4.
Death and injury to humans
Damage to crops (jhum and other crops) and trees
Damage to crop field from mud deposition
Destruction of roads thus increased expense for road construction
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INDIAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL. 10, No. 1, JANUARY 2011
consequences of the disasters. Major impacts include
severe crop damage, loss of arable land, death and
injury of people and livestock, increased occurrence of
diseases, and damage to water sources and
infrastructures. These impacts thus result in higher food
insecurity, reduced household level income, inferior
health conditions, and weaker local economy – on both
a short- to a long-term basis.
Traditional disaster forecasting
The indicators of traditional forecasting of disasters
by the communities of Bolipara can be broadly
divided into two categories: hydro-meteorological and
biological (Table 2). Some forecasting signs are quite
straightforward. For example, high temperatures and
humid conditions indicating heavy rainfall, heavy
rainfall resulting in floods, good jhum production
signalling more wild boar attacks, and fruiting of
bamboo as a sign of increased rat attacks. On the
other hand, there are less obvious indicators as well,
such as very high production of jhum as an indicator
of severe cold and floods in the succeeding months.
Some forecasting indicators observed by Bolipara
community are similar to those in other areas, like
birds flying to and fro restlessly and dogs barking
abnormally before cyclones15. Some signs are very
specific and exact, like the movement of ants
(Table 2): in the case of hailstorms ants only climb up
houses, in the case of cyclones or kalboishakhi, they
only cross roads, but in the case of heavy rainfall they
do both. Similar critical indicators can be seen for
other indigenous communities as well. For example,
members of the Rakhain community of Cox’s Bazar,
Bangladesh predict heavy rainfall in the monsoon by
checking one of three rings on the leg of a toad
species – if the 1st ring turns red then it will rain
during 1 June-10 July; if it is the 2nd ring that turns
red, then it will rain from 10 July to 15 August; but if
the 3rd ring turns red, the heavy rain will occur from
15 August to 15 October14. Some communities in
coastal Bangladesh can predict if a cyclone will be
devastating with a tidal surge by following the
changes in wind direction (a total of eight wind
directions are possible)8. Similar observations can be
found in other parts of the world: in Vietnam, for
example, flying heights of dragonflies indicate rain,
sun or cloudy weather30.
Traditional disaster preparedness
The traditional disaster preparedness measures
observed by the communities in the study can be
divided into three main categories: infrastructural,
cultural and resource management, and ritual
(Table 3). Like disaster forecasting, some of these
preparations are very rational, like covering roof with
sun grass to insulate houses against extreme heat and
torrential rainfall or surrounding a pond with a net to
save fish from inundation. But singing and dancing,
or celebrating a marriage between frogs and chickens
to bring rain, or dancing around dead cattle to save
others from death, highlight the relationship to less
tangible aspects based on communities’ belief system.
The effectiveness of some preparedness measures was
assessed. According to the knowledge providers, the
singing and dancing, and the marriage between frogs
and chickens, are effective in ending hot, rainless
weather. However, it was also noted that earlier, it
used to rain within two weeks after these rituals were
performed, but now it rains only within one month.
The effectiveness of other rituals, such as those
related to livestock diseases, was usually not
evaluated by them. Interventions like storing
rainwater on the uphill slopes, making channels or
embankments to divert floodwaters, and netting ponds
to hold fish during floods were found to be very
effective in practice. The rainwater harvesting in
particular is useful in two ways. Firstly, the holes
excavated on hill slopes catch rain/flash flood waters,
thus reducing water flow to the crop fields and saving
crops from inundation. Secondly, the harvested water
can be used later to irrigate jhum crops at different
elevations with minimal effort in transporting water.
Other measures to mitigate hazards and disasters,
like the early harvesting of crops, covering fruits in
the field and on the tree, placing thicker layers of
grass on roofs, not building houses and schools next
to hills, increasing the height of pond banks, and
building higher roads and stronger houses, have been
shown to be highly effective. Using mandar
(Erythrina variegata) for living fences, rearing dogs
to ward off wild boars, and treating insect bites with
neem (Azadirachta indica) paste are also very
effective. Rat attacks are locally known as idur bonna
or ‘rat flood’; no measure is effective in preventing or
lessening this particular disaster, which can be very
severe. All the four measures against pest attacks on
crops are somewhat effective, but by no means
completely so. Similarly, although stronger houses are
built as a measure to avoid earthquake damage, this is
only partially effective. A few measures used in
Bolipara are also common elsewhere in Bangladesh,
both among plain lands as well as other ethnic
IRFANULLAH et al.: DISASTER MANAGEMENT BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF BANGLADESH
85
Table 2Traditional disaster forecasting by the ethnic people of Bolipara
Hazards
Traditional forecasting of disasters
Hydro-meteorological
Very high temperature/
Heat waves
Severe cold/ Cold waves
Heavy rainfall
Drought
Flash floods
Floods
Cyclones/ Kalboishakhi
Hailstorms
Thunderstorms
Insect attacks on humans
Diseases of livestock
Pest attacks on crops
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Severe cold in preceding winter
•
•
•
Very low rainfall
•
•
•
•
Less crop production
•
Ants climbing houses and crossing roads in
lines 1-2 days before heavy rainfall
•
Increased occurrence of diarrhoea and
dysentery
Excessive rainfall
•
Coming down of wild boar and wild cock
(usually do not come down) from hills
•
•
•
•
•
•
Heavy rainfall
•
After very good crop (mainly rice)
production
•
•
•
Dogs barking abnormally
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Clouds roaring like sea
•
Ants climbing houses in lines
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Increased weeds
Sudden rainfall
Dried up water sources
Winter comes 2-3 months early (in November)
High temperature and humidity
Wind moves from south to north in April to May
People are thirstier than normal
Very high production of jhum
A year is divided into three parts: if it rains less in the
first two, then it will rain heavily in the last part
Dried up hilly streams
Irregular rainfall
Very strong wind for 3-4 days
High temperature
Fast moving clouds in the sky
No wind for 5-6 days, thus no movement of
leaves on the tree
Black stripes in the sky before rainfall
Birds flying to and fro unusually
Ants crossing roads in lines
Very hot and humid condition for 3-4 days
Clouds rumbling heavily
During heavy rainfall
Sky becomes very dark
Heavy rainfall
High temperature after heavy rainfall
High temperature in winter
During low rainfall
Rat attacks
Wild boar attacks
Landslides
Salt deposition on people’s body when work
Wind moves from north to south
Severe weed infestation in
jhum field
Earthquakes
Biological
•
•
Very hot weather
•
•
•
After earthquake
Less rainfall
Sudden rainfall
Continuous sunshine
•
•
•
•
High jhum production
Healthy animals die suddenly
Plants become dry while remaining green
Low crop production
Increased insect attack
When the bamboo flowers and its fruits
ripen
When jhum crops ripen
When jhum production is good enough
Birds flying to and fro unusually
Dogs barking abnormally
INDIAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL. 10, No. 1, JANUARY 2011
86
Table 3Traditional disaster preparedness measures taken by the ethnic communities of Bolipara
Hazards
Very high
temperature/ Heat
waves
Traditionally disaster preparedness measures
Infrastructural
Cultural & Resource management
1. Spreading sun grass on the roof of tin- 1. Planting trees around houses
shed houses
2. Storing water
2. Putting an additional ceiling made of 3. Drinking more water
bamboo
Severe cold/ Cold
waves
Heavy rainfall
1.
2.
3.
4.
Drought
1.
1.
2.
3.
Spreading sun grass on the roof of tin- 1.
shed houses
Make pond banks higher and putting net
around the pond so that fish cannot
escape
Building channels/dams by crop fields
to drain/hold excess rain water before
entering into the fields
Excavating holes on hill slopes at
different altitudes to catch rain water to
use later for irrigation
Excavating reservoirs to store water
1.
2.
3.
Flash floods
1.
2.
3.
Floods
Cyclones/
Kalboishakhi
Hailstorms
Thunderstorms
1. Constructing strong houses
2. Building roads higher than flood level
3. Building embankment by crop fields to
stop flood water entering into the fields
4. Making pond banks higher and putting
net over the pond so that fish cannot
escape
4.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Ritual
1. Singing and dancing
for rain
2. Giving marriage
between frogs and
chickens
Early harvesting of jhum crops
Children wearing thick dresses
Covering domestic animals with jute bags
Harvesting some crops (e.g. gourd,
cucurbits and papaya) earlier so that they
will not rot
Cultivating jhum early
Boiling water before drinking
Eating and preserving all fish before
ponds dry out
Moving to plain land
People and cattle moving to the school
for shelter
Not building houses and schools beside
hills
Harvesting jhum crops early
Building houses away from hills
Collecting ripen jhum fruits
Collecting paddy of the lower fields
earlier
Storing drinking water
1. People and domestic animals returning
home for shelter
2. Collecting ripen jhum crops and fruits
from homestead gardens
3. Storing drinking water
1. Put thick layer of weed and sun grass on1. People and domestic animals returning
roofs
home for shelter
2. Covering fruits on the tree with jute bags
3. Covering jhum fruits with sun grass and
straw
1. Waiting under trees while working in the
field
2. Staying in houses
Contd.
IRFANULLAH et al.: DISASTER MANAGEMENT BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF BANGLADESH
87
Table 3Traditional disaster preparedness measures taken by the ethnic communities of BoliparaContd.
Hazards
Traditionally disaster preparedness measures
Infrastructural
Insect attacks on
humans
Diseases of livestock
Pest attacks on crops
Severe weed
infestation in jhum
field
Rat attacks
Wild boar attacks
Earthquakes
Landslides
1. Making houses with sun grass and
bamboo
Cultural & Resource management
1. First wash the wound with quicklime
water, then apply paste of neem
(Azadirachta indica) leaves
1. Burying dead animals in the ground
Ritual
1. Inviting people from
neighbouring areas,
praying to gods for no
further attack, dancing
around the dead
animal and eating it
2. Worship in the temples
and donate money, rice
etc. to orphans, poor
and destitute living in
there
1. Removing dead plants
2. Spreading water containing neem extract
from boiling
3. Spreading water mixed with quicklime
4. Spreading water mixed with dung of cow
and wild boar
1. Weeding regularly
2. Reducing application of chemical
fertilizer
1. Cutting down bamboo clumps near jhum
area and houses
2. Spreading rat repellent on bamboo
clumps
3. Rearing cats in the house
1. Putting dry, thorny/bushy plants like
jujube (Zizyphus sp.) and mandar
(Erythrina variegata) around jhum area
or planting them around the crop field
2. Rearing dogs in the house
1. Moving people to plain land
1. Moving people and cattle to plain land
2. Not building houses by hills
communities. For example, building an additional
ceiling of bamboo beneath the tin-shed roof to reduce
heat in the houses (as well as providing extra storage
space for seeds and other assets)20 or planting trees
around houses to keep them cooler, are well-known
practices. In addition, some preparedness measures
may not be ‘traditional or indigenous knowledge’
(passed on from generation to generation) in the true
sense, but rather can be defined as ‘local knowledge’
(what people of an area know that is useful for them
in their lives)31. Some activities in Bolipara, like
boiling drinking water to reduce spread of diarrhoea,
are recent inclusions into everyday practice.
Similarly, regular weeding and reduced application of
chemical fertilizers to tackle weed invasion in jhum
fields are found to be very effective, especially over
the last 3-4 yrs.
Climate and unpredictability
Table 4 shows people’s understanding of the
timing of disasters in the recent years. Some disasters,
like heat waves, hail storms, and floods, show
irregularity in their timing, and are thus unpredictable.
But some other hazards are coming earlier than
formerly. Regarding frequency and intensity, as
shown in Figs 1a-h, most of them are more intense
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INDIAN J TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE, VOL. 10, No. 1, JANUARY 2011
and occur more often in recent times. Regarding
coping with unpredictability of some disasters, people
did not indicate any specific plans apart from usual
preparatory measures (Table 3). This situation has
two aspects. Since people have traditional ways of
forecasting disasters, disasters are not necessarily
‘unpredictable’ to them per se. Therefore, the steps
they used to take earlier could still be effective under
changing climate. On a less positive note, people may
not have the capacity to predict the uncertainty
effectively. In this study, the effectiveness of
traditional disaster prediction was not tested. Without
such assessments it is difficult to conclude the extent
of the threat climate change will pose to the lives of
these indigenous communities.
Disasters and institutional capacity
In Bolipara, no traditional system or body exists to
organize or implement disaster preparedness planning
or to organize emergency response if disasters
happen. The communities also do not have any
traditional warning system to alert people to a
possible disaster. In Bangladesh, a union (the smallest
local government unit) must have a Union Disaster
Management Committee (UDMC). Such a committee
is the body responsible for disaster management at the
local level. Like many other unions of Bangladesh,
the Union Parishad (elected local Government body
of a union) and its UDMC in Bolipara are not
proactive enough. External agencies in the form of
non-governmental organizations or projects are also
not working in the area to prepare the people for
disasters. A couple of years back some funding was
disbursed in the area to cover some damage from a rat
attack or idur bonna, but this is only one rather
limited instance of external support. Use of new
technologies for disaster management is limited to
mobile phone at the moment. This service is also a
very new addition to the CHT as the area was
previously outside of mobile phone network coverage
because of a government decision related to the
recent-past political situation in the area. Therefore,
overall institutional disaster management capacity is
limited in the study area.
Conclusion
Due to the hilly topography, low food security, low
literacy rate, changes in demography (proportions of
tribal and non-tribal populations), and political
situation, the indigenous people of the CHT are
vulnerable to certain hazards and disasters, some of
Table 4Perception of the people of Bolipara on the change in
onset of hazards in the last 3-5 yrs
Hazards
Starting time
Early
No change Late
Year-round
Very high temperature
Severe cold
Heavy rainfall
Drought
Flash floods
Floods
Cyclones
Hailstorms
Thunderstorms
Insect attacks on human
Diseases of liverstock
Pest attacks on crops
Severe weed infestation
Rat attacks
Wild boar attacks
Earthquakes
Landslides
which may increase in frequency and intensity with
global climate change22. The present study did not try to
assess in depth the reasons behind increasing
vulnerability of these people to certain disasters, but
some of these are obvious. For example, the increased
frequency of landslides in the CHT is mostly due to
extensive loss of vegetation cover on the hills. The
development of unplanned settlements on and at the
base of the hills increases people’s vulnerability and
susceptibility to landslides from heavy rainfall and
earthquakes. It is hoped that the CHT and its indigenous
people will receive their due attention in the climate
change adaptation discussions and initiatives in
Bangladesh23. Some learning from this study can be
useful in future planning and action.
1. Traditional disaster management by ethnic
communities needs to be included in disaster and
adaptation research agendas. Usefulness of some
traditional forecasting and preparedness measures
could be validated for replication.
2. Promotion of new risk reduction options needs to
consider local traditions and norms to ensure their
acceptability by the local people and their
sustainability in the area.
3. Customary social and religious institutions/bodies of
the CHT need to be strengthened for more effective
disaster management. This is particularly important
considering climate variability and unpredictability
IRFANULLAH et al.: DISASTER MANAGEMENT BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF BANGLADESH
in the coming years. The members working with
these institutions may be trained in both traditional
and formal knowledge and skills so that they can
receive the benefits of both knowledge systems.
Acknowledgement
Authors thank the knowledge providers of Bolipara
for sharing valuable information on traditional
disaster management. Tremendous support from
Bolipara Nari Kalyan Somity (BNKS), Bandarban,
especially its staff Sewi Ting, Ubanu Marma and
Ushanu Marma, during the study is sincerely
acknowledged. Thanks are also due to IUCN for its
support in conducting this investigation. The views
expressed here are the authors’ own, and not
necessarily reflect that of Practical Action or IUCN.
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