Coastal fishers’ livelihood in peril: sea surface temperature and tropical cyclones in Bangladesh
Bangladesh is one of the most disaster prone countries of the world and here climatic events are considered an integral part of the social fabric. More than 3.5 million coastal peoples’ livelihood directly or indirectly depend on fishing and related activities under extremely difficult conditions, and their economic hardship is most likely to be aggravated by climate change and its manifestations in various means. This study undertakes to examine the probable linkage of the changing regimes in Sea Surface Temperature, Tropical Cyclones and related climatic hazards with the declining livelihood of the coastal fishers. Chapters of this study are organized into two sections, the first documenting the Sea Surface Temperature and Tropical Cyclones in the Bay of Bengal based on analysis of available climatic data between 1985 and 2009; and the second documents fishers’ own experience and perceptions of the changing climate based on analysis of survey data from ten coastal areas of Bangladesh.