Governance Challenges in Addressing Climatic Concerns in Coastal Asia and Africa

M. Anwar Hossen, Md. Arif Chowdhury, Asha Hans, Cynthia Addoquaye Tagoe, Andrew Allan, Winfred Nelson, Amrita Patel, M. Shahjahan Mondal, Mashfiqus Salehin, Ruth M. Quaye and Shouvik Das
Additional contact information
M. Anwar Hossen: Department of Sociology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Md. Arif Chowdhury: Department of Sociology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Asha Hans: Department of Sociology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Cynthia Addoquaye Tagoe: Department of Sociology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Andrew Allan: Department of Sociology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Winfred Nelson: Department of Sociology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Amrita Patel: Department of Sociology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
M. Shahjahan Mondal: Department of Sociology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Mashfiqus Salehin: Department of Sociology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Ruth M. Quaye: Department of Sociology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
Shouvik Das: Department of Sociology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 7, 1-17

Abstract: Coastal people, especially those living within deltaic areas, encounter major climatic concerns which affect their livelihoods. To cope with this problem, different types of planned adaptation strategies have been implemented guided by laws, policies and programs. However, these guiding documents sometimes fall short of addressing the needs of climate-affected people, especially in natural resource-dependent societies in Asia and Africa. Based on this premise, this paper sought to evaluate the effectiveness of existing policy documents which affect the lives of people living in one large delta (Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna in Bangladesh), two medium-sized deltas (Indian Bengal delta—part of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Mahanadi in India), and a small-sized delta (Volta in Ghana). The study followed a mixed methods research design, which included desktop analyses of policies, laws and programs, a questionnaire survey conducted among individuals who played various roles in the policy and legal development processes at national and local levels and focus group discussions at the community level in the three countries. National laws, policies and programs were assessed in the context of climate change adaptation through three lenses: human rights, natural resource management and disaster response. Findings of this paper reveal that the existing documents have some strengths to promote adaptation, although they have some major limitations that cause concerns among the delta communities.

Keywords: climate change; delta; coastal people; governance; policy; livelihood; adaptation; Asia and Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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