The Socio-Economic Impact of the Freshwater Crisis in Mongla, Bangladesh
by
Abstract
Bangladesh is the lower country of three important international rivers1, which, along with rainfall and groundwater, are the main sources of freshwater of the people on the coast. However, the effects of climate change, such as salinity, arsenic, drought, and cyclone, have generated a severe water crisis. Moreover, the ineffective management and governance, rather than solving, aggravated it. Based on my fieldwork experience in 2016-17, I aim to investigate the role of each of these sources, as well as the socio-economic problems arising from the failure of the government and other stakeholders involved in water management, in Mongla, Bangladesh, to solve it. The water crisis produces social threats like unemployment, an increase of working hours for women, the lack of marriage, migration, reduced income, high medical costs and drop out of school.