A household survey led by inhabitants
The ENGAGE4Sundarbans SoR4D project team is conducting a household survey involving a sample of approximately 380 households in Kumirmari (India) and in Assashuni (Bangladesh). The purpose of the survey is to assess the risks to sustainable livelihoods in the Sundarban delta, a region facing significant environmental challenges. The questionnaire was collaboratively designed by the project team members in partnership with community members, ensuring that the survey reflects local concerns and priorities.
As the house hold survey was a quantitative approach, the bias of the ethnographic distanciation was not required, and gave an opportunity to involve the community members in the research process, also practised with citizen sciences. The questionnaire was operated on an app’ loaded on the inhabitant interviewer smartphone. The interviewers received a training to revise the questionnaire they had built with the larger reseacher group and to learn how to use the app as they have never used such digital tools before.
A unique aspect of the ENGAGE4Sundarbans project is the inclusion of “inhabitant interviewers”—a group of four women and three men from Kumirmari village in the Indian Sundarbans—who have emerged as active participants in the research process. This group was not initially planned but became involved as a result of the project’s flexible and participatory approach. The prior activities, conducting ethnographic surveys and collecting data on agroecological practices (e.g., inland fishing, integrated farming) has given the inspiration to pursue the household survey with the support of our on-site team members, who are inhabitants of the place and became the “inhabitant-interviewers”. This research practise demonstrates a shift from conventional Trans-disciplinary (TD) research practices that rely on external facilitators or intermediaries.
The engagement of these inhabitant interviewers highlights a new approach to TD research that redefines traditional positionality and intermediation. It brings the research process closer to the community, allowing local perspectives and lived experiences to shape data collection and interpretation. By enabling community members to take on the role of interviewers, the project not only empowers them but also fosters mutual trust and ownership of the research outcomes.
The ENGAGE4Sundarbans project exemplifies the principles of transdisciplinary research collaboration—interaction, communication, and mutuality—by involving local stakeholders in a meaningful way. This collaboration integrates place-based, situated adaptive practices (SAPs) with broader scientific strategies to promote agroecological transitions in the global South. Through this approach, the project aims to support social resilience and local livelihoods, discouraging managed retreat from the climate-vulnerable Sundarban delta.
In addition to collecting valuable data, the use of inhabitant interviewers challenges the conventional hierarchy of research roles, shifting the locus of action and agency from external facilitators to community mobilization. This inversion of roles offers new insights into the dynamics of facilitation, intermediation, and knowledge co-production in transformative TD research.
The presentation by Souradip Pathak, PhD student and field coordinator for IIT Khragpur, (see above) reflect on this innovative engagement, exploring the challenges and potentials of involving inhabitant interviewers in the research process. It provide reflexive epistemological perspectives from the field, highlighting how such social experiments can facilitate agroecological transitions and promote community resilience as an ultimate goal.
Insights from the Quantitative survey of Understanding riskscapes in Sundarbans delta in relation to environmental, socio-political and governance systems Study in Pratapnagar Union
Building Resilience in Disaster-Prone Rural Bangladesh: Insights from Pratapnagar Union
Bangladesh’s coastal communities frequently face the devastating impacts of climate change induced disasters. Our recent cross-sectional study in Pratapnagar Union explores these challenges, focusing on how households adapt, access resources, and prepare for future hazards. This research reveals critical insights into community needs, vulnerabilities, and resilience strategies.
A Snapshot of Pratapnagar Union
Pratapnagar Union comprises 20 villages, divided into 9 wards. Survey respondents, predominantly married adults averaging 41 years old, residing in this area on average 35 years. Households are small to medium-sized, with 76% having children under 18 and 7% including a disabled member. Nearly half (45%) of the households had at least one member with secondary education or higher. The average household size was 4.4 members per household, 19% of the households consisted of six or more members. The community’s livelihoods are diverse, ranging from non-agricultural day labor and fishing to shrimp farming, agriculture, and small businesses. Most families own their homes, though many live in unimproved structures. Electricity access is widespread (95%), and over half of the households have smartphones (55%) and internet access (53%). Livestock farming is prevalent, with households commonly raising ducks, chickens, and goats.
Livelihoods in Protapnagar
Majority of the households owned the land beneath their housing and a quarter of the households had land to grow cash crops. Agriculture remains vital, with two-thirds of households cultivating fish in ponds, a third practicing open-water fishing, more than half of the households grew vegetables, and less than a quarter had shrimp farms. Two thirds of the households included a family member who seasonally work outside of the village.
Access to banks and loans
Approximately half of the surveyed households had a bank account through one of the members of the family, and 95% of the households had a Mobile Financial Services (MFS) account. Households prefer to take a loan from an NGO (43% ever taken) or from someone outside family in community (38% ever taken) instead of taking a loan from the bank (11% ever taken) when they are in need.
Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Situation
Nine out of ten households on average had year-round access to safe drinking water, except for residents of ward-1, where only two-thirds of the households had access to safe drinking water throughout the year and went without safe drinking water for 5 months a year on average. Ninety percent of the households overall, and 74% households in ward-1 could collect water for their household use daily. The prevalence of self-owned toilet facility was 84% overall; however, only 33% households had access to improved (i.e.- sanitary or Pacca) toilet.
Access to primary health-care
More than 90 percent of the households had access to primary healthcare services within the study union; however, only 13% of the households were fully satisfied with the services they received at these local health care facilities. Two-thirds of the households believed that their health was being affected by environmental factors. Households had a poor access to education with respect to the highest level of education among the household; 5% of the households had no member with any formal education, 45% of the households had a member with primary to below secondary (SSC) level education and 45% of the households had at least one member attaining SSC+ level education.
Disaster Impacts
The natural hazards that most affected the participants’ households were cyclones (96%), riverbank erosion (81%), storm surges (46%), heavy rainfall (26%), floods (24%), and saline water intrusion (15%), ranked according to frequency of response. Disasters that most affect the livelihood of participants were cyclone (67%), riverbank erosion (66%), heavy rainfall (49%), heatwaves (32%), storm surges (26%), and floods (24%); and disasters that have most devastating effects on crops were riverbank erosion (36%), saline water intrusion (32%) cyclones (26%) heavy rainfalls (16%), storm surges, (10%), floods (10%), heatwaves (10%).
Disaster recovery
After a flood event occurs, two-fifths of the households require more than a year and 22% of the households reported to be unable to recover the damages sustained during the flood; similarly, 38% of the households reported to require more than a year after a cyclone strikes and 14% of households remain devastated indefinitely.
Cyclones impact 96% of households, disrupting livelihoods, damaging crops, and worsening living conditions. Following disasters like floods or cyclones, recovery can take over a year for many families, and some remain indefinitely affected. While 81% of households have access to cyclone shelters within 30 minutes, wards such as 2 and 9 lag behind. Only 18% of participants believe the current embankments provide adequate protection, with many suggesting alternatives like raising embankment heights, dredging rivers, and placing sluice gates.
Disaster shelter remain inaccessible to some sections of community
Eighty-one percent of the households had access to disaster shelter/cyclone shelter in the area (village/moholla) and 82% of the households could reach disaster/cyclone shelter within 30 minutes; however, access to disaster shelter was poorer in ward-9 and ward-2. Approximately 90% of the households received disaster/cyclone warning ahead of time and 9% of the households received any relief after the most recent disaster. Thirty-seven percent of the households receive any assistance from the local government during a disaster and 48% of the households receive support from any community welfare organizations during disasters, while 22% reported that they receive support from any NGOs. Disasters affect water sources (41% of the households reported) and sanitation systems (85% of the households reported) during the onslaught.
Community’s involvement in local governance
In terms of being a part of the local governance structure, 4% of the households reported to be involved in local politics, 2% had a household member being a member local government, 32% reported to be involved in local development and decision making.
Environmental Health and Climate Change
Environmental factors significantly impact community health, with two-thirds of households reporting related issues. Sanitation challenges are widespread; only a third of households use imd toilets. Participants also noted changing weather patterns, including rising temperatures, irregular rainfall, and more frequent extreme weather events. These changes have disrupted agriculture, with 27% of households ceasing cultivation of certain crops or fish species.
Preparedness and Community Involvement
Early warning systems and disaster preparedness are improving. Three-quarters of participants understand disaster warning signals, and 70% receive mobile alerts. However, only 17% know about helpline services during disasters, and less than half (47%) use social media to track hazards. Community engagement is strong, with 32% of households involved in local development and decision-making processes. Still, only 13% of participants felt that government initiatives were sufficient to address their needs.
Adaptivity of local community in the face of changing climate
The households that are involved in agriculture and require plant seeds, usually buy the seeds from market instead of producing themselves or collecting from others. Eighty-two percent of the households rear one or more livestock, the common livestock are ducks, chicken, and goats; and 66% of the households reared multiple species. A 21% of participating households consulted livelihood or agriculture experts and 13% received any training on livelihood/IGA (Income Generating Activities).
Path Forward: Strengthening Resilience
The study highlights urgent community needs: improved embankments, better roads, and robust disaster shelters. Investments in education, sanitation, and healthcare are equally critical. Long-term strategies should also focus on climate adaptation, sustainable agriculture, and enhancing local governance.
