Climate Crisis, Livelihood Vulnerability, and Human Health: A Study of Coastal Women in Bangladesh

As a mounting global crisis, climate change inflicts severe consequences on coastal regions worldwide. The adverse impact of global warming on livelihoods in coastal areas is a central policy concern in Bangladesh. Facing climate threats like cyclones and riverbank erosions, men and women in the coastal regions constantly experience ‘solastalgia’, a fear of dislocation from their place that acts as a livelihood vulnerability. Coastal women, often engaged in agriculture, aquaculture, and fishing, face significant losses due to shifting weather patterns, increased salinity, and extreme climate events. Resulting economic and social repercussions force women to adapt to hazardous circumstances to support their families. This empirical study delves into the intersections between climate-induced livelihood vulnerability and gendered health implications in the Global South, especially in Bangladesh. Primary data were collected by interviewing two doctors, a survey of 61 women, six case studies, and two focus group discussions in Shyamnagar area of Satkhira district. The study highlights the climate vulnerability of coastal women and shows that many of them are forced into dangerous and physically taxing work, such as shrimp fry collection from nearby rivers, to secure a livelihood that jeopardizes their health. It also finds that prolonged exposure to salty river water, rain, and heat causes these women to face multifarious health challenges such as skin diseases, respiratory ailments, malnutrition, and gynecological problems – that impact women's well-being as well as strain ill-equipped local healthcare systems. Furthermore, access to healthcare services in remote coastal regions is limited, making it difficult for women to address their health problems effectively. The study underscores the need for long-term, sustainable solutions to improve the lives of marginalized coastal women. This paper is expected to contribute to generating further theoretical and empirical discourses on health and livelihood vulnerability of coastal women in similar situations around the globe.