Learning lessons from disaster recovery : the case of Bangladesh

Abstract

This report summarizes the findings of a country case study on Bangladesh, which is part of a ProVention Consortium initiative aimed at learning lessons from recovery efforts following major natural disasters. The ProVention Consortium is an international network of public, private, non-governmental, and academic organizations, dedicated in reducing the impacts of disasters in developing countries. The activity was managed by the Bank, and benefited from the guidance and conceptual inputs of a number of ProVention partners. Bangladesh was selected as a case study, given it is representative of a predominantly agricultural developing country, with high levels of rural poverty; in addition, it is extremely susceptible to natural hazards, especially floods. A particular focus of this study has been on the recovery of poorer households, as these households are usually most in need of external support following major natural disasters. This report focuses on lessons from the recovery period following the 1998 floods. Bangladesh is a country highly vulnerable to a number of hazards, including cyclones, droughts, flooding and earthquakes. Furthermore, the report also highlights the severe flooding experienced during the 2004 monsoon season, and the December 26, 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean that also affected Bangladesh's coastline. As indicated in this study, the impacts of these events suggest that several factors continue to contribute to the country's vulnerability to disasters, including rapid urbanization, population growth, inadequate maintenance of infrastructure systems, and poor environmental management. Main lessons learned from this study address policy and planning, and best ways to supporting livelihoods. Greater attention needs to be paid to the effect of recovery efforts on different groups among the poor, including female-headed households. Some of the areas that need greater attention are: the effects of food imports and agricultural credit on agricultural labor wage rates; the impact of infrastructure interventions on livelihoods; and the impact on gender inequality.