How Do Vulnerable People in Bangladesh Experience Environmental Stress From Sedimentation in the Haor Wetlands? An Exploratory Study

Abstract The haor landscape is a wetland ecosystem in northeast Bangladesh, comprising shallow depressions that undergo large changes in water inundation between the monsoon and dry seasons. Sediment is supplied to the haor from rivers originating in the adjacent Shillong Plateau, and can adversely affect these largely arable agricultural lands. The critical adverse effects of changing hydrology and enhanced sedimentation due to anthropogenic change include the reduction of natural water storage capacity, changes in the timing and magnitude of floods, and increasing loss and damage to crops, which consequently affect the livelihoods of wetland dwellers. This study employs a mixed‐methods approach to investigate how sedimentation has affected the livelihoods of the residents and the pressures they experience. Cross‐sectional surveys and…