Members’ Publication

Disasters are an uncertain and unavoidable event in nature, which affect adversely social, economic, environmental and humanitarian sectors. The main objective of the study is to identify a significant pattern of a certain disaster over time using Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) applications to understand its nature which will help to solve complex planning and management problem and decision making. It will provide a starting point for researchers on a direction of strategy making to reduce the damage. Obtaining Multi-temporal spatial data from Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) wavelengths and sensors, give a framework to pretend the nature of the disaster in GIS. Satellite covers a larger area than any other platform to analyze micro climate and damage detection in large scale natural disaster. This review paper will work as a tool for applying GIS & RS in disaster management. This technology can be utilized in some phase of a disaster management such as prevention, preparedness, relief, reconstruction, warming and monitoring and will create scope for further analysis for disaster management.

Faridpur is one of the 324 secondary and small towns in Bangladesh where more than 150000 people live and generate daily 55 tons solid waste. The municipality collects around 20 ton wastes from dustbins and kitchen markets and dispose crudely in roadside. The rest of the wastes disappear in drains, surface bodies and open places and creates foul environment, water logging and bring adverse threat to public health and environment. Practical Action supported Faridpur municipality to design and deliver a pilot scheme on integrated sustainable waste management which consider the whole waste service and value chain. The pilot project introduced door step waste collection services to 5100 households. A significant portion of collected wastes are transferred to a recycling plant by motorized three wheelers. The recycling plant has both aerobic and anaerobic treatment facility to produce organic fertilizer (2 tons/month) and biogas (180 m3/month). Monitoring system has been developed to maintain the standard and quality for marketing of compost and to assess the satisfaction of both waste collection service and compost users. The municipality hired a local private development agency named WORD (member of the coalition for Society for the Urban Poor) for operational responsibility and running services with income from waste collection fee and selling of compost and biogas. A multi stakeholders committee lead by Municipality has been formed and enhanced their capacity for monitoring, supervision and coordination of improve attempts to tackle waste problems. This pilot scheme has created at least 20 full time green jobs and reduces 91 ton carbon annually. Appropriate selection of private agencies and staffs, behavior changes of municipal dwellers for safe disposal of wastes, availability of land to establish recycling plant, certification of organic fertilizer, coordination among stakeholders, local capacity building is key challenging areas to promote integrated sustainable waste management.

Tree interception loss from two Mediterranean oak species, Quercus ilex (Q.i.) and Quercus pyrenaica (Q.p.), was estimated during 2-year period (1 October 2011 to 30 September 2013) in sparsely vegetated Sardon catchment (∼80 km2, Spain) by: i) rainfall, throughfall and stemflow measurements; ii) Gash model temporal extrapolation; and iii) remote-sensing spatial upscaling. The annual, measured tree interception losses (Im) of Q.i. and Q.p. in the first year were 51% and 16% of P (335 mm) and in the second, 46% and 10% of P (672 mm), respectively. The revised Gash analytical model of rainfall interception loss, extrapolated well the Im temporal variability of Q.i. and Q.p., provided the throughfall-based, and not Pennman-Monteith-based, average wet canopy evaporation rates were used. Finally, a novel method of spatial upscaling of a tree-based interception loss into plot- and catchment-scale, using per-species, reference tree interception loss and object-attributes derived from satellite imagery, was proposed. The interception losses from Q.i. and Q.p. were upscaled first into two homogeneous plots (1-ha each and both with ∼20% canopy cover), one with Q.i. and the other with Q.p. oaks and then into the entire Sardon catchment with ∼7% canopy cover. The obtained annual-mean, plot interception losses were 9.5% of P in evergreen Q.i. and 2.5% of P in deciduous Q.p. plot. The annual-mean catchment interception loss was 1.4% of P. The proposed upscaling method is expected to improve catchment water balances, replacing common arbitrary or literature based tree interception loss estimates.

This study attempts to analyze the beneficiary selection and allowance utilization of social safety net (SSN) programmes in Bangladesh through using field level primary data. It finds that SSN transfers are not always distributed among the poor and vulnerable people who deserve to receive the allocation for fighting against poverty and vulnerability. We find that more than half of the selected beneficiaries under SSN programme do not comply with one or more priority criteria of the programme. Sometimes, the compulsory criteria are also overlooked while selecting beneficiaries. Such a scenario urges for revising and monitoring the beneficiary selection process. The study findings also indicate that about 60% of the received allowance money is spent for purchasing food, which signals that people still remain in vulnerable situation even after taking shelter under the umbrella of SSN. Therefore, an initiative to increase in allowance amount, change in beneficiary selection procedure and intensification of monitoring might contribute to promote human rights and social protection in Bangladesh through facilitating right peoples’ access to SSN programmes and boosting up SSN allowance amounts for fighting against poverty and vulnerability.

This study explored the existing practices on menstrual hygiene management of the girls and women in rural Bangladesh. It has also depicted the associated effects against existing practices linking with school attendance, performance, affordability of menstrual products etc. The results of the study are retrieved using both quantitative and qualitative research methods i.e. questionnaire survey, focus group discussion, key informant interviews etc. Study revalued that 91% school girls use old unhygienic cloths while 9% use improved products. Above 90% girls dispose pads un-hygienically which is not environment friendly. Among the girls, 48% miss 3 or more days causing bad performance on their results. And, 86% girls reported that improved menstrual items are not affordable for them. Improper menstrual management is identified a barrier of women empowerment. For a way forward, integrating menstrual hygiene management interventions with relevant development programmes are recommended to improve the exiting state.