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Does anthropogenic upstream water withdrawal impact on downstream land use and livelihood changes of Teesta transboundary river basin in Bangladesh?

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Abstract

This article evaluates the impact of upstream water withdrawal on downstream land use and livelihood changes in the Teesta River basin, using a combination of geospatial and social data. Results show that water bodies gradually decreased, indicating a low volume of water discharge from upstream of the Teesta River basin due to the construction of several barrages. During the study period, a significant change in the area of water bodies was observed between 2012 and 2016, from 881 to 1123 Ha, respectively. The cropland area increased because farmers changed their cropping practice due to water scarcity and floods. Trend analyses of riverbank erosion and accretion patterns suggest an increase in accretion rates compared to the rate of riverbank erosion. A household survey was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire where 450 respondents have participated (farmers: 200 and fishermen: 250). Survey results show that most of the farmers (65.5%) and fishermen (76.8%) think that the construction of upstream barrages caused harm to them. The majority of farmers and fishermen feel water scarcity, mainly in the dry season. We found that a large number of participants in the study area are willing to change their occupations. Furthermore, participants observed that many local people are migrating or willing to migrate to other places nowadays. Our study also found that farmers who face water scarcity in their area are more likely to change their location than their counterparts, while those who face problems in their cultivation are less likely to move. On the other hand, upstream barrages, fishing effects, and getting support in crisis significantly predict fishermen’s occupation changes. We believe our results provide essential information on the significance of transboundary water-sharing treaties, sustainable water resource management, and planning.

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Source: Bangladesh Meteorological Department

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Data availability

Data will be available upon request to the corresponding author.

Notes

  1. USGS (2016) Landsat 8 (L8) Data Users Book. United States Geological Survey.

  2. Boro rice refers to a method of rice cultivation that takes advantage of residual or stored water in low-lying areas following the harvest of Kharif rice.

  3. Vegetation contains mainly grassland and forests. Although settlement and vegetation surrounding building and road are included in vegetation class.

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Author notes

  1. Shrinidhi Ambinakudige

    Present address: Department of Geosciences, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS-39762, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Environment, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh

    Zia Ahmed, Piash Chowdhury & Md. Najmul Kabir

  2. BRAC James P Grant School of Public Health, BRAC University, Dhaka, 1212, Bangladesh

    Rafiul Alam

  3. Department of Applied Sociology and Social Work, North East University Bangladesh, Sylhet, Bangladesh

    Mufti Nadimul Quamar Ahmed

  4. Centre of Excellence for Climate Change Research/Department of Meteorology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia

    Mansour Almazroui & M. Nazrul Islam

  5. Climatic Research Unit, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

    Mansour Almazroui

  6. Department of Economics, Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, Sylhet-3114, Bangladesh

    Sakib Mahmud

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  1. Zia Ahmed
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Correspondence to Zia Ahmed.

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Ahmed, Z., Alam, R., Ahmed, M.N.Q. et al. Does anthropogenic upstream water withdrawal impact on downstream land use and livelihood changes of Teesta transboundary river basin in Bangladesh?. Environ Monit Assess 194, 59 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09726-3

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