Landslide, Agricultural Vulnerability, and Community Initiatives: A Case Study in South-East Part of Bangladesh

The landslide has become a common hazard in Bangladesh. The south-east and north-east part has been identified as one of the significant hotspots facing frequent landslide disaster. The location, frequency, and extremity of landslide hazards are mostly dependent on the combined effect of natural and anthropogenic activities. Human induced activities such as changes in the land-use patterns, deforestation, hill cutting, and unplanned infrastructural development influence and aggravate landslide disaster. Landslides significantly affect agriculture and agricultural activities, ultimately affecting farmers’ livelihood in hilly areas. This declines the socioeconomic conditions in the hilly regions, which will eventually affect the growth of the national economy. The local government has taken the endeavors of an integrated method comprising structural and non-structural measures to reduce landslide occurrence and sustain the national economic growth. Lack of proper land-use planning, lack of forecasting capacity, inappropriate policy, weak enforcement of local authorities, limited coordination between local government, and community people cause significant loss of lives, agriculture, and economic assets. A community-based approach might be very effective in managing landslide disaster. Here, in this chapter, we will focus on the causes and agricultural and socioeconomic vulnerabilities, and community initiatives and their mechanism to combat landslide hazard in the south-eastern part of Bangladesh.