Mangrove deforestation and disaster risk in coastal communities in Ayeyarwady Delta : a comparative study of two communities at risk | |
| Author | Wai Yar Lin Zin |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.DM-13-07 |
| Subject(s) | Disasters--Risk assessment--Myanmar--Ayeyarwady Delta Mangrove forests--Myanmar--Ayeyarwady Delta |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation and Management, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. DM-13-07 |
| Abstract | Ayeyarwady delta is the disaster prone area and has been facing mangrove deforestation with an alarming rate since the past 3 or 4 decades. Coastal vulnerabilities increase the coastal hazard risks such as storm surges (sea surges), coastal floods related to cyclone, inundation of high tide, and coastal erosion due to the lack of coastal protection. Mangrove forest plays a vital role as buffer zone between the shorelines and the residential areas of coastal communities. Loss of mangrove forest in the coastal area decreases the coastal protection function and increases the disaster risks and vulnerabilities to the coastal communities. Study has done through the comparative assessment of two communities at risks based on the mangrove deforestation and increase of disaster risks in which Community-I is rich in mangrove forest area nearby and Community-II is poor mangrove-forested area. The main objective is to study the long term changes of mangrove deforestation and disaster risks in coastal communities through a comparative assessment of two communities at risks in which the focal discussion points are long term changes of mangrove deforestation from 1974 to 2010, causes and consequences of mangrove deforestation, increase of disaster risks including vulnerabilities of coastal people and coastal vulnerabilities to natural disasters. The findings of the study reveal, during the 36-year period from 1974 to 2010, changes of mangrove forest have been rising up by the timeline in Ayeyarwady delta in which the encroachment increased from 8.69% to 77.66% of the total mangrove vegetation and it had decreased from 91.31% to 22.34% of the total mangrove area. Natural disasters affected mangrove deforestation are less than the human-induced pressures because natural disasters are not frequently occurring in the study area. Among the causal factors affected by the human-induced pressures, expansion of agriculture and over-exploitation of mangrove forests for fuelwoo consumption are influential factors. As consequences, there are scarcity of natural resources such as fuelwood crisis for household energy, scarcity of farm implements and fishing tools and decline for fishing practices. Because of changing mangrove forest overtime, the coastal vulnerabilities increase the risks in livelihoods insecurity of the coastal communities. The study concludes that lack of mangrove forest decrease the protective ability of the sea surges (storm surges)or coastal floods related to storm/cyclone or increase in inundation of high tide in the coastal region especially the along side of the coastline. Therefore, even though there is the same high risk of storm surges in the coastline area, dense mangrove forest area can reduce the degree of risk of waves. |
| Year | 2013 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. DM-13-07 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) + School of Engineering and Technology (SET) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Disaster Preparedness, Mitigation and Management (DM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Tadonki, Georges Richard; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Routray, Jayant Kumar;Vivarad Phonekeo; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Sweden; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2013 |