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Natural Disasters

"Inshallah" means "God willing" in Bangladeshi.  This word is used whenever people describe a future event or express hope for the future, and its use is indicative of lives full of uncertainty.  Part of this sense of insecurity is due to the frequency of natural disasters that threaten the economic gains the country has made.  Though these disasters are responsible for a loss of life in the short-term aftermath, the resulting increases in poverty and disease create an overall rise in fertility and therefore population growth.  The Grameen Bank has been able to operate effectively in the face of natural disasters and plays a major role in protecting the rural population from an economic collapse.

Exhibit 44 - River Systems

Floods are the most prevalent form of natural disaster in Bangladesh.  The country is criss-crossed with 230 rivers, and most of the land is very flat with local relief ranging between 1 and 2 meters. (Pramanik, 1994)  These characteristics provide ideal conditions for flooding, which can result from the combination of a number of contributing factors such as siltation, excessive rainfall upcountry, simultaneous peaks in the levels of multiple rivers, and human disturbances such as deforestation and the construction of roads and bridges.  Other influences can include tidal and wind effects and earthquakes.

Exhibit 45 - Flood History, 1962-1993

Floods normally occur in the Monsoon season each year, covering up to 30% of the land surface.  The people of Bangladesh have adapted to these conditions, for example breeding a strain of rice which can grow in flood conditions over twenty-foot deep.  These floods are considered beneficial to floodplain agriculture because blue-green algae that thrive in the floodwaters fix atmospheric nitrogen to the soil and therefore enhance the fertility of the soil.

Exhibit 46 - 1998 Flood Status Map

Catastrophic floods have occurred periodically that overwhelm the ability of the people and agricultural systems to adapt.  Such floods were recorded in 1787, 1830, 1926, 1938, and more recently in 1987 and 1988 when the floodwaters covered 40% and 62% of Bangladesh's total land area respectively.  Bangladesh is recovering from the worst flood of the twentieth century which occurred during the Monsoon season of 1998 and flooded over two thirds of the country's land area.  Maps, photographs, damages, Grameen's response, and case studies of the impact to Grameen members can all be found in 1998 Flood Zones.

Exhibit 47 - Cyclone Paths                      Exhibit 48 - Sea Level Rise

Other types of natural disasters regularly threaten Bangladesh. (Pramanik, 1994)

These natural disasters cost a huge toll on human life and productivity.  This impact comes in the form of:

Landless women face more risks from random catastrophes than others.  They usually have no resources to serve backup and provide for basic needs after a catastrophe.  Due to their observance of Purdah and their socialized passivity, women also tend to come last in the queue of distressed people waiting to get relief from aid agencies. Children are dependent on their mothers for food, so they are also deprived of relief goods.

Exhibit 49 - Early Grameen Territory                     

The Grameen Bank has successfully established centers within the floodplains.  The normal annual flooding does not disrupt the social fabric of the rural villages enough to destroy the social capital upon which the success of the Grameen Bank depends.  By 1982, the Grameen Bank had expanded out from Chittagong into four other areas: Rangpur, Tangail, Dhaka, and Patuakhali.  In choosing flood-prone areas such as Rangpur, Tangail and Dhaka for early expansion, Grameen showed its confidence in its ability to operate in floodplains.

Grameen's success factors in its operations have been consistency, transparency of information, trust and close relations with villages, and dedicated staff. Natural disasters have placed great stress on Grameen, yet internal struggles that threaten Grameen's key success factors have been the larger threat. (Bornstein, 1996)

The Grameen Bank has made strong contributions to the resilience of its members in the face of natural catastrophes.  The number of deaths, while tragic, is not catastrophically large in these disasters; the lasting damage done is economic. In addition to reacting to natural disasters after they occur, Grameen builds proactive protection for its members.  These activities preserve conditions that promote lowered fertility by protecting the incomes, health, and prosperity of Grameen's women members who are the hardest hit by natural disasters.  These reactive and proactive activities are described below:

Reactive

Proactive

High population density worsens the impact of natural disasters. For example, the health and wellbeing of more people are impacted by each local disaster. Relief supplies of food, water, and medicine must stretch further. People forced to build on marginal land due to population pressures are vulnerable to land erosion. Most importantly, the simultaneous economic devastation of ever increasing numbers of people makes Grameen's task of financial relief increasingly difficult.

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