Living on the Edge

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxxiv

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2. Introduction

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1

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   2. Background, Approach, and Issues

      • Mohammad Zaman, Mustafa Alam

      Pages 3-11

3. The Delta and Charlands

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 13-13

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   2. The Delta Frontiers: History and Dynamics

      • Mohammad Zaman, Mustafa Alam

      Pages 15-24

   3. South Asian Chars as Destabilizers

      • Jenia Mukherjee, Kuntala Lahiri-Dutt

      Pages 25-40

   4. Dynamic Land and Adaptive People of Bengal Basin and Its Charland

      • C. Emdad Haque, Mohammad Jakariya

      Pages 41-56

   5. Char Dwellers’ Right to Development in Bangladesh

      • Indrani Sigamany, Jay Drydyk

      Pages 57-69

4. Chars in Bangladesh: The Geo-Physical Context

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 71-71

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   2. Geographical Perspectives on Riverbank Erosion, Charlands, and Floodplains

      • Harun Rashid, Munshi Khaledur Rahman

      Pages 73-87

   3. Application of Remote Sensing to Study the Behavior and Dynamics of Riverine and Coastal Chars

      • Iffat Huque, Maminul Haque Sarker, Knut Oberhagemann

      Pages 89-120

   4. The Morphology of Riverine Chars

      • Knut Oberhagemann, Maminul Haque Sarker, Iffat Huque

      Pages 121-140

   5. Formation and Dynamics of Coastal Chars in Bangladesh

      • Maminul Haque Sarker, Jakia Akter, Iffat Huque, Knut Oberhagemann, Md. Kamruzzaman Akand

      Pages 141-166

   6. The Soils of Charlands in Bangladesh

      • Hugh Brammer

      Pages 167-183

   7. Evaluating Future Threats of Climate Change on Riverine and Coastal Chars

      • Shampa, Anisul Haque, M. Ashiqur Rahman, Delowar Hossain, A. Alauddin Azad, Samsunnahar Mita

      Pages 185-211

5. Flood and Erosion Disasters: Coping Strategies and Survival

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 213-213

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   2. Floods, Charland Erosions and Settlement Displacement in the Ganges-Padma River Basin

      • Shafi Noor Islam

      Pages 215-225

   3. Coping Strategies of People Displaced by Riverbank Erosion in the Lower Meghna Estuary

      • Bimal Kanti Paul, Munshi Khaledur Rahman, Thomas Crawford, Scott Curtis, Md. Giasuddin Miah, Rafiqul Islam et al.

      Pages 227-239

   4. Role of NGOs in Post-Flood Rehabilitation in Chars

      • Babul Hossain

      Pages 241-251

   5. Flood Proofing to Reduce the Vulnerability of Char Communities: Experiences and Future Directions

      • Ian Tod, Monzu Morshed

      Pages 253-271

In Bangladesh, the chars within the river channels are an important part of its landscape. However, these land masses continue to remain isolated, deprived of services, and pockets of poverty in the country. The char dwellers are vulnerable to natural hazards like flood and erosion.  In addition to these hazards, the coastal chars are faced with the imminent problem of widespread inundation due to sea level rise resulting from climate change.


Within this context, the book Living on the Edge: Char Dwellers in Bangladesh has brought together valuable scholarship on the diverse issues relating to the chars and the communities living in there. This comprehensive collection, with contribution of experts on the subject from across the globe, provides an understanding of the problems faced by the char dwellers and also comes up with policy prescriptions for ensuring overall welfare of char communities in the country.

• Bangladesh
• Char dwellers
• Displacement/migration
• Livelihood
• Climate change
• Urban Geography and Urbanism

“This book will serve well those who seek to know what it is like for these dwellers to live in chars in the middle of our mighty rivers on their estuaries, and what it will take to improve their conditions.” (ATM Nurul Amin, The Daily Star, thedailystar.net, May 16, 2022)

• Hohai University, Nanjing, China

  Mohammad Zaman

• University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh

  Mustafa Alam

Mohammad Zaman is an international development/resettlement specialist and advisory professor, National Research Center for Resettlement, Hohai University, Nanjing, China. He carried out extensive ethnographic research on disaster and displacement in the Brahmaputra-Jamuna floodplain. For many years, his core research has been on char settlement, their economies and social organizations and how these have been historically shaped by the colonial and post-colonial land tenure and administration with regard to alluvial and diluvial lands. He is a Fellow of the Society for Applied Anthropology, and advisor to the Administrative Staff College of India, Hyderabad, India.


Mustafa Alam, a Professor (Retired) in Economics, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, has a rich background in research on issues relating to integrated water resources management. He participated as a professional team member in several Flood Action Plan study components in Bangladesh, where hisinvolvement in the multidisciplinary Charland Study figured prominently. Prof. Alam gained valuable experience about char life in the country through this study, whereby he carried out extensive fieldwork in numerous chars spread around all the major river systems of the country. Apart from miscellaneous reports he produced on issues relating to chars in Bangladesh, he has a number of valuable publications to his credit on the subject. Given this background, Prof. Alam’s role as an editor of this volume certainly adds value to the discourses contained in it.

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