This paper focuses on ‘autonomous adaptation’ and has one aim. It assesses the economic consequences of the failure effects of autonomous adaptation in response to extreme flood events. The study found that Bangladeshi farmers are highly resilient to extreme flood events, but the economic consequences of failure effects of autonomous crop adaptation on marginal farmers are large. The failure effects are defined as total input costs plus the small profit (otherwise) made from selling the small surplus remaining from subsistence needs. The total input costs increase with the number of flood events in the studied area. Total agricultural cost includes cost of seedlings, fertilizer, pesticides, land preparation, human labour and watering. The paper concludes that the economic loss accelerates food insecurity and could ultimately lead to human insecurity in Bangladesh, which could be exacerbated by the effects of climate change.
AdgerWNArnellaNWTompkinsEL (2005) Successful adaptation to climate change across scales. Global Environmental Change15: 77–86.
2.
AhmadQKAhmedAKarimZ (2004) Synthesis of manuals on community flood management in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. Asia Pacific Journal on Environment and Development11(1 & 2): 1–39.
3.
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) (1986) Small Area Atlas of Bangladesh: Mauzas and Mahallas of Jamalpur District. Dhaka: BBS.
4.
BaqeeA (1997) Coping with floods and erosion in Bangladesh Charlands. Asia Pacific Journal on Environment and Development4(2): 38–52.
5.
BBS (2006) Handbook Agricultural Statistics, Dhaka: Ministry of Agriculture.
6.
BrammerH (1997) Agricultural development possibilities in Bangladesh. Dhaka:, University Press Ltd–University Press Ltd.
7.
BurtonIDiringerEJoelS (2006) Adaptation to Climate Change: International Policy Options. Pew Centre on Global Climate Change. Available at: http://www.pewclimate.org/docUploads/PEW_Adaptation.pdf (accessed 26 November 2013).
8.
CurreyB (1979) Mapping areas liable to famine in Bangladesh. Unpublished PhD Thesis, Department of Geography, University of Hawaii.
9.
DowningT (2003) Toward a vulnerability/adaptation science: Lessons from famine early warning and food security. In: SmithJKleinRHuqS (eds) Climate Change Adaptive Capacity and Development, London: Imperial College Press, pp. 77–100.
IPCC (2007) Summary for policymakers. In: ParryMLCanzianiOFPalutikofJP (eds) Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 7–22.
12.
IslamMA (1990) Environmental perception and agriculture. In: HuqS (eds) Environmental Aspects of Agricultural Development in Bangladesh, Dhaka: University Press Ltd.
13.
IslamN (2001) The open approach to flood control: The way to the future in Bangladesh. Futures33(8–9): 783–802.
14.
KatesRW (2000) Cautionary tales: Adaptation and the global poor. Climatic Change45: 5–17.
15.
Malik A, Qin X and Smith S (2010) Autonomous adaptation to climate change: A literature review. Working Paper Series. Institute for International Economic Policy, Elliott School of International Affairs, The George Washington University, pp. 1–25.
16.
O’BrienKEriksenSSygnaL (2006) Questioning complacency: Climate change impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation in Norway. Ambio35(2): 50–56.
17.
ParryMLArnellNHulmeM (1998) Adapting to the inevitable. Nature395: 741–741.
18.
PaulBK (1984) Perception of and agricultural adjustment to floods in Jamuna floodplain, Bangladesh. Human Ecology12(1): 3–19.
19.
PoudelSNSharmaSK (2004) Manual for community-based flood management in Nepal. Asia Pacific Journal on Environment and Development11(1 & 2): 227–304.
20.
PrashadK (2004) Manual for community-based flood management in India. Asia Pacific Journal on Environment and Development11(1 & 2): 99–225.
21.
RasheedKBS (2008) Bangladesh: Resource and Environmental Profile. Bangladesh:, AH Development Publishing House–AH Development Publishing House.
22.
SenA (1981) Poverty and Famine: An Essay on Entitlements and Deprivation, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
23.
SmitBBurtonIKleinR (2000) An anatomy of adaptation to climate change and variability. Climatic Change45: 223–251.
24.
SmithersJSmitB (1997) Human adaptation to climatic variability and change. Global Environmental Change7(2): 129–146.
WarrickRKennyGJSimsGC (1996) Integrated model systems for national assessments of the effects of climate change: applications in New Zealand and Bangladesh. Water, Air and Soil Pollution92: 215–227.
Younus M (2010) Community-based autonomous adaptation and vulnerability to extreme floods in Bangladesh: Processes, assessment and failure effects. PhD Thesis, Geographical and Environmental Studies, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, The University of Adelaide, South Australia. Available at: http://digital.library.adelaide.edu.au/dspace/handle/2440/62746 (accessed 26 November 2013).
29.
Younus M (2011) Adaptation to Climate Change in Bangladesh: With Particular Reference to the Extreme Flood Events and Farmers’ Adjustments. Saarbrücken: LAP – Lambert Academic Publishing.
30.
YounusM (2012) Farmers household information in Bangladesh: Significant indicators for assessing vulnerability and adaptation. The Journal of Bangladesh National Geographical Association37(1 & 2): 1–20.
31.
YounusMBedfordRMoradM (2005) Not so high and dry: Examination of the patterns of ‘autonomous adjustment' to major flooding events in Bangladesh. Geography90(2): 112–120. Available at: www.geography.org.uk/Journals/Journals.asp?articleID=117 (accessed 26 November 2013).
32.
YounusMBedfordRMoradM (2007) Food security implications of failure of autonomous crop adaptation to extreme flood events: A case study in Bangladesh. Asia Pacific Journal on Environment and Development14(1): 19–39.
