Comparative analysis of land-use pattern and socioeconomic status between shrimp- and rice- production areas in southwestern coastal Bangladesh: a land-use/cover change analysis over 30 years

The expansion of shrimp cultivation has changed the land-use pattern and had a negative effect on the coastal ecosystems of Bangladesh. This study aimed to examine how socioeconomic conditions have responded to the change in land-use patterns from rice to shrimp cultivation and vice versa. Satellite images were used to assess the land-use change over 30 years (1988–2017) in Khulna District. Paddy fields, the dominant land-use category (37.2% of total area) in 1988, declined continuously throughout this period to 8.8% in 2017. After 30 years, only 18% of the paddy fields present in 1988 remained, while others were converted to settlements/bare land, homestead gardens, and water bodies, which might be due to the expansion of shrimp cultivation. Therefore, two areas within Khulna, Tildanga and Kamarkhola, were compared to assess the responses to those changes. Primary data were collected by a structured questionnaire and soil testing. Shrimp cultivation was widely practiced in both areas from the 1980s until cyclone Aila hit in 2009. After 2009, 82% of the shrimp cultivators in Kamarkhola predominantly reverted to rice and other crop cultivation due to the decline in shrimp production. Their earnings were, on average, US$796 and US$125 to 3125 yr–1 household–1 from rice and other crop cultivation, respectively. In Tildanga, however, the earnings were, on average, US$531 from rice and US$1095 from shrimp, which is declining continuously.