For safeguarding human security in rural Bangladesh, people-centred development is at the core of discourse: focusing on self-reliance, community living, social justice, and participatory decision-making. Unfortunately, it is missing in the context of rural Bangladesh, writes Mohammad Tarikul Islam

Islam, Mohammad Tarikul

LSE Research Online

How	can	Bangladesh	utilise	human	security	for	ruraldevelopment?For	safeguarding	human	security	in	rural	Bangladesh,	people-centred	development	is	at	the	core	ofdiscourse:	focusing	on	self-reliance,	community	living,	social	justice,	and	participatory	decision-making.	Unfortunately,	it	is	missing	in	the	context	of	rural	Bangladesh,	writes	Mohammad	TarikulIslam.Human	Security,	a	non-traditional	security	approach,	primarily	refers	to	the	survival	of	individuals,community	and	even	the	global	world.	Without	a	doubt,	human	security	has	been	the	emerging	paradigm	forunderstanding	global	vulnerabilities.	Its	proponents	challenge	the	traditional	notion	of	national	security	by	arguingthat	the	proper	referent	for	security	should	be	the	individual	rather	than	the	state.Rural	community	development	in	Bangladesh	led	to	not	only	socioeconomic	improvement,	but	had	implicationsfor	social,	economic	and	environmental	systems.	However,	rural	development	in	Bangladesh	is	found	to	be	lessprogressive	as	most	community	based	organizations	are	reported	to	be	inactive.	Furthermore,	increasingcommunity	dependency	to	outsiders’	help	and	absence	of	community	perceived	development	has	contributed	tothe	underdevelopment	of	rural	Bangladesh,	resulting	in	human	insecurity	in	rural	Bangladesh.The	population	of	rural	Bangladesh	faces	critical	issues	of	social,	economic	and	environmental	sustainability	suchas	a	significant	decrease	of	water	supply	caused	by	significant	loss	of	water	resources,	recurrent	naturaldisasters	and	the	impact	of	climate	change.	These	issues	lead	to	significant	threats	to	agricultural	and	communitylivelihoods.	Bangladesh	is	a	disaster-prone	country	and	disaster	vulnerability	possesses	a	threat	to	humansecurity.	Human	security	is	at	risk	as	disaster	renders	the	community	without	food	or	shelter,	impoverished,diseased,	and	displaced.	It	is	apparent	that	the	national	disaster	management	institutional	structureacknowledges	the	importance	of	the	institutional	presence	up	to	local	level	for	comprehensive	disastermanagement.The	Union	Parishad	Disaster	Management	Committee,	an	ideal	platform	at	the	heart	of	community	people,	hasunderperformed	due	to	competency	issues	of	local	elected	representatives.	In	the	context	of	rural	Bangladesh,environmental	degradation	is	a	particular	case	of	consumption	or	production	externalities	reflected	by	divergencebetween	private	and	social	costs	(or	benefits).	The	Union	Parishad	(the	lowest	tier	of	the	local	government	inBangladesh)	over	the	years	has	been	confronted	with	numerous	problems	which	upshots	poor	management	ofenvironmental	security	in	rural	Bangladesh.Guava	seller	on	Kuriana	canal,	Pirojpur.	Photo	credit:	Muktar	Hossain,	CC	BY-SA	4.0South Asia @ LSE: How can Bangladesh utilise human security for rural development? Page 1 of 2		Date originally posted: 2017-10-23Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2017/10/23/how-can-bangladesh-utilise-human-security-for-rural-development/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/The	government	of	Bangladesh	is	striving	hard	to	ensure	access	of	her	rural	population	to	basic	health	care	andhealth	services	by	the	way	of	setting	up	primary	health	care	centres.	The	role	of	NGOs	particularly	BRAC	inpromoting	primary	health	services	for	mother	and	children	is	notable.	One	of	its	responsibilities	involves	providinghealth	security	to	the	rural	population,	which	is	a	challenging	task	given	that	only	approximately	35%	ofBangladeshis	live	in	cities	and	there	is	limited	infrastructure	and	a	lack	of	health	professionals	in	rural	areas.Whilst	the	Food	security	situation	in	rural	Bangladesh	has	somewhat	improved	over	the	years	but	furtherimprovements	on	access	and	utilisation,	need	to	be	sustainable	and	scaled	up,	which	requires	renewed	effortsfrom	the	government,	civil	society	organizations	and	the	development	partners.	However,	issues	of	governanceand	accountability	further	thwart	attempts	at	providing	targeted	safety	nets	and	price	stabilization.	The	UnionParishad	is	supposed	to	play	a	significant	role	in	ensuring	human	security	for	the	people	living	in	ruralBangladesh,	but	corruption,	poor	governance	and	lack	of	accountability	are	the	common	scenario	in	social	safetynet	programs	like	Vulnerable	Group	Development	(VGD),	Vulnerable	Group	Feeding	(VGF),	Old-age	Allowance,Widow	Allowance,	and	Disability	Allowance.Furthermore,	The	formal	justice	system	in	Bangladesh	is	under	tremendous	pressure	with	much	workload	andinadequate	number	of	officials	and	staff	to	dispose	the	cases.	As	a	result,	the	case	backlogs	add	up	to	theexisting	pending	cases	and	at	present	it	stands	at	about	half	a	million	cases.	Village	courts	under	the	UnionParishad,	have	been	the	alternative	and	reachable	podium	for	the	justice	seeker	in	rural	Bangladesh.	The	VillageCourts	Act	of	2006,	which	replaced	and	updated	the	Village	Courts	Act	of	1976,	provides	for	the	establishment	ofa	village	court	in	every	Union	Parishad.	A	related	criticism	of	the	village	court	is	that	it	has	little	appreciation	ofrule	of	law	and	serves	as	an	enforcer	of	often	retrogressive	norms.Community	policing	could	provide	an	aiding	vehicle	to	human	security	by	building	peace	and	ensuring	safety	andstability	in	the	rural	society	of	Bangladesh.	It	is	a	collaborative	effort	between	the	police	and	the	community	thatidentifies	problems	of	crime	and	disorder	and	involves	all	elements	of	the	community	in	the	search	for	solutions	tothese	problems.	Most	communities,	particularly,	those	located	in	rural	areas,	still	have	reservations	about	workingwith	police,	something	which	could	be	remedied	by	stronger	intervention	at	Union	Parishad	level.In	conclusion,	the	local	community	needs	to	both	lead	and	master	social	change.	While	NGOs	are	still	likely	to	bemost	concerned	with	the	essentials	of	improving	human	development,	becoming	involved	in	human	securityinitiatives	helps	to	strengthen	them	as	organizations	and	to	reinforce	and	extend	the	contribution	that	they	areable	to	make	to	the	people	with	whom	they	already	work.	What	we	perceive	at	last,	is	the	need	for	a	paradigmshift	from	the	government	from	imposing	development	into	facilitating	rural	development:	from	teaching	the	localpeople,	to	learning	together	with	them.	Mainstreaming	human	security	into	the	existing	mainstream	of	ruraldevelopment	approaches		therefore,	is	a	must.This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	the	South	Asia	@	LSE	blog,	nor	of	the	LondonSchool	of	Economics.	Please	read	our	comments	policy	before	posting.About	the	AuthorMohammad	Tarikul	Islam	is	Assistant	Professor	at	the	Department	of	Government	and	Politics,Jahangirnagar	University,	Bangladesh.	He	previously	worked	at	the	United	Nations	for	seven	yearson	projects	relating	to	local	governance,	democracy,	disaster	management,	the	environment	andclimate	change.	Mr.	Islam	is	currently	engaged	with	the	Centre	for	Climate	Change	Communication,George	Mason	University,	USA	as	an	Affiliate	Researcher.	He	can	be	reached	at	t.islam@juniv.eduSouth Asia @ LSE: How can Bangladesh utilise human security for rural development? Page 2 of 2		Date originally posted: 2017-10-23Permalink: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2017/10/23/how-can-bangladesh-utilise-human-security-for-rural-development/Blog homepage: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/

How can Bangladesh utilise human security for rural development?

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