CASE STUDY DESAKOTA PHENOMENON OBSERVED IN SATKHIRA-KHULNA- JESSORE-DHAKA CORRIDOR IN THE SOUTHWESTERN

In recent decades, Bangladesh has been observing a few significant changes in its demographic, economic, social and environmental state of affairs. The country has been rather successful in South Asian standard towards reducing population growth rate from about 3.5 per cent in the 1970s to below 1.6 per cent by 2005. However, the population density is the highest in the world, and about 51 per cent of the current population is still below reproductive age, the latter having a potential to further population growth. The economy has been growing over 5.5 per cent per annum during the past two decades. The success has been dampened by the facts that (a) over 12 million people are unemployed, (b) over 52 per cent of the population still finds employment in subsistent crop agriculture, and (c) over 23 per cent of the population belongs to hard core poor category (below 1US$/day). The skewed income distribution contributed to the accumulation of wealth by the rich, often the urban elites, while the poor are becoming increasing poor. The latter has given rise wide-spread food impoverishment and malnutrition. The environment in one hand is the cause of spreading poverty, while in the other it is a mere victim of overexploitation and degradation. The frequently occurring hydro-geophysical hazards and extreme weather events have been instrumental in reducing streams of ecosyste