Khulna is the third largest metropolitan city of Bangladesh with a population of 1.4 million with the Rupsha and Bhairab – the two major tidal rivers flowing on the east of the city. Due to unplanned and unregulated urbanization, urban and peri-urban residents have been facing acute water scarcity. Future projections indicate that it would be further affected by salinity intrusion and sea level rise due to climate change processes. This paper is based on the scoping study which was conducted to assess how urban and peri-urban residents of Khulna city have been suffering from problems related to water access and water insecurity due to urbanization and climate change impact. For this purpose, a number of public consultation meetings and key informant interviews were carried out during August to December, 2010.
In this paper water related vulnerabilities of various livelihood groups in the peri-urban interface is discussed. The conflicts in water use between urban and peri-urban residents are also explored. Degradation of river water quality resulting from urban activities such as wastewater discharge and dumping of solid waste, and the vulnerabilities due to climate change are also addressed. Finally, the paper discusses issues for further research in the area.