Designing a GIS-Based Decision Support System (DSS) for Climate Resilient Coastal Communities in Bangladesh

This research develops a ‘GIS-based Decision Support System’ for undertaking disaster risk reduction decision for the coastal districts. This GIS-based Decision Support System (DSS) has the potential to increase the use and the accessibility of spatial data, as well as the accuracy and efficiency of decision-making, thereby improving the effectiveness of disaster risk reduction in the coastal communities. This DSS produces the integrated risk maps as compounding effects of hazards, exposures, and vulnerabilities. The output maps include exposure maps representing the exposure to climatic changes against which a system operates (e.g., surge height or inundation level), vulnerability maps representing the spatial distribution of environmental and socio-economic vulnerability factors, and risk maps that allow the identification of areas and targets at higher risk in the considered territory. These maps allow the visualisation and prioritisation of impacted areas and vulnerable coastal receptors, the identification of more sensitive areas in the coastal territory, and the location of more suitable areas for human settlements, infrastructures, and economic activities. The DSS also shows the extent to which the coastal households and communities achieve resilience. Therefore, this research develops an integrated system that would support adaptive management and planning for responding to climate variability and change.

• Research Project