[01] Tamanna Hossain Akhi, Department of Environmental Science and Management, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. [02] Md Modasser Hossain Khan, Center for Natural Resource Studies (CNRS), Dhaka, Bangladesh. [03] Raisa Bashar, Department of Environmental Science and Management, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. [04] Abdun Naqib Jimmy, Department of Environmental Science and Management, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. [05] Nazmul Ahsan Khan, Department of Environmental Science and Management, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Bangladesh, a low-lying deltaic region, is bordered by the mighty sea, the Bay of Bengal, towards its south and hence, the south-western regions are susceptible to immense salinity intrusion due to natural disasters, sea-level rise and the disappearing mangroves. This phenomena is further aggravated in the areas of research – Koyra and Shymnagar – due to the fairly recent land use conversion as the economy migrates from the less profitable and lower tolerant crop culture to the more profitable and ‘salinity thriving’ shrimp culture. Hence, this research is timely and it tries to propose a Strength-Weakness-Opportunities-Threats (SWOT) analysis using the information collected from the locals (both agricultural and shrimp) farmers and key informants (like government officials and nutritionists) via focus group discussions and key informant interviews, respectively. The SWOT analysis is further used to showcase that although the shrimp culture has, for now, caused an economic boom in the area and the nation, it is leading towards the impending and irreversible disasters of increased salinity intrusion and resultant land, water and food crises. Recommendations include the gradual migration of the economy to less harmful alternative livelihoods and NGO and government interventions to sustain food, water and land security in the long run in the areas.

South-Western Region, Koyra, Shymnagar, Shrimp Culture, Salinity Intrusion

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