Although the importance of addressing ecosystem service benefits in regional land use planning and decision-making is evident, substantial practical challenges remain. In particular, methods to identify priority areas for the provision of key ecosystem services and other environmental services (benefits from the environment not directly linked to the function of ecosystems) need to be developed. Priority areas are locations which provide disproportionally high benefits from one or more service.

This paper reviews recent literature on flood research in Bangladesh, focusing on the nation’s vulnerability to climate change and its ability to adapt. This review reveals that the literature on community-based vulnerability and adaptation, and their processes and assessments in response to hazards under climate change regimes are inadequate, apart from a recent focus on assessment of the vulnerability of rural communities, their ability to adapt their farming methods, or the economic consequences of failure to adapt in response to extreme flood events, e.g.