Increased natural disasters and loss of livelihoods due to climatic
factors are forcing people to migrate internally, according to a study
of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
Costal districts are very vulnerable to cyclones, storm surges, tidal
floods, salinity intrusion and sea level rise, while drought, flash
floods and riverine floods have made public life very difficult in the
north and northeast region of Bangladesh, it says.
The IOM yesterday shared the information at a Regional Dissemination
Meeting of “Assessing the Climate Change, Environmental Degradation and
Migration Nexus in South Asia” jointly organised by the Ministry of
Environment and Forests in the capital's Bangabandhu International
Conference Centre.
The IOM conducted the study in Bangladesh, the Maldives and Nepal. In
Bangladesh, the research was carried out among 320 households in four
upazilas of Khulna, Patuakhali, Rajshahi and Sunamganj.
Around 9.6 million people in Bangladesh, excluding temporary and
seasonal migrants, will migrate internally due to climatic factors
between 2011 and 2050, says the IOM in its study referring to a report
of the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) done in 2015.
Referring to another report of Displacement Solutions, an
international organisation dedicated to resolving cases of forced
displacement throughout the world, the IOM also mentioned that around
six million people have been displaced from their houses due to climate
change effects in Bangladesh.
Increased temperatures and variations in rainfall are the most
prevalent climate change elements affecting the lives and livelihoods of
people in Bangladesh in recent years, it mentioned.
Golam Rabbani, a leading consultant at Bangladesh Centre for Advanced
Studies, led the team for conducting the study in Bangladesh.
As he was presenting his research findings, he said 92 percent
respondents felt that the impacts of internal migration had made women
more vulnerable as men could go for work in another district.
Referring to the IDMC report, he said more than 19 million people
across the world were displaced internally in 2015 due to sudden-onset
of disasters.
Of the global total, 7.9 million or 41 percent were from South Asia, he added.
Bangladesh and Nepal are the countries of origin of many less skilled
international migrants, while the Maldives is identified as the
destination of many migrants from both Bangladesh and Nepal. However,
all three countries are also destination for skilled migrants
originating from within the region.
Prof Ainun Nishat, an eminent expert on climate change issues and
former vice-chancellor of BRAC University, however, said it was
essential to ensure alternative livelihoods for the affected people
instead of encouraging them in migration.
Environment and Forests Ministry Secretary Istiaque Ahmad and Chief
of Mission of IOM Bangladesh Sarat Dash, among others, spoke on the
occasion.
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