Some 11.8 million people in the country will soon face internal migration for various reasons, including climate change, a study has found.
The migration could reach 21.3 million by 2041, the study revealed, adding the population of Bangladesh will reach 195 million to 200 million in 2031 and 207 to 234 million in 2051.
The finding was shared in an online study session titled "Addressing Climate Change Induced Migration in Bangladesh: Taking a Human Rights Based Approach", organised by ActionAid Bangladesh.
Anhara Rabbani and Maria Akhter, research officers of ActionAid Bangladesh, presented the findings.
The study also revealed that men and women lack necessary skills to deal with climate change, and no information system has been developed to assist migrant families.
Immigrants are always afraid of being evicted, it further disclosed.
Mentioning the necessity to coordinate the 8th Five-Year Plan and the Delta Plan in policy-making on climate change-related migration, country director of ActionAid Farah Kabir said, “Various disasters force many people to migrate. The issue of women should be given priority when khas land is distributed among the climate refugees.”
She also said that opportunities should exist for the participation of various sections, including women and youth, and above all the views of the general public should be considered in formulating policies.
Professor Saleemul Haq, director of the International Center for Climate Change and Development said, “There is a clear difference between migration due to climate change and migration due to man-made climate change,
“People who are being forced to migrate due to climate change need to be provided with information. Besides, they are working to make the cities suitable for immigration aspirants, he said.
The Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief of the Government of Bangladesh is going to conduct a two-year pilot program to assess the damage caused by climate change, Professor Haq said in his statement.
Samsuddoha, chief executive of the Center for Participatory Research and Development, and Shamim Arfeen, executive director of Organization for Social and Economic Development, also spoke in the session.