Countries can no longer plan climate adaptation in isolation. The India-Bangaldesh climate migration pattern shows the need for nations to build climate resilience solutions together
Rishabh Shrivastava
Pic used for representational purpose only
It has been over a month since the ouster of the powerful prime minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina after persistent student protests. The interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, a Nobel peace laureate and social entrepreneur, is holding charge of national affairs. The political transition in Bangladesh has received massive global attention, but far from these headlines lies another serious issue — climate migration — that requires the immediate attention of the Bangladeshi government.
Muhammad Yunus - also known as the “banker to the poor” - is known for his remarkable efforts in microfinance as founder of the revolutionary Grameen Bank. His model of extending small loans to the rural population without any interest or collateral helped marginalized break free from the cycle of poverty.
In 2019, Yunus co-founded a global social business network called the Yunus Environment Hub that creates solutions for the environmental crisis. In his 2017 book - ‘A World of Three Zeros’ - he speaks of creating the route to a world with zero net carbon emissions, zero wealth concentration, and zero unemployment.
Would his work with the most marginalised in his country that is amongst the most vulnerable to climate change pave the way forward for effective climate solutions? And how would these steps impact India?
Climate migration in Bangladesh
Global Climate Risk Index 2021 ranks Bangladesh as the seventh most vulnerable country to climate change. As per one study on internal displacement in Bangladesh, one in every seven people in the country will migrate due to climate change. According to World Health Organization (WHO), in 2022 alone 7.1 million Bangladeshis were displaced by weather-related events. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) identifies that 56% of the total population in Bangladesh lives in high climate exposure zones.
By 2050, rising sea levels could lead to a loss of more than one-seventh of the country’s land area and nearly one-third of its food production, according to the International Monetary Fund predictions.
Sea-level rise is the biggest threat forcing Bangladeshis to migrate. Climate change in Bangladesh has severely impacted livelihoods of the local population, especially those in agriculture, along with basic services such as health and education. Cyclones in Bangladesh resulted in a total loss of USD 255 million loss from 2015 to 2021, particularly impacting the agriculture sector, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The human cost of climate-induced migration in Bangladesh is also tremendous. Families that are displaced due to cyclones, floods or sea level rise, not only lose out on economic opportunities but also face mental and physical exhaustion. Media reports show that most of them are also rendered homeless adding to their stress and anxiety levels. Children who are most vulnerable to the migration crisis, often experience trauma due to forced displacement. In many cases, this cycle continues for families with every cyclone that hits the country.
Bangladesh Government in its national 8th five-year plan talks about ensuring support to those who migrate due to climate change. It further talks about making cities accommodative for internal migrants by installing efficient systems for facilitating migrant reintegration. Perspective Plan of Bangladesh 2021-2041 sees climate migration as a potential adaptation option. It talks about designing policy interventions for both internal and international migration due to climate change. The National Adaptation Plan of Bangladesh 2023-2050 acknowledges the vulnerability of the country to climate change, and sees climate migration as an adverse effect of the climate crisis.
Climate migration in Bangladesh and its impact on India
The issue of climate migration in Bangladesh is not just confined to the country’s national borders. Many migrate to India through the porous 4000 kilometers long (and fifth longest) international border. There exists no official estimate of how many people move from Bangladesh to India but the Asian Development Bank calls it “the largest single international migration flow,” outstripping the number of migrants crossing the Mexican-US border.
India’s entry states for Bangladesh’s climate migrants are mainly West Bengal, Assam and Tripura, with many even staying in the delta regions of Sunderbans, that falls in both Bangladesh and India. Sundarbans, the largest mangrove forest in the world, is a critical ecosystem in defending against climate shocks such as floods and cyclones but has itself been reeling from weather extremes, its islands sinking, fuelling migration of families living along the borders of both countries.
Asian Development Bank predicts that climate change will lead to an increased movement of migrants from neighbouring countries to India, which is also recording extreme weather events that are eroding livelihoods.
The way forward
People migrating from Bangladesh has fuelled tensions in eastern states of India, with locals resenting the migrants for taking over jobs and resources. Civil society working with migrants has been advocating for the legal recognition and protection of refugees due to climate change, including the ones coming from Bangladesh to India - one of the world’s largest migration corridors.
Small steps already being towards that direction could pave the way forward.
India and Bangladesh cooperating in the case of Sundarbans is a case in point.
The two countries signed a historic MoU on the conservation of Sunderbans in 2011 which talks in detail about livelihood protection for people residing in the area and the joint management of Sunderbans. The MoU also entrusts both nations to research to develop a common and shared understanding of the impacts of climate change in the delta region along with adaptation strategies that can be implemented.
However, researchers point out that MoU has only been successful in facilitating joint assessment of tigers in the region. Whereas, on other fronts, it has not made much progress. According to them, defining the geographical area of Sunderbans and mutual agreement on the same between India and Bangladesh could be a restarting point for the MoU. Defining the geographical area of Sunderbans is a precursor for any kind of joint action, they say.
Researchers also believe that geopolitics is one key reason why joint initiatives have struggled to facilitate necessary cooperation and resource allocation between the two nations on climate change.
NGOs who are at the forefront of the crisis and are advocating for the Indian and Bangladeshi governments to think of the Sundarbans “as a shared natural asset”, realize that signing a bilateral treaty on climate migration can be a meaningful step in addressing climate crisis and its impact on both the countries.
Australia and New Zealand are two such nations that have signed a bilateral treaty, first ones to do so, to address climate induced migration in the Pacific Islands. Under the treaty, both the countries are working to provide permanent residency to refugees due to climate change in the region.
Bangladesh-India Sundarban Region Cooperation Initiative started in 2015 has also proposed to set up ‘Sunderban Foundation’ to facilitate cooperation between both countries and support civil society networks. It is also proposed that the Foundation shall work on creating resilient communities in the region by promoting eco-tourism and climate-smart agriculture.
For further readings:
Climate Displacement in Bangladesh: The Need for Urgent Housing, Land and Property (HLP) Rights Solutions
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