Climate crisis: 14 million face internal migration in Bangladesh

Approximately 14 million people face the risk of becoming internally displaced by 2050 if proper measures are not taken to tackle climate change, Sirajganj 1 lawmaker Tanvir Shakil Joy has said, citing a World Bank projection.

The MP was speaking at a Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU) consultation program under the banner, “Migration through the Gendered Lens”, on Thursday.

In the first Groundswell report published in 2018, Bangladesh was projected to account for a third of internal climate migrants in South Asia by 2050 in the pessimistic reference scenario, due to its growing population and high vulnerability to climate change.

The latest Groundswell report by the World Bank said in the pessimistic reference scenario, South Asia was projected to have 35.7 million climate migrants by 2050 (1.6% of the total population; this is the ensemble average).

This reflects the region’s high vulnerability to climate change impacts, particularly in coastal and deltaic areas facing sea-level rise and storm surges.

Bangladesh drives the numbers in the region, with a projected 13.3 million climate migrants in the pessimistic reference scenario, or 37% of the region’s projected climate migrants, the report said, adding that: “Indeed, in Bangladesh, climate migration could outpace other internal migrations by 2050.”

Also Read- Bangladesh: On the frontline of a planet in peril

However, the report stated a more inclusive development scenario, saying that the ensemble average of climate migrants in the region overall was cut by 40 % (down 14.6 million) in comparison, while in the more climate-friendly scenario, it was cut by over 50% (down 18.8 million).

Here, too, sustained development gains and lessening climate change impacts on highly densely populated vulnerable areas would be crucial, it said.

COP26 summit

Bangladesh is set to attend the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference to be held at Glasgow, UK, from October 31 to November 12.

Lawmaker Joy, who will join the summit, is skeptical about its outcome.

The summit was likely to proceed in a typical manner wherein the fund providers — the ones said to be bringing about climate change — would ask the affected countries to adapt to climate change, he said.

“They believe migration is not caused by climate change,” the lawmaker added,

Talking about strategy formulation, he said it should vary from place to place depending on the impact of climate change.

Speakers at the program opined that the rehabilitation strategy should be drawn up keeping climate migrants’ profession in mind.

Lawmaker Md Mujibul Haque, Parliamentarians Caucus on Development and Migration Member Gloria Jharna Sarker, RMMRU Chairperson Dr Tasneem Siddiqui, among others, were present at the event.