National Dissemination workshop On Safe and Sustainable cities: Human securities, migration and well-being Organised by Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), University of Dhaka, International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) & University of Exeter Date: 13 th March 2019, Venue: CIRDAP International Conference Centre  

National Dissemination workshop On Safe and Sustainable cities: Human securities, migration and well-being Organised by Refugee and Migratory Movements Research Unit (RMMRU), University of Dhaka, International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) & University of Exeter Date: 13 th March 2019, Venue: CIRDAP International Conference Centre  

With the crisis of refugees arriving in to Europe from Syria and other countries in Asia and Africa the topic of climate change, displacement and migration assumes a high level of attention. Much of the debate is characterised by prejudice rather than evidence. We should accept the obvious truism that humans have been moving for millennia for a variety of …

(Article originally published here) Population growth rates in some of the worst salinity-hit coastal districts of Bangladesh have become negative, coupled with a staggering growth in slums, point at a mass exodus of agro-based people towards the urban areas. The alarming intrusion of salinity into vast tracts of arable land in these districts can be directly linked to the global …

(Article originally published here) The policies and their implementation must aim to locate people to cities other than Dhaka and Chittagong River erosion, continuous flooding, and long droughts — these calamities are everyday realities for some Bangladeshis. They affect livelihoods, disrupt lives and uproot people from their homes. Observations from a recent study show that migration is an important strategy …

(This article has originally been published here) To the surprise of very few, Dhaka has been ranked as one of the most unlivable cities in the world. Delving deeper beneath the apparent reasons – overpopulation, pollution, and congestion – reveals a major underlying cause: unsustainable levels of climate induced displacement and migration. “Climate change acts as a trigger for migration,” …

(This article has originally been published here) A recent article by researchers working at the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in the Tribune explained the challenges Dhaka will face due to climate change. The city has a population of over 18 million residents and continues to grow at an explosive 6.9% yearly rate. Climatic pressures are a major …

As part of my time at ICCCAD, I worked as a translator for visiting researcher Kathinka Evertsen. Her research focused on differences in the migration experiences of men and women from the Bhola District. Bhola is heavily affected by river erosion, flooding and storms, and is among the areas most affected by climate change in Bangladesh. A part of Ms. Evertsen’s research …

Kathinka and I arrived in Elisha, a town on Bangladesh’s Bhola Island, early Sunday morning, tumbling out of the auto into a cluster of tin-shed buildings huddled on the bank of the Meghna River. The water teemed with fishing boats, wooden half-moons coughing black smoke and bearing tattered flags. We watched them from the road – a narrow band of …

Bangladesh has long been a country of movement. There are as many reasons for migrating as there are people, but the first thing a migrant will typically tell you is that he or she moved for better economic opportunities. Bangladesh has also always been a country of dangerous weather, and, as climate change becomes a bigger problem, this is increasingly …