Climate change-related migration in Bangladesh

The document examines the complex drivers of migration in Bangladesh, projecting that 9.7 million people may migrate over the next 40 years due to climate stresses. It argues that migration should be viewed as an adaptation tool rather than a failure of local interventions, noting that remittances help households recover from losses and adapt livelihoods. The authors critique existing Bangladeshi policies for treating migration as a threat or a symptom of unplanned urbanisation and propose a comprehensive climate change policy, an internal migration policy, and improved access to vocational training and migration finance in affected areas.

• Research projects that approximately 9.7 million people in Bangladesh are likely to migrate over the next 40 years from areas affected by climate stresses like inland flooding, storm surges, and riverbank erosion, though fewer than one million will migrate solely due to climate change.
• Migration can serve as an effective adaptation tool, allowing vulnerable people to reduce their vulnerability, access income sources less affected by disasters, and use remittances to recover from losses and facilitate agricultural adaptation.
• In districts such as Chapai Nawabganj, Satkhira, and Munshiganj, climate-vulnerable communities employ short-term and circular internal migration to cope with climate variability, often moving to nearby towns or major cities like Dhaka and Chittagong for informal work.
• Existing Bangladeshi policies have failed to adequately address the link between migration and climate change; for example, the 2005 National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA) framed migration as a threat, and the 2008 Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (BCCSAP) viewed it as a problem of unplanned urbanisation.
• The document recommends several policy reforms, including the creation of a comprehensive climate change policy, a dedicated internal migration policy to protect workers' rights, and the recognition of domestic work and brick kiln labor as formal employment.

APA

Siddiqui, T., Islam, M. T., Kniveton, D., Black, R., & Martin, M. (2013). Climate change-related migration in Bangladesh. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/PB-5-max-29102013.pdf

Chicago

Siddiqui, Tasneem, Mohammad Towheedul Islam, Dominic Kniveton, Richard Black, and Maxmillan Martin. Climate change-related migration in Bangladesh. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2013. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/PB-5-max-29102013.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Siddiqui |first1=Tasneem |last2=Islam |first2=Mohammad Towheedul |last3=Kniveton |first3=Dominic |last4=Black |first4=Richard |last5=Martin |first5=Maxmillan |title=Climate change-related migration in Bangladesh |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=July 2013 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/PB-5-max-29102013.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{siddiqui2013climate, author = {Siddiqui, Tasneem and Islam, Mohammad Towheedul and Kniveton, Dominic and Black, Richard and Martin, Maxmillan}, title = {{Climate change-related migration in Bangladesh}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2013}, month = jul, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/PB-5-max-29102013.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }