Internal Displacement Due to the Impacts of Disaster and Climate Change

Abstract

It is evident that the greatest single impact of climate change might be on human migration and displacement: the IPCC predicted migration of 150 million people by 2050. This means that by 2050 one in every 45 people in the world and one in every 7 people in Bangladesh will be displaced by climate change. Against this backdrop, the Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP II) carried out an in-depth assessment and analysis of the trend and impacts of population displacement due to disasters and climate change in Bangladesh. It is found that about 13% belong to the never displaced category, about 46% belong to the temporarily displaced category, about 29% belong to the in-between temporary and permanent category and about 12% belong to the permanently displaced category. The study found that people living in disaster-prone areas are somewhat more vulnerable and pushed to become displaced either temporarily or permanently. However, current knowledge on the relationship between climate change and migration and displacement of people is still limited. Migration and displacement owing to either natural (e.g. natural hazards) or man-made (e.g. climate change, socio-economic) reasons have a significant impact on people, their livelihoods, the surrounding environment and on the utilisation of resources. Understanding the process of migration, displacement in relation with climate change and disaster is an important topic which needs to be considered at policy as well as implementation level.

Sanjib Kumar Saha, Response and Adaptation Management Analyst, CDMP II, UNDP, Corresponding Author, e-mail: kumarsanjib234@gmail.com.

Dr. Dilruba Ahmed, Director, Centre for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS).