Climate Change and the Preparation of the Government of Bangladesh: Support Environmental Migration

Abstract

As a coastal area that is susceptible to sea level rise and other stresses of climate change, its status as the most densely populated country, crowded cities and rocketing poverty levels-spread mostly across the rural areas, Bangladesh seems to be vulnerable to environmental migrants. While environmental migrants are a major problem, the key advantage of Bangladesh lies in its headway in forming adaptation policy. Using a political economy analysis, this paper examines whether the plans of the government of Bangladesh is able to provide livelihood support to the poor/ landless populations who are vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. The strengths and weaknesses of policy and institutional capacity in maintaining livelihoods in relation to migration is also explored. Given the vulnerabilities of the landless in Bangladesh in perspective of expected climate change the policies of the government of Bangladesh acknowledges environmental migration as an issue, but the policies or the institutional capacity is not adequate to provide support to the vulnerable to migrate to the urban areas. However, the government of Bangladesh is prepared to provide livelihood support to the vulnerable in their place of origin. Therefore, choices of the most vulnerable are not given significance in some of the current governance measures which lowers resilience and increases vulnerability.