By Shakirul Islam, Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program (OKUP), Bangladesh[1]

Due to its deltaic plain, Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to natural hazards and disasters. Climate change has increased this vulnerability. Since 2007, when large-scale cyclone Sidr hit the coastal districts, particularly the Sundarbans region, cyclones and tropical storms have impacted the country almost every year, causing extensive destruction of assets and livelihoods, and undermining people’s wellbeing.

Testimonies of affected persons reveal that, in recent years, tidal surges have become higher than usual causing frequent floods and waterlogging. Rainfall more often manifests as heavy downpours with severe thunder and lightning, leading to loss of lives and flooding of crop fields and fish farms. Meanwhile, lack of rain or untimely rains also cause severe impacts on farming. At the same time, rising temperatures and increasing heatwaves have exacerbated drought conditions while salinization of surface and groundwater has emerged as a persistent threat, leaving communities with no drinking water and suitable soil for farming, in addition to threatening the biodiversity of local ecosystems. Furthermore, riverbank erosion made many families landless and displaced.

OKUP’s surveys show that over 93% of households in the Sundarbans region have suffered partial or total destruction of their homes more than once in the last 15 years, while many others have lost significant livelihood assets, namely 76% of their agricultural production and 63% of their livestock. Additionally, 48% of households have reported health issues, including physical, mental, and reproductive impacts. These losses have undermined food security, income, and employment. Knock-on effects of these processes even include early marriage, which in turn results in early pregnancy and related complications, and risk of gender-based violence, divorce, and stigma.

The recurrence of disasters leaves many families struggling to survive. Due to limited assistance, most people rely on loans from local moneylenders or microcredit organizations to rebuild their lives. However, high-interest rates and exploitative practices make repayment challenging, especially for families whose incomes collapse after repeated disasters. OKUP data shows that 87% of households have taken out multiple loans to cope with losses since Cyclone Sidr in 2007, trapping them in a cycle of debt. In this context, when livelihoods remain unstable and debts accumulate, migration becomes a necessity for many families to survive. OKUP’s research found that 65% of households in the Sundarbans have at least one member who has migrated for work. Among these, 84% migrated within the country, while 16% went abroad. Unfortunately, the lack of safe migration pathways, legal protections, and access to essential services forces many migrants into informal work, making them vulnerable to exploitation, trafficking, and slavery-like conditions.

To respond, we strongly advocate for the following points:

1. All relevant policies and frameworks under the UNFCCC should be fully aligned with the fundamental human rights frameworks.
2. Policy and operational efforts should aim to create community-led and rights-based solutions to address ‘mobility’ and ‘immobility’ based on human rights principles, including upholding people’s ‘right to stay’ and ‘right to leave’. This will require enhancing the knowledge and skills of affected communities, increasing their access to services including social protection schemes, justice, and remedies, and creating safer migration pathways and decent work conditions.
3. The countries are historically responsible for climate change must fulfil their commitment to financing. Relevant international funding mechanisms, including loss and damage funding, adaptation finance, and other instruments, must ensure effective mechanisms for frontline organizations to access resources to ensure community-led solutions.

[1] This paper is written by Shakirul Islam, a researcher, activist, and the Chair of OKUP, a grassroots migrant organization based in Bangladesh. Shakirul is a ‘Steering Group’ member of the Climate, Migration & Displacement Platform (CMDP), a global advocacy platform. The paper is prepared based on the findings of OKUP’s longitudinal research in the Sundarbans region.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this piece are those of the author/s and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of AIDMI.