Workers set hair on mannequins at a factory inside an export processing zone in Mongla, Bangladesh, March 3, 2022. These investments in the Mongla Export Processing Zone (EPZ) have created new factory jobs for the climate refugees. Foreign investments from countries like the United States, Japan, South Korea and China have increased over the past four years. The government of Bangladesh is protecting the town of Mongla by spending tens of thousands of dollars creating climate-resilient infrastructure. Transformative adaptation is the best solution. These changes have helped some communities manage the effects of climate change, but Huq says that these changes are not long term. Small changes in Bangladesh have occurred in recent years, like rice that is able to grow in saltwater. We can't stop displacement, we can only offer alternatives that they will accept," he said. "The trend is that climate migrants move to places where there are economic activities for them.
Twenty-four smaller coastal towns like Mongla could accept 10 million refugees minimum. It is an alternative to forcing the climate refugees to move into the poorer areas of larger cities, like in the capital of Dhaka. The idea of creating new communities for the displaced is called transformative adaption. The World Bank reported in 2021 that by the year 2050 Bangladesh will have half of the estimated number of refugees in all of South Asia, a total of almost 19 million displaced people. Millions are at risk of being forced to leave their homes just in Bangladesh because of river erosion, increased movement of salt water and intense storms. (AP Photo/Mahmud Hossain Opu)īangladesh is vulnerable to the effects of climate change because it is near sea level. Thus, we can offer alternatives to at least 10 million climate migrants over (the) next one decade,” Huq said.Īn aerial view shows Mongla town in Bangladesh, March 3, 2022. "These are all secondary towns with populations of up to half a million, which can shelter up to another half a million climate migrants each. Huq says that talks have started with leaders of six towns so far. These river and sea port towns are economic centers, and the model could be copied in those places. With such a successful model, more towns along the coast in Bangladesh could become migrant-friendly locations. With its seaport and an export processing zone and climate-resilient infrastructure, Mongla town has become a different story," Huq said. "Mongla has offered new opportunities to them. He says Mongla’s success story is a model for how climate refugees can change their lives through new opportunities. Saleemul Huq is a climate scientist and the director for the International Center for Climate Change and Development in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Mongla is now a model town of climate resilience. They will move either within their country’s borders or beyond because of rising sea levels, droughts, hot temperatures and other climate disasters.Īsia is one of the hardest-hit places, and its leaders are trying to find answers. Now there is chance at a new life in the coastal town near the Bay of Bengal.Ī United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published a report stating that by 2050, 143 million people will be forced to move because of climate change. They have lost their homes, land and work. There are about 150,000 climate refugees in Mongla. She moved to Mongla and now works in a factory in a special economic zone that gives jobs to climate refugees. Monira Khatun, 29, stands by the door of her house in Chila Bazar, in Mongla, Bangladesh, March 4, 2022.
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