Perception of people on climate-induced migration issues in coastal areas of Bangladesh

Abstract

ABSTRACT Climate change impact is one of the major burning issues all over the world where Bangladesh is one of the most affected areas. The aim of this study was to understand the climate-induced migration-related issues in the coastal areas of Chittagong. A total of 120 individual surveys and six key informant interviews were done in six unions of Banshkhali Upazila in Chittagong district. The result showed that agriculture and fishing practices are reducing compared to the past and people are more interested in migrating abroad. Among the six villages, the highest percentage of migration was found to be from the areas closer to the coast compared to others. Despite less awareness on climate change terms, most of the respondents have positively replied to the changes in the frequencies of climatic hazards. Several forms of driver, e.g. environmental, social and political are also discussed. The linear regression showed that the factors which positively influence the peoples’ decision to migrate are average family age and social status. The dependency on agriculture, business near coast and fishing has a coefficient of −0.18, −0.36 and −0.24, respectively. Identification of community-based needs is important to ensure safe migration as an adaptation against climate change.