A sea turtle is released from the hatchery in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh to begin its hazardous journey to the sea. Credit: UNDP Bangladesh

By Rafiqul Islam
COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Apr 20 2026 (IPS)

Every winter thousands of sea turtles come ashore at Cox’s Bazar, in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh, to lay eggs.

Their path to their breeding grounds is hazardous – fishing nets, propellers, light pollution, coastal developments, stray dogs and other dangers conspire against their success.

The area is rich in biodiversity, with five out of seven ancient reptiles present in Bangladesh’s waters, with three – the Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas), and the Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata) – coming ashore for nesting.

Stefan Liller, UNDP Bangladesh representative, gently releases the young turtles from the hatchery. Credit: UNDP Bangladesh

Amid such unfavourable odds for the aquatic creatures, a group of young people volunteer to protect the turtles on the beach at Cox’s Bazar during the breeding season from November to March, contributing to their successful conservation.

“In the past, we did not know how sea turtles help conserve marine ecosystems. Now we know sea turtles play an important role in conserving biodiversity,” Rezaul Karim, a resident of Shafir Beel village in Cox’s Bazar, told Inter Press Service (IPS).

Karim is one of the youths trained for sea turtle conservation under a project run by the Arannayk Foundation, a non-profit conservation organisation in Bangladesh. The foundation established a sea turtle conservation group involving 25 local youths (11 women, 14 men) under its Ecosystem Awareness and Restoration Through Harmony (EARTH) project. EARTH is supported by the Forest Department, the Department of Environment (DoE), and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

A youth group performs a play designed to sensitise the community to conservation issues. Credit: Arannayk Foundation

The group is working to raise awareness about sea turtle conservation among fishermen, youth, and the local community. They are also aiming to encourage a shift in local attitudes by engaging community members.

Group leader Delwar Hossain, a resident of Sonarpara village under Ukhyia upazila, said sea turtles play a crucial role in maintaining marine ecosystems, as different species of sea turtles help sweep or clean the ocean by managing various food sources and habitats.

He said there is a superstition among the marine fishermen that if turtles are caught in their fishing gear, it will bring bad luck and that is why they kill turtles caught in their nets.

“We held meetings with the fishermen several times and made them aware of sea turtle conservation,” Delwar said.

Turtle conservation group leader Delwar Hossain with others on Cox’s Bazar Beach, Bangladesh. Credit: Rafiqul Islam/IPS

Gabriella Richardson Temm, Lead of the Small Grants Program at the GEF, says civil society, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, and youth and women groups around the world “play critical roles in shaping global development agendas. They deliver transformational solutions to global environmental problems, bring rights holders and marginalised voices into national policy dialogues, and elevate local priorities in international environmental negotiations and financing.”

The small grants program has served as a cornerstone of civil society engagement within the GEF partnership since its inception in 1992.

“Over three decades, the program has demonstrated remarkable reach and impact, administering over US$1.5 billion through nearly 30,000 grants to Indigenous Peoples, local communities, women, and youth across 136 countries. This extensive network has successfully secured US$990 million in co-financing, demonstrating the program’s effectiveness in mobilising additional resources for environmental action at the grassroots level,” says Temm.

Grassroots community protection has been acknowledged as contributing to the success of moving one of the sea turtles – the green turtle – to the International Union for Cons

ervation of Nature’s (IUCN) ‘Least Concern’ list. Other factors include international trade bans, reduced poaching, and improved fishing gear.

However, the species predominantly nesting in the Cox’s Bazar beaches, the Olive Ridley is classified as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, while the Hawksbill Turtle remains ‘Critically Endangered’ due to population declines.

Many sea turtles don’t survive the hazardous journey to the nesting grounds at Cox’s Bazar Beach, Bangladesh. Credit: Bangladesh Forest Department

Establishment of Turtle Hatchery

In Cox’s Bazar, with the help of the foundation, the youth group surveyed a 10 km stretch from Reju Khal to Balia Khali beach to identify sea turtle nesting sites. It also gathered insights from local communities on sea turtle breeding seasons, nesting frequency, preferred locations, and community perceptions regarding conservation.

Following the assessment, a sea turtle hatchery was established in Boro Inani, Cox’s Bazar. The hatchery is now playing a crucial conservation role, as these statistics show.

Between January and April 2024, 5,878 Olive Ridley eggs were collected from various nests at Swankhali, Ruppati, Imamer Deil, and Madarbunia sea beaches, resulting in 3,586 hatchlings hatching, with an average hatching success of 61 percent.

Also, from February to April 2025, a total of 3,199 eggs were collected, and by May 2025, 716 hatchlings had been released.

Stefan Liller, UNDP Bangladesh representative in the turtle hatchery. Credit: UNDP Bangladesh

Delwar said that stray dogs often eat the turtle eggs so the hatchery makes a significant contribution.

“We collect eggs that turtles release on the shore and bring those to the hatchery for hatching. Besides, we ask the community people to give turtle eggs to the hatchery. We, the group members, collect the turtle eggs from them too.”

Nurul Afsar, another TCG member, said many ethnic communities living in Cox’s Bazar consume turtles and their eggs – so the group plays a role in encouraging them not to consume but instead protect them.

ABM Sarowar Alam, program manager (species and habitats) at the IUCN in Bangladesh, said Cox’s Bazar Beach was once the ideal breeding ground for sea turtles, but it has dwindled due to habitat loss, poaching, and human disturbance.

He believes that several areas of the beach should be declared as “protected areas for sea turtles” to ensure safe breeding and that fishing should be restricted in the canals connecting to the sea so that turtles can move freely for nesting.

The group also addresses other hazards, such as the issue of stray dogs that kill the turtles and consume the eggs.

Firoz Al Amin, range officer of Inani Forest Range in Ukhiya, said the Forest Department has been working to control the stray dogs on the beach, aiming to protect the turtles.

A sea turtle moves toward the sea. Local conservationists are making a difference to the future of these ancient aquatic animals. Credit: UNDP Bangladesh

EARTH Project, More Than Turtle Conservation

Dr Mohammed Muzammel Hoque, national coordinator of the GEF Small Grants Program at UNDP Bangladesh, said the EARTH project’s role went beyond turtle conservation in the region.

It has elephant-response teams to mitigate conflicts between elephants and humans. The Five Crab Conservation Groups (CCG), comprising 25 youth members, and five sea Turtle Conservation Groups (TCG), also consisting of 25 youth members, remain active. The project was also working towards restoring habitats, with over 7,780 seedlings planted with support from the EARTH Project, with around 80% surviving.

However, Hoque said that the success is dependent on funding – and it’s hoped that once a Forest Trail becomes operational, it can generate revenue from tourists.

Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal, program coordinator of the Arannayk Foundation, said the project, by integrating livelihoods with conservation, “helped grow a sense of ownership among community members and youth, ensuring that environmental protection is not just a project outcome but a sustained, collective commitment.”

Note: The Eighth Global Environment Facility Assembly will be held from May 30 to June 6, 2026 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

This feature is published with the support of the GEF. IPS is solely responsible for the editorial content, and it does not necessarily reflect the views of the GEF.

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By External Source
BOGURA, Bangladesh, Jan 19 2026 (IPS)

Once a lifeline of northern Bengal, Bangladesh’s Karatoya River now drifts through Bogura as a fragmented, polluted channel, where climate change and human neglect quietly reshape livelihoods, memory, and everyday life.

Flowing through the heart of Bogura, the Karatoya River bears the weight of a long, visible decline. Once one of northern Bengal’s major waterways, the river today appears narrowed, stagnant, and burdened with waste; its surface is calm, and its crisis is deeply rooted. This short documentary observes the Karatoya as both a physical landscape and a lived presence, shaped by climate stress, urban encroachment, pollution, and disrupted flow.

As dry seasons lengthen and rainfall grows erratic, the river’s natural ability to renew itself collapses. Farmers struggle to irrigate, former fishers lose their livelihoods, and urban communities live beside a river reduced to a drain and a health hazard. The film, utilizing quiet visuals and personal memories instead of statistics, contemplates the loss that occurs when a river gradually disappears from daily life.

Recent dredging efforts offer momentary relief, but the film asks a deeper question: can a river survive without collective care?

Biography of Directors

Md. Rowfel Ahammed (born 1997) and Md. Sadik Sarowar Sunam (born 2007) are emerging filmmakers from Bogura, Bangladesh. Rowfel is an MSS student in Sociology at Government Azizul Haque College with a strong interest in film, art, and photography. Sadik is a 12th Grade student at TMSS School and College, drawn to creative learning and new experiences. Both completed a Workshop on Documentary Filmmaking organized by the Bogura International Film Festival under the supervision of documentary filmmaker and photographer Mohammad Rakibul Hasan. Through this workshop, they made their first documentary film, “Karatoya” (2026), exploring environmental change and local stories from Bogura.

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Members of the elephant response team (ERT) in the Inani forest range under the Ukhiya upazila of Cox’s Bazar. Credit: Rafiqul Islam/IPS

By Rafiqul Islam
COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Oct 22 2025 (IPS)

When wild elephant herds come down from the hills in search of food, Sona Miahm, with community volunteers, steps forward to help prevent human-elephant conflicts.

Miah is leading a 14-member elephant response team (ERT) in the Inani forest range under the Ukhiya upazila of Cox’s Bazar, one of the last natural elephant habitats in Bangladesh.

“For lack of food in reserve forests, wild elephants often rush to localities and damage crop fields. And, once we get informed, we go to the spot and try to return the elephant herd to the forest,” he said.

According to the Forest Department, there are now about 64 wild elephants in the reserve forests in Ukhiya and Teknaf in Bangladesh’s southeastern coastal district, Cox’s Bazar.

Community volunteers often risk their lives in returning the wild elephants to the forests, but they do so to protect the country’s last wild mammoths.

He explained how they mitigate human-elephant conflicts in their locality in the Inani area.

“The elephant response teams use hand-mikes and torches to encourage the elephants to return to the forest,” he said.

Members of the elephant response team (ERT) examine an elephant believed to be electrocuted.

With a small grant from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Arannayk Foundation, a Dhaka-based conservation organization, formed four elephant response teams (ERTs) in Inani and Ukhiya forest ranges in Cox’s Bazar, comprising 40 men.

Working alongside the Bangladesh Forest Department, these ERTs aim to minimize human-elephant conflicts and support wildlife rescues. The ERTs have helped prevent 127 potential human-elephant conflicts in the past two years.

Dr. Mohammed Muzammel Hoque, national coordinator of UNDP’s GEF Small Grants Program, said the UNDP provided a small grant of USD 39,182 in September 2023 to the Arannayk Foundation to implement its two-year Ecosystem Awareness and Restoration Through Harmony (EARTH) project.

Programme coordinator Abu Hena Mostafa Kamal said the project was implemented to restore forest ecosystems and involve local communities in wildlife conservation.

Human-Elephant Conflicts Rise

Due to the destruction of their natural habitats caused by deforestation, hill-cutting, and unplanned industrial expansion, the wild elephants come into localities in search of food, resulting in the rise of human-elephant conflicts.

Conflicts have resulted in the deaths of both community members and elephants.

Elephants are often being killed by electrocution in the Bangladesh southeast region since farmers install electric fences around their crop fields to protect crops from damage.

The most recent incident of an elephant being killed occurred in the Dochhari beat within the Ukhiya forest range in Cox’s Bazar on September 17, 2025. Mozammel Hossain, a resident of Ukhiya, said farmers had used electrified traps around their croplands and this electrocuted the elephant

He said food shortages push elephant herds to enter crop fields, while some farmers resort to illegal and lethal methods against the mammoths.

The Ukhiya and Teknaf regions have reported at least four elephant deaths in the past year.

Abdul Karim, an ERT member in the Boro Inani area of Cox’s Bazar, said elephants often attack human settlements and damage crops and orchards, increasing their conflicts with humans.

“We try to mitigate human-elephant conflicts and save both humans and mammoths. But, since 2021, four people have been killed in elephant attacks near the Inani forest range,” he said.

According to the Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation Division of the Bangladesh Forest Department, from 2016 to January 2025, 102 elephant deaths were recorded alone in Chattogram.

Retaliatory killings, electrocution, poaching, and train collisions have caused many of these deaths.

Saiful Islam, a resident of the Inani area, said wild elephants have been trapped within their habitat too after the influx of Rohingyas there in 2017.

Introduce Elephant Non-Preferred Crops

Crops typically eschewed by elephants, including citrus, pepper, bitter gourd, chili, cane, and okra, should be introduced around the elephant habitats.

“We are encouraging farmers to start such crops to avoid conflicts with elephants. We are also making them aware of elephant conservation,” Saiful Islam, also a community volunteer at Choto Inani, told IPS.

Firoz Al Amin, range officer of the Inani forest range in Ukhiya, said the Forest Department arranged 12 awareness programmes on elephant conservation in the Inani range.

Arannayk Foundation identified elephant non-preferred plots adjacent to high human-elephant conflict zones within the buffer area. With community involvement, five demonstration plots were created on portions of land belonging to five beneficiaries to mitigate elephant crop raiding.

It established four chili-coated rope bio-fences: two at Mohammad Shofir Bill and one each at Boro Inani and Imamerdeil to reduce crop damage caused by elephants. These bio-fencing interventions have benefited 85 vulnerable households in these locations. The fences consist of coconut ropes coated with a deterrent blend of chili powder, tobacco, and grease, suspended at human height between trees to prevent elephant access to agricultural and residential areas.

Urgent Measures Needed to Save Elephants

A 2016 survey by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said that there were only 457 elephants left in Bangladesh, of which 268 were wild, 93 were migratory, and 96 were captive.

However, about 124 wild elephants died across Bangladesh’s main elephant habitats—Cox’s Bazar, Chattogram, Chittagong Hill Tracts and Mymensingh—over the last decade.

Experts suggest a comprehensive strategy for restoring elephant habitats to prevent their extinction, which requires long-term planning, reducing encroachment on forest areas, and removing unlawful occupants.

Dr. Monirul H. Khan, a zoology professor at Jahangirnagar University, said forests and elephant habitats must be protected at any cost to save the mammoths, as their number is dwindling day by day in Bangladesh.

Many new settlements and crop cultivations have taken place inside the country’s elephant habitats, he said, accelerating human-elephant conflicts.

Growing crops that elephants typically do not prefer, improving bio-fencing with trip alarms, and creating salt lick areas can all help reduce human-elephant conflicts.

The experts say implementing beehive fencing not only safeguards crops but also generates job and income opportunities for the local community. Therefore, it is possible to achieve elephant conservation while simultaneously minimizing human-elephant conflicts.

Monirul said the Bangladesh government has taken on an elephant conservation project with its own funding for the first time. “I hope the project will help conserve the mammoths in Bangladesh,” he added.

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Maung Sawyeddollah, Founder of the Rohingya Students Network, addresses the high-level conference of the General Assembly on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elías

By Naureen Hossain
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 1 2025 (IPS)

The international community convened for a high-level meeting at UN Headquarters, this time to mobilize political support for the ongoing issue of the persecution of the Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar.

On Tuesday September 30, representatives from Rohingya advocacy groups, the UN system and member states convened at the General Assembly to address the ongoing challenges facing Rohingya Muslims and the broader context of the political and humanitarian situation in Myanmar.

UN President of the General Assembly Annalena Baerbock remarked that the conference was an opportunity to listen to stakeholders, notably civil society representatives with experience on the ground.

“Rohingya need the support of the international community, not just in words but in action,” she said.

Baerbock added there was an “urgent need for strengthened international solidarity and increased support,” and to make efforts to reach a political solution with unequivocal participation from the Rohingyas.

“The violence, the extreme deprivation and the massive violations of human rights have fueled a crisis of grave international concern. The international community must honor its responsibilities and act. We stand in solidarity with the Rohingya and all the people of Myanmar in their hour of greatest need,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

In the eight years since over 750,000 Rohingyas fled persecution and crossed the border into Bangladesh, the international community has had to deal with one of the most intense refugee situations in living memory. Attendees at the conference spoke on addressing the root causes that led to this protracted crisis—systematic oppression and persecution at the hands of Myanmar’s authorities and unrest in Rakhine State.

Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of the interim Government of Bangladesh, addresses the high-level conference on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar. Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elias

The military junta’s ascension in 2021 has only led to further unrest and instability in Myanmar and has made the likelihood of safe and sustained return far more precarious. Their persecution has only intensified as the Rohingya communities still residing in Rakhine find themselves caught in the middle of conflicts between the junta and other militant groups, including the Arakan Army.

At the opening of the conference, Rohingya refugee activists remarked that the systemic oppression predates the current crisis. “This is a historic occasion for Myanmar. But it is long overdue. Our people have suffered enough. For ethnic minorities—from Kachin to Rohingya—the suffering has spanned decades,” said Wai Wai Nu, founder and executive director of the Women’s Peace Network.

“It has already been more than eight years since the Rohingya Genocide was exposed. Where is the justice for the Rohingyas?” asked Maung Sawyeddollah, founder of the Rohingya Student Network.

For the United Nations, the Rohingya refugee crisis represents the dramatic impact of funding shortfalls on their humanitarian operations. UN Secretary-General António Guterres once said during his visit to the refugee camps in Bangladesh back in April that “Cox’s Bazar is Ground Zero for the impact of budget cuts”.

Funding cuts to agencies like UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP) have undermined their capacity to reach people in need. WFP has warned that their food assistance in the refugee camps will run out in two months unless they receive more funding. Yet as of now, the 2025 Rohingya Refugee Response Plan of USD 934.5 million is only funded at 38 percent.

Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, addresses the high-level conference of the General Assembly on the situation of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar. Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elias

“The humanitarian response in Bangladesh remains chronically underfunded, including in key areas like food and cooking fuel. The prospects for funding next year are grim. Unless further resources are forthcoming, despite the needs, we will be forced to make more cuts while striving to minimize the risk of losing lives: children dying of malnutrition or people dying at sea as more refugees embark on dangerous boat journeys,” said Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

As the host country of over 1 million refugees since 2017, Bangladesh has borne the brunt of the situation. Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus said that the country faces its own development challenges and systemic issues with crime, poverty and unemployment, and has struggled to support the refugee population even with the help of aid organizations. He made a call to pursue repatriations, the strategy to ensure the safe return of Rohingyas to Rakhine.

“As funding declines, the only peaceful option is to begin their repatriation. This will entail far fewer resources than continuing their international protection. The Rohingya have consistently pronounced their desire to go back home,” said Yunus. “The world cannot keep the Rohingya waiting any longer from returning home.”

Along with the UN, Myanmar and Bangladesh, neighboring and host countries also have a role to play. Regional blocs like the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are also crucial  in supporting the Rohingya population as well as leading dialogues with other stakeholders across the region.

“In my engagements with Myanmar stakeholders, I have emphasized that peace in Myanmar will remain elusive until inclusive dialogue between all Myanmar stakeholders takes place,” said Othman Hashim, the special envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar. “For actions within Myanmar, the crucial first step is stopping the hostilities and violence. Prolonged violence will only exacerbate the misery of the people of Myanmar, Rohingya and other minorities included.”

“Countries hosting refugees need sustained support. Cooperation with UNODC [UN Office of Drugs and Crime], UNHCR, and IOM [International Organization for Migration] must be deepened,” said Sugiono, Indonesia’s foreign minister.

Supporting the Rohingya beyond emergency and humanitarian needs would also require investing resources in education and employment opportunities. Involved parties were encouraged to support resettlement policies that would help communities secure livelihoods in  the long-term, or to extend opportunities for longterm work, like in Thailand where they recently granted long-staying refugees the right to work legally in the country.

“Any initiative for the Rohingya without Rohingya in the camp, from decision making to nation-building is unsustainable and unjust. The UN must mobilize resources to empower Rohingya. We are not only victims; we have the potential to make a difference,” said Sawyeddollah.

As one of the few Rohingya representatives present that had previous lived in the camps in Cox’s Bazaar, Sawyeddollah described the challenges he faced in pursuing higher education when he applied to over 150 universities worldwide but did not get into any of them. He got into New York University with a scholarship, the first Rohingya refugee to attend. He reiterated that universities had the capacity to offer scholarships to Rohingya students, citing the example of the Asian University of Women (AUW) in Chittagong, Bangladesh, where it has been offering scholarships to Rohingya girls since at least 2018.

The conference called for actionable measures that would address several key areas in the Rohingya refugee situation. This includes scaling up funding for humanitarian aid in Bangladesh and Myanmar, and notably, pursuing justice and accountability under international law. Türk and other UN officials reiterated that resolving the instability and political tensions in Myanmar is crucial to resolving the refugee crisis.

Kyaw Moe Tun, Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar to the UN, blamed the military junta for the country’s current state and called for member states to refuse supporting the junta politically or financially. “We can yield results only by acting together to end the military dictatorship, its unlawful coup, and its culture of impunity. At a time when human rights, justice and humanity are under critical attack, please help in our genuine endeavour to build a federal democratic union that rooted in these very principles.”
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In September 2024 heavy rainfall caused flooding and landslides in Nepal, villages like Roshi in Kavre district affected. Credit: Barsha Shah

By Tanka Dhakal
BLOOMINGTON, USA, Jun 23 2025 (IPS)

Asia is heading towards more extreme weather events with a possibility of heavy toll on the region’s economies, ecosystems, and societies, says the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

The WMO’s State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report released today says Asia is currently warming nearly twice as fast as the global average, fueling more disaster-prone weather events.

In 2024, Asia’s average temperature was about 1.04°C above the 1991–2020 average, ranking as the warmest or second warmest year on record, depending on the dataset. The warming trend between 1991 and 2024 was almost double that during the 1961 to 1990 period.

Report highlights the changes in key climate indicators, including surface temperature, glacier mass, and sea level, which will have major impacts in the region. “Extreme weather is already exacting an unacceptably high toll,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.

In 2024, heatwaves gripped a record area of the ocean. Sea surface temperatures were the highest on record, with Asia’s sea surface 10 years period warming rate nearly double the global average.

Report says that sea level rise on the Pacific and Indian Ocean sides of the continent exceeded the global average, increasing risks for low-lying coastal areas.

“The work of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services and their partners is more important than ever to save lives and livelihoods,” Saulo said.

Asia land temperatures. Source: World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Water Resources Are in Danger and Causing Destruction

State of the glaciers, which are regarded as water storage for most of the region, is facing an existential threat. Reduced winter snowfall and extreme summer heat caused decisive damage to glaciers in the central Himalayas and Tian Shan Mountain range. 23 out of 24 glaciers suffered mass loss, leading to an increase in hazards like glacial lake outburst floods and landslides and long-term risks for water security.

The High-Mountain Asia (HMA) region, centered on the Tibetan Plateau, contains the largest volume of ice outside the polar regions, with glaciers covering an area of approximately 100,000 square km. It is known as the world’s Third Pole. Over the last several decades, most glaciers in this region have been retreating. Which is increasing the risk of glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs).

Community in Thame village in the Mt. Everest region in Nepal is still recovering from the disaster caused by a small glacial lake outburst flood in August 2024, while living in fear of a similar disaster.

From the high Himalayas to coastal areas in Asia experiencing destructive weather events. Extreme rainfall caused great damage and heavy casualties in many countries in the region, tropical cyclones left a trail of destruction, and drought added heavy economic and agricultural losses.

The report included a case study from Nepal, showing how important early warning systems and anticipatory actions are to prepare for and respond to climate variability and change. In late September 2024, Nepal experienced heavy rainfall that led to severe flooding and landslides across the country.

According to the government data, the disaster claimed at least 246 lives and left 218 people missing. Damages to energy infrastructure are estimated at 4.35 billion Nepali rupees, while the agricultural sector faced a loss equivalent to 6 billion Nepali rupees. Reports note that early warning systems and preparation for anticipatory actions helped limit human casualties. But the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology (DHM) in Nepal highlighted the urgent need for a tailored, impact-based flood forecasting system at the national level.

Extreme heat events

In many parts of Asia, extreme heat is becoming a concerning issue as countries like India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan in South Asia are already dealing with heat waves. In 2024, prolonged heat waves affected East Asia from April to November.

According to the report, Asia is the continent with the largest landmass extending to the Arctic and is warming more than twice as fast as the global average because the temperature increase over land is larger than the temperature increase over the ocean.

In 2024, most of the ocean area of Asia was affected by marine heatwaves of strong, severe, or extreme intensity—the largest extent since records began in 1993.  During August and September 2024, nearly 15 million square kilometers of the region’s ocean were impacted—one-tenth of the Earth’s entire ocean surface.

“The purpose of the report is not only to inform. It is to inspire action,” said president of WMO Regional Association Dr. Ayman Ghulam.

He highlighted the need for stronger early warning systems, regional collaboration, and greater investments in adapting transboundary water and climate risk management.

“We must ensure that modern science guides decision-making at every level,” Ghulam said.

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New mangroves have been created in various areas to reduce climate change risks in Badamtoli village of Dakop upazila (sub-district) of Khulna district. Credit: Rafiqul Islam Montu/IPS

By Rafiqul Islam Montu
SHYAMNAGAR, Bangladesh , May 16 2025 (IPS)

Golenur Begum has faced 12 cyclones in her life. As a child, she witnessed her father’s house destroyed, and as an adult, she watched her home smashed. Saltwater brought by the tidal surges that accompanied the cyclones wrecked their farms and livelihoods.  And with climate change, these impacts are becoming more intense and frequent.

“Sixteen years ago, in 2009, my house was washed away by Cyclone Aila. At first, we sheltered on a raised dirt road near our house. After the road was submerged, we rushed to a shelter two kilometers from the village to save our lives. The next day, when we returned to the village, we saw that many more houses had been destroyed. Shrimp farms, vegetable fields, chicken farms, and ponds submerged in salt water,” Golenur (48), who lives in Sinhartoli village, remembers.

She is not alone. Sahara Begum (32), Rokeya Begum (45), and Anguri Bibi (44), from the same village, spoke of the same crisis.

A new mangrove in front of Golenur Begum’s house in Singhahartali village of Shyamnagar upazila (sub-district) of Satkhira district. Credit: Rafiqul Islam Montu/IPS

Neelima Mandal points to the mangrove in front of her house in Chunkuri village of Shyamnagar upazila (sub-district) of Satkhira district. Credit: Rafiqul Islam Montu/IPS

Climate-vulnerable Sinharatoli village is part of Munshiganj Union of Shyamnagar Upazila (sub-district) in the Satkhira district in southwestern Bangladesh. The Malanch River flows past the village.

On the other side of the river is the World Heritage Sundarbans—a mangrove forest area in the Ganges Delta formed by the confluence of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna Rivers in the Bay of Bengal.

Most of the people in the villages along the Malanch River lost their livelihoods and homes due to Cyclone Aila. Not only Aila—Golenur has faced 12 cyclones.

Neelima Mandal, 40, of Chunkuri village, a village adjacent to the Sundarbans, says, “Due to frequent cyclones, the embankments on the riverbank collapsed. The tidal water of the Malanch River used to enter our houses directly. As a result, both our livelihoods and lives were in crisis.”

The southwestern coast of Bangladesh is facing many crises due to climate change. The people of this region are very familiar with the effects of tides, cyclones, and salinity. They survive by adapting to these dangers. But, despite their resilience, there are not enough strong embankments in this region. Although embankments were built in the 1960s, they are mostly weak. If cyclones become more intense with a changing climate, people’s lives will be even more affected.

New mangroves protect houses at risk of climate change on the embankment in Chunkuri village of Shyamnagar upazila (sub-district) of Satkhira district. Credit: Rafiqul Islam Montu/IPS

What kind of benefits are the villagers getting from the newly created mangrove forest? This graph shows the results of the opinions gathered from 100 people from villages near the Sundarbans. Graph: Rafiqul Islam Montu/IPS

Despite the mangrove-rich Sundarbans, which include four enlisted and protected areas by UNESCO, which should protect them, the southwestern coastal districts of Bangladesh. The Sundarbans themselves are also facing a crisis due to frequent cyclones. The 2007 cyclone Sidr caused extensive damage, which took several years to recover from. According to a study by the Change Initiative, dense forest covered 94.2 percent of the Sundarbans in 1973. In 2024, it had decreased to 91.5 percent. The people of this region face extreme events during the cyclone season when the tide height reaches up to 3 meters (10 feet).

Mangrove Wall for Vulnerable Communities

In 2013 the women in this community began building a mangrove wall—a sign that they were not going to let the climate dictate their future.

The wall now stands where the water from the storm surge entered Golenur’s house during Cyclone Sidr in 2007 and Cyclone Aila in 2009. Now she does not have to worry about her livelihood and home as much. Apart from protection from natural hazards, the forest provides her with many other economic benefits.

“When we started planting mangrove seedlings here, the entire area was devoid of trees. Tidal water once submerged the area. In a few years, a mangrove forest has formed in the vacant space. More than 500 people from about 100 houses in the village are now free from natural hazards,” says Golenur.

A mangrove safety wall now also covers Chunkuri village, which was similarly vulnerable. The villagers take care of the mangroves and benefit from them.

Many women in Banishanta village of Dakop upazila (sub-district) of Khulna district are happy and financially better off after starting a mangrove nursery. Credit: Rafiqul Islam Montu/IPS

Abandoned seeds floating from the Sundarbans are processed into seedlings in the nursery at Namita Mondal’s nursery in Dhangmari village of Dakop upazila (sub-district) of Khulna district. Credit: Rafiqul Islam Montu/IPS

“Mangroves help us secure our livelihood. We can collect fodder for our cattle from the forest. Mangroves help us reduce heat,” added Sabitri Mondal, a resident of Chunkuri village.

Various organizations, including the Bangladesh Resource Council of Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK), Bangladesh Environment and Development Society (BEDS), and Friendship, are working to restore mangroves in different parts of Khulna, Satkhira, and Bagerhat districts.

Since 2008, BARCIK has planted 1,800 mangrove trees in coastal villages, including Koikhali, Burigoalini, Munshiganj, Gabura, Padmapukur, and Atulia in the Shyamnagar upazila of Satkhira. BEDS has planted over one million mangrove saplings in 146.55 hectares of land in Shyamnagar, Satkhira, and Dakop, Khulna, since 2013.

Maksudur Rahman, CEO of BEDS, says, ‘To save mangroves, we need to involve the local community. If we can provide alternative livelihoods to the local community, the mangroves will also be saved and the people will be protected. The initiative that we have been continuing since 2013 is already reaping the benefits of the community.’

Abandoned seeds are a source of livelihood

“The mangrove nursery is now the driving force of my family. The income from the nursery is what keeps my family going. My husband and I no longer have to go to the risky Sundarbans to catch fish and crabs. Alternative livelihoods have made my life safer,’ said Namita Mandal of Dhangmari village in Dakop upazila of Khulna district.

Women plant mangrove seedlings in Dakop upazila (sub-district) of Khulna district. Credit: Rafiqul Islam Montu/IPS

Namita Mandal maintains a mangrove nursery in Dhangmari village in Dakop upazila (sub-district) of Khulna district. Credit: Rafiqul Islam Montu/IPS

The mangrove seeds are a source of livelihood for women in villages near the Sundarbans. Once upon a time, families used to wait for seeds and leaves that floated from the Sundarbans to cook. They would dry them and save them for cooking. But many women like Namita have started nurseries with those abandoned seeds. Seedlings are being grown in the nursery from the seeds and new mangroves are being formed from those seedlings. Many more women in villages near the Sundarbans have chosen mangrove nurseries as a source of livelihood.

Seedlings suitable for mangroves are grown in the nursery. The tree species include keora (Sonneratia apetala), baen (Avicennia alba), gewa (Excoecaria agallocha), khulshi (Aegiceras corniculatum), kankra (Bruguiera gymnorrhiza), golpata (Nypa fruticans), and goran (Ceriops decandra). The seeds of these trees float down from the Sundarbans.

Her income from the nursery has increased significantly in the past few years. ‘I sold seedlings worth 50,000 taka ($426) in a year. My nursery has expanded. The number of employees has increased. In 2023, I sold seedlings worth about 4 lakh taka ($3,407) from my nursery to some clients, including the Bangladesh Forest Department, international NGO BRAC, and BEDS,’ added Namita.

Rakibul Hasan Siddiqui, Associate Professor at the Institute of Integrated Studies on Sundarbans Coastal Ecosystem, Khulna University, said, ‘The Sundarbans and its surrounding settlements are severely affected by rising sea levels and frequent cyclones in the Bay of Bengal. Sundarbans Restoration is helping to protect coastal residents from any kind of natural disaster.”
Note: This feature is published with the support of Open Society Foundations.

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Excerpt:

Bangladesh Chief Adviser Prof. Muhammad Yunus meets Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on the third day of his four-day visit to China. Photo: Rafiqul Islam/IPS

By Rafiqul Islam
BEIJING, Apr 1 2025 (IPS)

Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser, Professor Muhammad Yunus’s state visit to China, where he met Chinese President Xi Jinping, was seen as an opportunity to reaffirm old diplomatic and economic ties between the two countries.

During the meeting, Xi recalled Chinese-Bangladesh’s long-standing history of friendly exchanges, saying the ancient Silk Road closely linked the two countries.

Terming Bangladesh a good neighbour, good friend and good partner of mutual trust, he said China maintains a high degree of stability and continuity in its good-neighbourly and friendly policy toward Bangladesh, as this year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of China-Bangladesh diplomatic relations.

“China is ready to work with Bangladesh to bring China-Bangladesh cooperation to new heights and deliver greater benefits to the two peoples, Xi said, stressing that China and Bangladesh should continue to deepen political mutual trust and firmly support each other on issues related to mutual interests.

Yunus said Bangladesh and China share a profound friendship and have always understood, respected and trusted each other.

Claiming China is a reliable partner and friend of Bangladesh, he said Bangladesh firmly supports the one-China principle.

The Chief Adviser said Bangladesh is willing to use the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Bangladesh-China diplomatic relations as an opportunity to enhance bilateral relations.

Bangladesh sought more Chinese investment, which will help it promote its economic transition.

Political analysts assert that Yunus’s visit to China has catapulted Bangladesh-China relations to unprecedented heights, with Bangladesh securing a commitment of USD 2.1 billion in Chinese investments, loans, and grants during his historic China tour.

Chinese Ambassador in Dhaka Yao Wen said nearly 30 Chinese companies have pledged to invest USD 1 billion in Bangladesh.

China has also planned to lend some USD 400 million in the Mongla port modernisation project, USD 350 million in the development of the China Industrial Economic Zone and another USD 150 million as technical assistance. The rest of the amount would come as grants and other forms of lending.

“It is a milestone visit,” Yao Wen said.

During the bilateral meeting, Yunus asked Xi to approve the investment of Chinese private companies in Bangladesh.

The Chinse President affirmed that he would encourage Chinese firms to set up manufacturing plants in Bangladesh.

The talks between Yunus and Xi were comprehensive, fruitful and constructive, marked by warmth, Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary, Shafiqul Alam, said.

Chart Roadmap for Shared Prosperity

On March 27, Yunus addressed the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference in Hainan, asking the Asian nations to chart a clear roadmap for a shared future and shared prosperity.

“In this changing world, the fates of Asian countries are intertwined. We must chart a clear roadmap for a shared future and shared prosperity,” he said.

The Chief Adviser also focused on creating a sustainable financing mechanism for Asian countries. “We need reliable funds that address our challenges and meet our growing demands.”

About trade cooperation, he said Asia remains one of the least integrated regions and this weak integration stifles investment and trade.

“We must work to boost trade cooperation immediately,” he said.

Referring to food and agriculture cooperation, Yunus said the Asian countries should promote resource-efficient farming and domestic production must be enhanced for food security.

“We need to reduce import reliance and achieve self-sufficiency. Expanding tech-based sustainable agricultural solutions and innovation in regenerative and climate-smart farming is key,” he said.

The Bangladesh Chief Adviser stressed building a strong tech ecosystem, sharing knowledge and data and investing in technology incubation and innovation in Asia.

About social business to solve social problems, he said every young person should grow up as a three-zero person: zero net carbon emissions, zero wealth concentration, and zero unemployment through entrepreneurship in social business.

“This is the shared future we in Asia must create together,” he added.

In his speech, Yunus underscored shifting toward sustainable economic models prioritising people and the planet over profits.

“We must shift toward sustainable economic models that prioritise people and the planet over profits,” he said.

Besides, the Chief Adviser focused on the long-pending Rohingya crisis, calling upon the Asian leaders to come forward towards ensuring safe and dignified repatriation of displaced Rohingyas to Myanmar.

“Bangladesh has been hosting over 1.2 million Rohingyas, who are Myanmar nationals, for over seven years. We continue to bear significant social, economic, and environmental costs,” he said.

On the sidelines of the conference, Yunus held meetings with Chairman of the Boao Forum for Asia and former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk and FAO Director General Qu Dongyu, among others, too.

Imagine Changing the World

On March 29, 2025, at a function at Peking University (PKU) in Beijing, Yunus urged students to think broadly and strive to transform the world.

“A university or educational institution is not only a place to learn what happens but to imagine,” he said.

Terming imagination the greatest power of the earth, Yunus said, “If you imagine, it will happen. If you do not imagine, it will never happen.”

The Bangladesh Chief Adviser said imagination is more powerful than anything “we can bring together”.

“Human journey is about making the impossible possible. That is our job. And we can make it happen,” Yunus said.

He said people become poor due to wrong economic systems, as all people are not given a fair chance in such systems.

He stressed promoting human beings to become entrepreneurs, not to be job seekers, saying, “All human beings are entrepreneurs.”

Yunus received an honorary doctorate degree from Peking University.
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United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and Bangladesh Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus attend an iftar party in the Ukhiya refugee camp, at Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, where about a million Rohingya refugees have lived since fleeing the violence in Myanmar. Credit: Gazi Sarwar Hossain/PID

By Rafiqul Islam
COX’S BAZAR, Bangladesh, Mar 15 2025 (IPS)

When United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appeared before the Rohingya refugees wearing a traditional white panjabi, a costume of Muslims, to join an iftar party in Ukhiya refugee camp, thousands who had gathered waved to welcome him.

Seeing such solidarity from the Guterres for their long plight, many Rohingya people, who were fasting in the holy month of Ramadan, were emotional, and many shed tears.

The UN chief joined the solidarity iftar party with thousands of Rohingya Muslims in the refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar on Friday to express his solidarity with them. Bangladesh’s Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus also attended the iftar.

“Every Rohingya went to the iftar party to hear good news from the UN chief – good news to return to our homes in Myanmar. We all want to go back to our home of origin,” Rohingya youth, Ro Arfat Khan told IPS.

Before joining the iftar party, Guterres visited a learning centre in Ukhiya camp and exchanged views with Rohingya children. The children told the UN chief that they want to go back to their home in Myanmar, requesting that he helps ensure their safe and dignified return.

Guterres spoke to Rohingya women and imams and also visited the Rohingya cultural centre to get messages from the forcibly displaced refugees.

During his visit to the refugee camp, the UN secretary-general said in this year’s Ramadan visit, he got two clear messages from Rohingyas – they want to go back to Myanmar and better conditions in camps.

He said the international community should do everything to re-establish peace in Myanmar and to end discrimination and persecution of the Rohingyas.

Aid Cuts to Worsen Situation  

Thousands of Rohingya refugees turned up to the solidarity iftar, where UN secretary-general António Guterres and Bangladesh Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus pledged to continue to find a solution to their plight. Credit: Gazi Sarwar Hossain/PID

Due to a critical funding shortfall for its emergency response, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) said it would have to halve its per-person monthly allocation for food for Rohingyas in Bangladesh from USD 12.50 to USD 6 per day from April 1.

“Unfortunately, recently, dramatic cuts in humanitarian aid were announced by the United States and by several other countries, mainly in Europe, and because of that, we are at risk of cutting the food rations in this camp,” Guterres said.

He pledged that the UN would continue efforts to mobilise funds for Rohingyas to avoid a situation in which people would suffer even more and where some people could even die.

“I have to confess that we are on the verge of a deep humanitarian crisis with the announced cuts by several countries of their financial assistance; we are facing a dramatic risk, a risk to reduce the food rations to the Rohingya refugees to a level that would be 40 per cent of 2025,” he said.

He predicted that an unmitigated disaster may occur due to aid cuts and appealed to the international community, saying it had an obligation to invest to support Rohingyas in Bangladesh to ease their plight.

“We will do everything to solve the problem of food rations,” Guterres added.

Recalling that the international community has a special obligation to ensure aid reaches Rohingya refugees, he said the world has not “forgotten them”.

“That is why the cuts by the international community of the aid to Rohingya refugees are unacceptable,”  said Guterres. “I repeat: Cox’s Bazar is ground zero for the impact of budget cuts on people in desperate need, and we must do everything to make sure that that does not happen.”

Resilient Rohingyas

According to him, the forcibly displaced, over one million Rohingyas, who took shelter in Bangladesh after extreme violence against them in 2017, are resilient, but they need the world’s support.

The UN chief said that many Rohingya Muslims arrived in Cox’s Bazar camp after massacres in Rakhine state and decades of discrimination and persecution, escaping brutal human rights violations that triggered widespread anti-Muslim hate.

“Rohingya refugees have come here for what people anywhere seek: protection, dignity, safety for them and their families.”

Guterres said he was inspired by the courage of Rohingyas and moved by their determination. He listened to harrowing accounts of their ordeals in Myanmar and their journeys to Bangladesh.

“They want to go home – Myanmar is their homeland. And returning in a safe, voluntary, and dignified manner is the primary solution to this crisis,” he said.

Guterres urged the Myanmar authorities to take steps in accordance with international humanitarian law to prevent communal tension and violence, and create an environment for the safe and dignified return of Rohingyas to their home of origin in Rakhine state.

“But the situation in Myanmar remains dire, including in Rakhine state. Until the conflict and systematic persecution end, we must support those who need protection here in Bangladesh,” he added.

Noting that the solution must be found in Myanmar, Guterres said the UN will continue efforts to ensure the voluntary, safe and sustainable return of all Rohingya refugees to Myanmar.

“Until then, I urge the international community not to reduce the support to Rohingya refugees,” he added.

Reviving Hopes

After the iftar on Friday, Bangladesh Chief Adviser Prof Yunus delivered his speech in the local dialect, which Rohingya refugees interpreted as a message of solidarity.

“The UN Secretary-General has come to resolve the suffering of the Rohingyas. Not this Eid, (but) I hope, the Rohingyas will be able to celebrate their Eid in their country next time.”

He said if necessary, they will have to fight with the whole world to bring the Rohingyas back to their home of origin.

“During the Eid, people visit the graves of their dearest relatives. The Rohingyas do not even have that opportunity,” the Bangladesh chief adviser said.

Abdur Rahman, who sheltered in the Cox’s Bazar camp in 2017, said around 100,000 Rohingyas were supposed to join the iftar party on Friday, but over 300,000 gathered there to get good news about their return to Myanmar.

“We all – from children to the old – want to go back to our homes. The UN chief’s visit inspired us,” he said.

Ro Arfat said sometimes the Rohingya people become hopeless as they have no state and no home now.

“But, the visit of two dignitaries – the UN chief and the chief adviser – helps us revive our hopes about our home return. This hope has returned to our mind,” he added.

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The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) called for national healing in a report on the Bangladesh 2024 protests. Credit: UN Photo

By IPS Correspondent
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 14 2025 (IPS)

A new report from the UN Human Rights Office confirms that Bangladesh’s former government coordinated and committed human rights violations against its civilians to suppress the protest movement in July last year, with the high commissioner calling for justice and serious reform to end the cycle of violence and retribution.

On 12 February, the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released a long-awaited report on the human rights violations and abuses that took place during and following the anti-government protests in Bangladesh from 1 July to 15 August, 2024. This report is the outcome of a fact-finding mission conducted in September at the invitation of the interim government and its Chief Advisor, Dr. Muhammad Yunus.

The student-led movement began as a protest against the country’s high court’s decision to reinstate an unpopular quota system for civil service jobs. The movement spread across the country and garnered national attention when senior officials of the Awami League, the former ruling party, decried the students’ requests. As the students faced escalating retaliation from the Awami League and security forces, protestors shifted their demands towards wider government reform and the resignation of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. She fled to India on August 5, 2024, marking an end to her regime.

The report found that Hasina’s government and the security and intelligence teams systematically engaged in serious human rights violations. These included hundreds of extrajudicial killings, use of force on protestors, including children, and arbitrary detention and torture. OHCHR states that these human rights violations were conducted with the full knowledge and at the direction of the political leaders and security personnel, with the intent to suppress the protests.

“The brutal response was a calculated and well-coordinated strategy by the former government to hold onto power in the face of mass opposition,” said UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk.

The OHCHR investigation found that senior Awami League officials mobilized their supporters and the Chhtra League, the party’s student wing, to carry out armed attacks on student protestors to dissuade dissent. When the protestors held their ground, police forces were instructed to take more forceful measures, and the government prepared to deploy paramilitary forces armed with military rifles.

The report confirmed the presence and use of metal pellets, rubber bullets, and tear gas on protestors, who were often unarmed. Excessive force was used against protestors by police and military personnel, notably the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), a paramilitary group that have been criticized by human rights groups for their excessive use of violence and intimidation. An examination from Dhaka Medical College of 130 deaths from that period revealed that 80 percent were caused by firearms. Bangladesh’s Ministry of Health recorded over 13,000 injuries, many of which are long-term damage to the eyes and torso.

Women that participated in the protests faced verbal abuse and physical assaults from the police and Awami League supporters. Female students were also threatened with sexual violence to dissuade them from joining the protests. OHCHR references at least two accounts of women who were physically assaulted and groped by Chhatra League members before being turned over to the police. They remark in the report that it was possible that many more such cases might have occurred but were unreported.

OHCHR estimates that as many as 1,400 deaths occurred relating to the protests, with children accounting for approximately 12 percent of those deaths. These deaths occurred among underage students who participated in the protests or children who were bystanders and were fatally shot by stray bullets.

The report also notes the state’s efforts to suppress information and conceal the extent of the unrest. Journalists faced intimidation from security forces; by the end of the protests, at least 200 journalists were injured and six were confirmed dead. Meanwhile, the former government’s intelligence and telecommunications agencies implemented internet and telecom shutdowns without providing legal justification. This was to prevent the organization of protests through social media and prevented journalists, activists and the general public from sharing or accessing information about the protests and the government’s retaliation.

In the immediate aftermath of Hasina’s departure, the violence did not end. Instead, there were reported cases of revenge violence targeting the police, Awami League supporters, or those perceived to be supporting them. Reports also emerged of attacks on indigenous communities from the Chittagong Hill Tracts and the minority Hindu communities. Although 100 arrests relating to these attacks were reportedly made, many of the perpetrators still faced impunity.

OHCHR remarks that the former government’s crackdown on the protest movement constituted violations of international law. It is emblematic of a deeper trend towards employing intimidation and even lethal force to clamp down on civic and political activity.

The report concludes with a series of recommendations for sweeping reforms across the justice and security sectors and to implement broader changes to the political system.

Since the report’s release, the interim government has indicated they welcome its findings and will take steps to implement the recommendations. “I, along with everyone else working in the interim government and millions of other Bangladeshis, am committed to transforming Bangladesh into a country in which all its people can live in security and dignity,” Yunus said on Wednesday. Noting the report’s reference to structural issues within the law enforcement sectors, Yunus called on the people in those sectors to “side with justice, the law, and the people of Bangladesh in holding to account their own peers and others who have broken the law and violated the human and civil rights of their fellow citizens.”

Türk expressed that his office would be ready to support Bangladesh in the process of national accountability reform. “The best way forward for Bangladesh is to face the horrific wrongs committed during this period through a comprehensive process of truth-telling, healing and accountability and to redress the legacy of serious human rights violations and ensure they can never happen again.”

The interim government’s acknowledgement of the human rights report is to be welcomed. In the past, it was common for previous governments to dismiss any such reports. Healing and retribution must be owed to the lives lost during the protests. At the same time, this government and the people they represent must also recognize that in their efforts to seek justice and accountability, they should not fall into the trap of mob violence or a total otherizing of former leaders, even as the ousted regime carries out a campaign against the interim government and last year’s protests.

Meenakshi Ganguly, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, warns that the government “should not repeat the mistakes of the past” and instead ensure the proper procedures for impartial rule of law. “Bangladeshis are angry over the repression by the Hasina administration and they deserve justice and accountability, but it has to be in a rights-respecting manner,” she said. “All crimes, including mob violence, should be punished, but when authority figures characterize opponents as the ‘devil,’ it can fuel abuses by security forces that have never faced accountability.”

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Bangladesh Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus at the World Economic Forum. Credit: Press information Department, Bangladesh

By Rafiqul Islam
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 28 2025 (IPS)

As Bangladesh Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus emerged from a meeting during the World Economic Forum (WEF), Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta came forward to greet him, a demonstration of how warmly the global leaders and dignitaries received the person tasked with leading the interim government.

During his four-day tour, Yunus participated in at least 47 formal events at the WEF, including with four heads of government or state, four minister-level dignitaries, ten heads or top executives of UN or similar organisations, 10 CEOs/high-level business persons, nine WEF-organized programmes, eight media engagements and two other events.

During the meetings, the Bangladesh interim government chief discussed a range of issues: the Bangladesh economy, the recovery of stolen money, Bangladesh reform agendas, the Rohingya crisis, social business and investment.

During a discussion with Klaus Schwab, executive chairman of the World Economic Forum, he described the process of rebuilding the country, including restoring law and order and the economy and this involved understanding where the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had left the country.

“After so many killings, the law and order situation became very critical …The next thing you do is build up the economy again; let the economic machine run … Immediately after that, I tried to appoint a committee to prepare a white paper so they were stocktaking… to understand what we inherited from the previous government.”

Yunus said he was shocked by the amount of money laundered from the country. “The estimated calculation was about USD 17 billion from the banking system that just loaned that away.”

In addition, over- and under-invoicing and other legal channels resulted in USD 16 billion per year being shifted away—it was as if a tornado had hit the economy.

Bangladesh Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus with World Economic Forum Founder and Chair Klaus Schwab. Credit: Press InformationDepartment, Bangladesh

Yunus said they needed to secure the garment industry.

It was also necessary to restore trust in the judicial system where people had disappeared and many, especially the political opposition, were charged with unspecified charges during the 16 years of rule. Even Yunus himself was to be arrested, he told Schwab.

Despite the issues, he was optimistic that the young people were the solution; however, the changes needed were qualitative.

The young generation in Bangladesh was creating their own world through entrepreneurship and technology and should be consulted in their future—even allowed to vote at 16 rather than the traditional 18 years of age.

“They’re smarter than any other generation because of the technology they have. They (already) know what we’ll be teaching them today. There’s nothing surprising for them.”

Resolve Rohingya Crisis

Included among world leaders Yunus met was German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who had expressed eagerness to meet the 2006 Nobel Peace Laureate.

During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the circumstances that led to the July uprising in Bangladesh, Bangladesh’s relationship with its neighbours, the Rohingya crisis, and the security situation in Myanmar.

Yunus sought Scholz’s cooperation in creating a safe zone for Rohingyas in Myanmar’s Rakhine State under the supervision of the United Nations (UN).

Scholz agreed, saying, “You can be assured that we will support you.”

In August 2017, the Myanmar army started an armed breakdown on Rohingya Muslim minorities in Rakhine State and forced them to flee their homes and take shelter in Bangladesh. Bangladesh hosts over one million Rohingya refugees as of June 2024, according to the UNHCR. The majority of the forcibly displaced Rohingyas live in refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.

During his visit to the WEF, Yunus also urged other global leaders to take immediate actions to resolve the long-pending Rohingya crisis and create a conducive and safe environment in Myanmar so that the displaced people could return to their home of origin with dignity.

Calling for putting the global focus back on the Rohingya crisis, he said the new influx of about 100,000 more refugees has added further burden on Bangladesh.

“The situation is getting complicated. They are pushing more Rohingyas to Bangladesh,” the chief adviser said during a meeting with UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on January 21.

Assuring that his agency would support Bangladesh to find a durable solution to the Rohingya crisis, Grandi said, “We stand ready to cooperate with you.”

Yunus also broached Grandi about hosting a major global conference on the Rohingya later this year, saying, “Your voice will be more critical.”

Help Dhaka Bring Stolen Money Back

Yunus also asked foreign friends to return hundreds of billions of stolen dollars when he met global leaders in Davos, especially the USD 16 billion that was laundered abroad each year from Bangladesh during Hasina’s 15-year “corrupt regime,” leaving the country in a state of plunder and the economy in a shambles.

While holding meetings with them, the Bangladesh chief adviser called upon the global leaders to send top experts, think tanks, journalists, and international agencies to Bangladesh to dig into how a daylight robbery was committed during Hasina’s regime.

Bangladesh informed the global leaders of its efforts in recovering the laundered money, mentioning that the interim government had formed an Asset Recovery Committee and a task force to recover stolen assets. Meanwhile, the Bangladesh government has targeted the top 20 money launderers initially to recover the stolen assets.

At a meeting with European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde, Yunus asked for help in recovering billions of dollars stolen from Bangladesh during the previous regime.

“Some USD 17 billion alone were taken out from the country’s banking system by oligarchs close to the dictatorship, and USD 16 billion were siphoned off annually during the 15 years of Hasina rule,” the chief adviser told Lagarde. “It was a massive highway robbery.”

Assuring that she would support the Bangladesh government’s move to recover the stolen money, Lagarde recommended that Bangladesh should also seek help from the IMF to recover and bring the money back home.

World Leaders Support Reform Agendas

After the fall of Hasina’s regime, the Yunus-led interim government has taken major state reform initiatives to bring back democracy and to hold free and fair elections in Bangladesh.

Many leaders, including Finnish President Alexander Stubb, World Bank Managing Director Anna Bjerde and former American Vice President Al Gore, vowed to support Bangladesh’s reform programmes.

Gore expressed his support for the country’s reform initiatives and fixing Bangladesh’s institutions and its democratic transition through a free and fair election.

During WEF, Yunus held bilateral meetings with Germany’s Federal Minister for Special Affairs Wolfgang Schmidt; King Philippe of Belgium; Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra; member of the Swiss Federal Council Ignazio Cassis; UN Secretary General António Guterres; DRC President Felix Tshisekedi; former United States special presidential envoy for climate John Kerry; and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

On the sidelines, Yunus held meetings with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk and Munich Security Conference Chairman Ambassador Christoph Heusgen, among others.

“Chief Adviser Prof. Yunus’s tour to Davos was very important. I would say it was a tour of historical achievement for Bangladesh,” the Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam said.

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The face of Bangladesh’s founding father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, will soon be erased from the country’s currency. Credit: Kumkum Chadha/IPS

By Kumkum Chadha
DELHI, Jan 7 2025 (IPS)

History seems to be chasing Bangladesh even while the interim government is grappling with real issues of administering a country thrown into chaos.

In July last year, this south Asian country faced an upheaval when a students’ movement drove out Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina from office.

Protestors took to the streets over a quota system for government jobs. Their angst—disproportionate benefits to descendants of freedom fighters.

Once political parties and fundamentalists jumped in, the focus shifted, with protestors demanding Hasina’s resignation.

Hasina was forced to leave the country she had ruled for 15 years. She landed in India for what was then flagged as a temporary refuge: “For the moment only,” as India’s Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar had then told the Indian Parliament.

Back home in Bangladesh, an interim government headed by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus took charge of governing a country clearly at a crossroads—in other words, a toss-up between Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s legacy or charting a new course without the baggage of history.

It is against this backdrop that one must examine the new narrative of the interim government to reprint Bangladesh’s currency notes.

Initiated by the Central Bank of Bangladesh, the new notes will no longer carry the customary picture of Bangabandhu as Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, as the former leader who led the country to independence is known. In common parlance, Bangabandhu means Friend of Bangla people.

“Phasing out” is how officials from Bangladesh Bank explained the move, while 70-year-old Alamgir, a witness to the War of Liberation, called it “an altered history,” in other words, pressing a delete button on Bangabandhu’s legacy.

To say that the sins of a daughter have adversely impacted her father’s legacy may be a bit of a stretch because even on his own, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was a controversial figure.

A folk hero turned dictator, he failed to address the real issues of Bangladesh. Instead, he became authoritarian and suspended rights. As Prime Minister, his daughter Hasina followed in her father’s footsteps.

Hence the anger of the people that spilled to the streets last year took a toll both on Sheikh Hasina and the legacy.

For starters, the current generation, many in the forefront of the students’ protest in Bangladesh, resent the undue space accorded to Sheikh Mujibur Rahman through the years, particularly when Hasina ruled. Not only do they want to erase his imprint, but they also intend to rewrite and, if possible, clean up the bloody chapters of history.

In this context, is the currency note redesign the first substantive step taken by the interim government headed by Yunus?

Fazal Kamal, former editor of The Independent and Bangladesh Times, does not think so.
“It is not the government that has taken the initiative. It is an intense reaction from among the people of Bangladesh to Hasina’s insistence on ensuring Mujib’s seal on everything. It is this overkill that Bangladeshis want to end. The interim government is only going along,” he told IPS.

Given the hullabaloo, it must be pointed out that this is not the first time that Mujibur Rahman’s mugshot, if one may be allowed to use the term, has been taken off currency notes.

In 1976, a year after Bangabandhu and some of his family members were assassinated, the series of notes that were introduced did not have his image. It was only in 1998 that he made a comeback on the taka and has remained since. A taka is a basic monetary unit in Bangladesh.

Therefore, when Farid Hossain, who has served as Minister at the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, calls the currency issue “much ado about nothing,” he is not off the mark.

“On ground, people want governance—they want law and order and currency, which can buy more rather than which image it carries,” Hossain said, adding that the move is indicative of the interim government “giving in to pressure” from the radicals.

To many, Hasina’s ouster is nothing short of a “second independence.” Yet there is a large segment that is against what Hossain has termed “wholesale erosion” of history and legacy: “Today Bangladesh faces an ideological divide and the narrative that was buried years ago seems to have resurfaced.”

In other words, today’s generation in Bangladesh wants to resurrect the real face of Mujibur Rahman and strip him of the legacy draped in grandeur. And in this, the interim government has been an active player.

“The intention of the interim administration is to take the country away from its historical legacy. The current regime has pandered to its unruly student followers who have been crushing every symbol of history,” says political analyst Syed Badrul Ahsan.

As for succumbing to pressure, the interim government is in the eye of a storm on another issue—the tricky and sensitive issue of Hasina’s extradition.

Bangladesh has sent a note verbale to the Indian government saying that it wants Hasina back for a judicial process. A note verbale is a diplomatic communication from one government to another.

There has been a persistent demand, as Kamal points out, for leaders of the previous regime to be brought back and tried. Call it vendetta politics if you will but the popular sentiment seems to be that Hasina should be sent to the gallows.

Though India and Bangladesh have an extradition treaty in place, it exempts political vendetta.

Article 6 of the treaty states that extradition may be denied if the alleged offence is of a political nature. That Hasina is being tried for her political offences is a given: “A note verbale is not enough. The interim government does not have a mandate. It is there to administer and steer reforms and not indulge in politicking. But it seems to be taking up the side issue of radicals and seems to be giving in,” Pinak Ranjan Chakravarty, former Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, told IPS.

Dismissing the extradition request as “mere rhetoric resulting from domestic pulls and pressures,” the former ambassador says India is unlikely to accommodate its neighbor on this issue.

He also did not rule out Yunus using this as a “pressure tactic” to tell India to restrain Sheikh Hasina from making political statements from Indian soil.

For record, in a virtual address last month, Hasina stated that Yunus was running a “fascist regime” that encouraged terrorists and fundamentalists. Interestingly, the extradition request had followed soon after.

Both issues seem to be hanging in the air—the new currency notes are yet to be printed and on Hasina’s extradition, the Indian government is silent.

As for Mujib’s legacy, his statue can be vandalized, his images defaced and his daughter’s sins denigrate his legacy, but Bangabandhu’s footprint from history, however controversial, cannot be erased.

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Female workers sort out plastic bottles for recycling in a factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Credit: Abir Abdullah/Climate Visuals Countdown

By Masum Billah
DHAKA, Nov 27 2024 (IPS)

After Bangladesh’s interim government banned polyethene bags, a new sense of hope has emerged for the Sonali bag—a jute-based, eco-friendly alternative developed in 2017 by Bangladeshi scientist Dr. Mubarak Ahmed Khan. Sonali bag, or the golden bag, is named after the golden fiber of jute from which it is made.

Despite its promises, the project has struggled to make significant progress due to a lack of funding. However, following the announcement of the polythene bag ban, Mubarak is now facing pressure to supply his Sonali bag to a market eager for sustainable alternatives.

“Since the government banned polythene bags, we have faced immense pressure of orders that we cannot meet—people are coming in with requests at an overwhelming rate,” Mubarak Ahmed Khan told the IPS.

The latest ban, which came into effect on October 1 for superstores and traditional markets on November 1, isn’t the first time Bangladesh has imposed a ban on polythene bags.

In 2002, the country became the first in the world to outlaw them, as plastic waste was severely clogging city drainage systems and exacerbating its waterlogging crisis, with Dhaka alone consuming an estimated 410 million polybags each month. But the ban gradually lost effectiveness over the years, largely due to a lack of affordable and practical alternatives and inadequate enforcement from regulatory authorities.

Dr. Mubarak Ahmed Khan in his office holding a Sonali Bag. Credit: Masum Billah/IPS

Polyethene bags, although cheaper, are harmful to the environment as they are non-biodegradable and their decomposition takes at least 400 years. Sonali Bag as an alternative, on the other hand, is regarded as a game-changer because it is biodegradable, capable of decomposing in three months.

The ban comes as the UN Plastics Treaty Negotiations are underway in Busan, South Korea. The UN Environment Programme estimates that around the world, one million plastic bottles are purchased every minute.

“In total, half of all plastic produced is designed for single-use purposes—used just once and then thrown away.”

Without an agreement, the OECD estimates that annual plastic production, use, and waste are predicted to increase by 70 percent in 2040 compared to 2020. This on a planet already choking on plastic waste.

The talks have in the past stalled over a disagreement over how to manage waste, with some countries favouring introducing a cap on plastic production and others supporting circularity with use, reuse, and recycling as the main objectives.

The plastics treaty talks will run from 25 November 2024 to 1 December 2024.

However, despite its environmental benefits and higher demands, in Bangladesh the Sonali Bag project still remains within the pilot phase.

A late start for funding crisis

After Mubarak’s invention made headlines, the country’s state-owned Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation launched a pilot project, setting up a jute-polymer unit at the Latif Bawani Jute Mill to produce Sonali Bag.

Mubarak said they have been asking for government funds, as the project has been operating under the Ministry of Textiles and Jute. However, the basic funding that kept the pilot project running expired last December, and the previous government—which was toppled in August in a mass uprising—had discontinued the project.

“There had been assurances that we might receive Tk100 crore (about USD 8 million) in funding from the government by July. But then came political unrest and a change in government,” Mubarak said.

After the new government took charge, they renewed the pledges to fund the Sonali Bag project.

“The interim government told us that we will get the money in January. If that happens, we will be able to produce five tons of bags per day,” Mubarak said. “Five tons may not be a lot, but it will give us the chance to demonstrate our work to private investors, boosting their confidence to engage with us.”

According to Mubarak, one kilogram of Sonali bags amounts to around 100 pieces of small bags. Based on this estimate, five tons could produce around 15 million bags per month.

Bangladesh’s current adviser to the Ministry of Textiles and Jute, Md. Sakhawat Hossain, told IPS that they are seriously considering funding the Sonali Bag project this January, although he acknowledged that his ministry is currently facing a funding crisis.

“The work will begin in full scale after the fund is provided,” Sakhawat Hossain said. When asked if Mubarak would receive the funds by January, he replied, “We hope so.”

A ban without adequate alternatives at hand

Mubarak Ahmed Khan regards the government’s decision to ban polythene bags as a “praiseworthy” initiative. However, he emphasized that sustainable and affordable alternatives to the polythene bags should come soon.

Mubarak is not alone in his concerns. Sharif Jamil, founder of Waterkeepers Bangladesh, an organization dedicated to protecting water bodies, shares skepticism about the effectiveness of the ban this time, citing the lack of sustainable alternatives in the market.

“The announcement of this ban is an important and timely step. However, it must also be noted that our previous ban was not enforced. Without addressing the underlying issues that led to nonenforcement of the previous ban, the new polythene ban will not resolve the existing problems. It is crucial to tackle the challenges that allowed polythene to remain in the market,” Sharif Jamil told IPS.

“If you don’t provide people with an alternative and simply remove polythene from the markets, the ban won’t be effective,” he added.

Sharif noted that the existing alternatives in the market are not affordable, with some selling alternative jute bags at Tk25 in supermarkets, while polythene bags are often offered at a price that is essentially free.

“Alternatives need to be more affordable and accessible to the public,” he said.

Mubarak stated that his Sonali bag currently costs Tk10 per piece, but he anticipates lowering the price with increased production and demand.

The pursuit of competition in sustainable alternatives

Sharif Jamil, however, wants competition in the sustainable alternatives market.

“It is not only about incentivizing Dr. Mubarak’s project,” Sharif said.

This technology has to be incentivized and recognized, but the government also has to ensure two other things, he said.

“If the government can make it accessible to people at a lower price, it will reach them. Secondly, if the alternative remains solely with Mubarak, it will create a monopoly again,” he said.

It must undergo competition, he recommended. Bangladesh has a competition commission to ensure that other existing sustainable green solutions on the market are also incentivized and recognized.

“Besides facilitating and upgrading Mubarak’s project, the government should ensure fair competition so that people can access it at a lower price,” he added.

For the sake of environment

Adviser Shakhawat Hossain said that they are optimistic about the success of Sonali Bag.

“Already the ambassadors of various countries are meeting me about this. Some buying houses too have been created for this. It seems it will be a sustainable development,” he said.

Mubarak said that if they get the funding soon, Sonali Bag will have a market not only in Bangladesh but all over the world.

He said the private investors should come forward not just because the government has banned polythene bags, but out of a moral obligation to address the negative impact these bags have on the environment.

“With this, I believe we can create a polythene-free environment,” Mubarak said, acknowledging, “It is not easy to introduce this to the market solely because it is a new product. We are up against an USD 3.5 trillion single-use plastic market.”

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A young girl digs deep into soil saturated with salt water, hoping to find logs to burn as fuel. Two years on from Cyclone Aila, the communities along Bangladesh’s southwest coastline are starting to rebuild their lives. In the course of the cyclone, which struck in May 2009, surges of water up to three meters high battered the coast along the Bay of Bengal in Khulna district. Cyclone Sidr, the worst ever in the area, had already weakened the area. Aila only needed to hit a small amount to destroy the defenses. Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

By Mohammad Rakibul Hasan
DHAKA, Oct 22 2024 (IPS)

Global warming has far-reaching effects, and certain countries, particularly those with low lying coastal regions, are more vulnerable than others. Bangladesh, the largest delta in the world, is at the forefront of the global warming crisis. Its coastal areas are increasingly exposed to rising sea levels, natural disasters, and salinization, all of which have devastating effects on its population.

Nijhum Dwip is a 20-kilometer-long offshore island in the Bay of Bengal, nearby the South of Hatia Island. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has warned that the sea is rising more dramatically and may rise 11.2 inches by 2070, resulting in the shrinkage of this island by 96% within half a century (WWF 2010). Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

The rise in natural calamities, such as cyclones and tidal surges, worsens the already fragile ecosystem. In this context, Bangladesh serves as a case study of how climate change disproportionately affects some regions, despite their minimal contribution to global emissions.

Bangladesh’s vulnerability to global warming is linked to its geography and socioeconomic structure. The nation’s low-lying coastal regions are particularly vulnerable to sea level rise, which cyclones and tidal floods exacerbate. Two significant cyclones, Sidr in 2007 and Aila in 2009, ravaged Bangladesh’s coastal zones, including the districts of Satkhira, Barguna, Patuakhali, Khulna, and Bagerhat. These events highlighted the urgent need for climate action. 

Water and soil salinity in Satkhira, the most climate-prone district in Bangladesh, is trying to adapt, but the land is adverse to growing crops; people are fleeing to the other districts to save their livelihood even in 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic fueled climate migration more as the supply and growth of food sources have become very minimal. Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

Cyclone Aila, which struck on May 27, 2009, serves as a stark reminder of the destructive potential of climate-induced disasters. The cyclone claimed 330 lives and left over 8,000 missing. It caused extensive destruction in the coastal district of Satkhira, particularly in the village of Gabura, which was near the Sundarbans mangrove forest. Aila displaced over 1 million people, destroyed natural resources, and wiped out crucial infrastructure. Moreover, a deadly outbreak of diarrhea followed, infecting over 7,000 people, with fatalities reported within days of the cyclone.

The economic cost of Cyclone Aila was staggering. The total damage was estimated at USD 552.6 million. The cyclone also exposed the vulnerability of Bangladesh’s public health infrastructure, with millions at risk of post-disaster diseases due to inadequate resources and medical attention.

This woman lost almost everything when the cyclone Aila hit the territory. She is a widow and lives with her son. Poverty and natural disasters have an impact on women in developing nations like Bangladesh who live near the coastline. These are making them more vulnerable, affecting their livelihoods and security. In Satkhira, the most climate-prone district in Bangladesh, water and soil salinity are a problem and while the region is trying to adapt, crops don’t grow there and people are fleeing to the other districts to save their livelihoods. Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

One of the long-term effects of climate change in Bangladesh is the rising sea levels, which are already encroaching on the country’s coastal areas. As sea levels rise, Bangladesh’s coastal regions face increased salinity in both soil and water. The reduced flow of freshwater from upstream rivers during the dry season exacerbates this issue.

Saline water now reaches as far as 240 kilometers inland, rendering agricultural activities increasingly difficult. Farmers, once able to produce several crops per year, are struggling to sustain their livelihoods as crop productivity plummets.

Much of the flood damage caused by Cyclone Aila was to the water and sanitation systems the Bangladeshi villagers depend on. Floodwaters seeped into supplies used for drinking and washing, and latrines were washed away, allowing raw sewage to increase the threat to diseases such as cholera. This young boy in Gabura, one of the worst-hit villages in the Satkhira district, has access to safe drinking water—but has to cross a river to collect it. Livelihoods have also been lost: freshwater with sewage and saltwater, and seawater continues to flood farmlands at high tide two years on, making it impossible to grow crops. Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

The saline intrusion has also led to a shift in the region’s economy, with shrimp farming becoming one of the few viable industries. Shrimp farming, however, brings its own set of environmental challenges, as it requires large-scale land conversion and disrupts natural ecosystems, further trapping seawater in agricultural lands. The transformation of agricultural lands into shrimp farms has also altered the social fabric, contributing to food insecurity and economic hardship.

A laborer building a dam to protect the border of the river. Every year, more or less, cyclones hit Gabura and its surrounding areas; high tides hit the land and drown houses and crop fields. And often, it kills lives. Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

The Sundarbans, the largest tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world, play a crucial role in protecting Bangladesh’s coastal communities from climate-induced disasters. Sixty percent of the forest lies within Bangladesh, primarily in the districts of Khulna and Satkhira, while the rest extends into West Bengal, India. The Sundarbans act as a natural buffer, absorbing the impact of cyclones and tidal waves. Despite its protective function, the forest is under threat from both environmental degradation and human activities.

As agricultural lands diminish, more people are forced into the forest to collect honey, firewood, and other resources, putting them at greater risk of attacks by wildlife, including the Royal Bengal Tigers. Additionally, pirates and illegal loggers roam the forest, further endangering the livelihoods of those who depend on the Sundarbans for survival.

An agent from the shrimp farm is checking good quality baby shrimp in the shrimp market. Many people are involved in catching and trading baby shrimps. They catch baby shrimps from the nearby rivers and sell them to earn a living. Shrimp farming is widespread around the coastal area of Satkhira. It is a profitable business, but businessmen are grabbing land from the farmers for longtime contracts for shrimp farming. This farming requires saltwater to cultivate shrimps, and the salt goes deep into the soil day by day, and after a few years, the whole area gets affected by salinity. No crops or trees cannot grow in that territory in the long run. Biodiversity and natural ecosystems get interrupted. Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

The impacts of climate change in Bangladesh have forced many coastal inhabitants to migrate in search of safer living conditions and economic opportunities. These displaced individuals, often referred to as “climate refugees,” migrate to urban centers or across international borders, particularly into India. The migration is mostly unregulated, leading to significant challenges for both migrants and the host communities.

The story of the coastal communities of Bangladesh reflects a grim reality: climate change has not only stripped them of their homes and livelihoods but also made life increasingly unbearable. As the fairy tale of the king and his daughter suggests, life without salt is flavorless, but for these climate refugees, salt—in the form of increased salinity—is the bitter reality of their lives. The same salt that infiltrates their lands also fills their tears.

Despite the severity of the crisis, it is not too late to take meaningful action to mitigate the effects of climate change on Bangladesh and other vulnerable nations. International cooperation is essential, as the effects of climate change transcend borders. Developed countries, which are historically responsible for the majority of greenhouse gas emissions, must provide financial and technical support to countries like Bangladesh. Without adequate assistance, the human and economic toll of climate change will continue to rise.

Efforts to combat climate change must focus on both mitigation and adaptation. Coastal defenses, improved infrastructure, and sustainable agricultural practices can help protect vulnerable populations. Additionally, international policies must prioritize climate-induced migration, ensuring that displaced persons are treated with dignity and provided with the resources they need to rebuild their lives.

Bangladesh’s experience with climate change serves as a stark reminder of the global implications of environmental degradation. The country with its vulnerable coastal areas is emblematic of the challenges that face many developing nations as they struggle to adapt to rising sea levels, increased salinity, and more frequent natural disasters. International cooperation and policy reforms are critical to ensuring that Bangladesh and other nations can withstand the growing pressures of climate change.

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Muhammad Yunus, Chief Adviser of the interim government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s 79th session. Credit: Loey Felipe/UN

By Naureen Hossain
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 27 2024 (IPS)

In his first major address at the United Nations, the Chief Advisor of Bangladesh’s interim government, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, appealed to the international community to engage with a ‘new Bangladesh’ in the shared efforts to cooperate on global issues.

Yunus arrived earlier in the week to attend the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. In the four days he was here, Yunus held meetings with a range of world leaders, notably UN Secretary-General António Guterres and US President Joe Biden. This would indicate there is good support for him and what he represents. On Friday, Yunus addressed the General Assembly, speaking in his native language, Bangla.

“I stand in this parliament of nations thanks to an epochal transformation that Bangladesh witnessed this July and August,” said Yunus. “The ‘power of the ordinary people’, in particular our youth, presented to our nation an opportunity to overhaul many of our systems and institutions.”

Bangladesh is currently in a period of significant transition since the anti-government protests broke out in July earlier this year, which led to the ousting of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. The protest movement began with calls for government reform before it transformed into a wider movement that spoke out against the government’s retaliatory tactics and deeper corruption within the administration and law enforcement.

Dr. Muhammad Yunus, Chief Advisor of Bangladesh’s interim government, arrived earlier in the week to attend the 79th United Nations General Assembly. Credit: Naureen Hossain/IPS

Shortly after Hasina’s departure on August 5, it was announced that an interim government would be instated with an agenda to implement sweeping reforms on law enforcement and government administration, among other matters. Yunus received an invitation from the protest movement to head the interim government thanks to his decades-long career in economics and civil society, his distinction as a Nobel laureate, and his recognition by the international community. He took office in Dhaka on August 12, 2024.

Yunus remarked that the new government would be committed to promoting and protecting fundamental rights and ensuring good governance across all sectors. Since its formation, this new government, Yunus said, has already launched independent commissions into the electoral process, the judicial system and the legal sectors.

“I wish to assure that our government shall adhere to all international, regional and bilateral instruments that Bangladesh is party to. Bangladesh will continue to remain an active proponent of multilateralism, with the UN at the core,” he said.

As the unrest in Bangladesh unfolded over several weeks, the United Nations offered to support Bangladesh in its efforts towards reform and to seek accountability and justice for the lives impacted during the protests.

Notably, UN Human Rights Commissioner Volker Türk deployed a team on a fact-finding mission to Bangladesh to investigate human rights violations that occurred over the protest movement in July, for which Yunus offered his gratitude.

This year marks 50 years of Bangladesh as a member of the United Nations. Yunus remarked on Bangladesh’s involvement with the UN through its work with the peacekeeping forces. Bangladesh is the third-largest contributor of peacekeepers among the member states. Yunus also noted the Culture of Peace resolution passed by the General Assembly in 20021 and the Microcredit Resolution in 1999.

In his address, Yunus also referred to the ongoing Rohingya refugee crisis, where Bangladesh has hosted over 1.2 million refugees over seven years. He called for the continued support from the international community on humanitarian operations for the refugee community, adding that the community and Bangladesh would need to work together to ensure the “dignified and sustainable return” to the Rakhine State in Myanmar.

Yunus called for new forms of collaboration between all stakeholders. He noted that this could be achieved through countries uniting and sharing resources and capacity to “leverage collective strength.”

“Time demands new attitudes, new values, new compact(s), across communities and countries, across developed and developing countries alike, across all actors and stakeholders,” he said.

Yunus also noted that through cooperation, developing countries such as those in the Global South were empowered to work towards innovative solutions. “It is also a growing necessity for the global South to make our voices heard. In shaping and steering the global agenda, the global South merits equal space and focus,” he noted.

Yunus concluded his address, reiterating his call for the world to pool its resources and solutions in working together to address the complex and interconnected issues the world must address, and in doing so, to uphold the rights and dignities of all people.

“Let us work together to end all forms of inequality and discrimination, within and among nations, especially in advancing the proposition of social business in our economic interactions.”
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Following the resignation and departure of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, students celebrated with jubilation. They took to the streets, chanting slogans, waving flags, and holding up banners. Many gathered at key locations such as university campuses and central city squares, lighting fireworks and singing patriotic songs. The atmosphere was festive, with students expressing relief and victory after their demands for quota reform and governmental change were met. Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

By Rafiqul Islam
DHAKA, Aug 14 2024 (IPS)

Justice for all those who died and suffered injuries during the recent student-led quota reform movement in Bangladesh and reforms to the systems to ensure that this justice takes place are not negotiable, an adviser to the Bangladesh interim government, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, told IPS in an exclusive interview

“The interim government has decided to ensure justice and it will be very transparent. Justice will be ensured not only for those who were killed and injured but it will accurately bring the perpetrators to justice so that innocent people are not affected.”

Hasan was sworn in as an advisor to Nobel laureate economist Muhammad Yunus’ interim government after the resignation of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, following weeks of deadly protests that, according to reports, left at least 300 people dead. She is an award-winning environmental lawyer known for her activism.

Adviser to the Bangladesh interim government, Syeda Rizwana Hasan, has promised justice and reform following the quota reform movement protests that brought down the Bangladesh government.

Reform of Security Sector

Hasan mentioned that the reforms needed in the security sector will be recommended through the trial process.

“Now we have to talk about the process of trial, which would be more transparent. One part of the trial has already started. The students detained during the movement will be released.”

News reports put the number of arrests at more than 10,000 since the protests began, including students and political opposition leaders.

“Whoever gave instruction to detain students, who directed to open fire (on students), leaving people so many dead and injured, and who commanded to put them (the six coordinators of the students’ movement) in the so-called custody of the DB (detective branch of police)—all will be probed so that the accused of directives cannot get relief.”

Hasan was referring to Nahid Islam, Abu Bakar Majumder, Asif Mahmud, Sarjis Alam, Hasnat Abdullah, and Nusrat Tabassum of the Students Against Discrimination Movement, who were arrested between July 26 and 28, 2024. The group was reportedly coerced to issue a statement of withdrawal from the protest movement while being detained for one week by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s (DMP) Detective Branch (DB). They were released on August 1.

Hasan said the trial would have the target of bringing about necessary reforms so that those accused of commanding these actions cannot make such directives in the future.

There was no reason for the government to open fire, she said, adding that the movement was non-partisan and was simply to address discrimination in the public service examination and appointment process.

She recalled that the first anti-quota movement was waged in 2018 and at that time, the Bangladesh government abolished the quota system in response to the student movement.

“But the then government, as clear as it was, wanted to again bring back the quota system so that it could use it, the reservation system, to get its own people into public service,” Hasan said.

She alleged that after the quota system was abolished, the government used the judicial system to bring it back.

In June 2024, the High Court ordered the reinstatement of the 30 percent quota for children of freedom fighters in a judgment that pronounced the 2018 abolition of quotas illegal.

The Chief Adviser of the interim government is Nobel laureate economist Dr. Muhammad Yunus. The unrest in Bangladesh reached a critical point, with accusations against PM Sheikh Hasina leading to her departure. In this volatile environment, an interim government has been established to restore stability and order. His appointment is seen as a move to bring credibility and expertise to the transitional leadership during these challenging times. Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

Students Fighting for Rights to Decent Work, End Discrimination

The students in Bangladesh were fighting for their rights—they have rights to get decent jobs and access to the job market without discrimination, she added.

“Why should a movement on a subject like this require any sort of firing by law enforcement agencies?” she asked, referring to the high death toll during the protests. “Why could not the government sit with the agitating students and solve the problem? I remind you again that the problem was once solved but they (the government) brought it back through a judicial verdict.”

She accused the previous administration of failing to act humanely and take into consideration the students’ concerns.

“They could have just consulted the students. But instead of inviting the students for discussion, what they did was blame the judiciary,” she said.

Hasan asserted that one judge reportedly made the comment that a judgment of the High Court could not change because of public agitation on the streets.

“Why did he need to make such a comment? When I am the chief justice, I only talk about an issue that comes before me. Why do I make such a provocative comment that triggers more tension?” she asked.

Student protesters throw shoes at a mural of Sheikh Hasina at Dhaka University, expressing their anger over political turmoil and government policies. The protesters are demonstrating their frustration with the government’s handling of recent events, including the controversial quota reforms and the violent clashes with police. Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

Open Discussions, Rather Than Open Fire

The comment, she said, showed that the entire power structure enjoyed unfettered power.

“They took it (the students’ movement) as their political opposition and they took it as a challenge to the authority, which was not the case at all,” Hasan said.

“And it was not that police opened fire for one day but they kept on opening fire and that was when it turned into a public revolution,” Hasan said.

She described that initially it started as a students’ movement and then it turned into a revolution where all the parents and all those who were angry with the government joined it.

The government could have and should have handled the situation better. It claimed it was also against the quota. If it had opened discussions instead of opening fire, the situation would have been different for all.

“We are standing on the blood of many students—the dead bodies of at least 500 Bangladeshis. Bangladeshis will remember what their own forces have done to their own people.”

“One outcome of this has been the departure of the fascist regime. That, to some extent, has consoled people that we have finally gotten rid of the fascist regime. However, for us to get back to some degree of psychological normalcy, we really need to ensure justice. We really need to ensure the culprits get punished. We really need to do the reform in security forces so that never ever again in the history of Bangladesh excess force is applied,” the adviser said.

Students protest for the reformation of the quota system in the government job sector around the Secretariat area in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on July 14, 2024. The issue of quota reform in Bangladesh has been a contentious topic, sparking widespread debate and protests over the past few years. Initially aimed at addressing historical injustices and providing opportunities to underprivileged groups, the quota system in government jobs and educational institutions has faced significant opposition from various segments of society. Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

No Artificial Pretense of Democracy

Bangladesh has to go back to democracy and it must be such a democracy that it is an institutional process—it is not an artificial cosmetic namesake democracy but it has to be an actual one, she says.

Hasan, also an eminent environmental advocate, said Bangladesh needs reforms in law enforcement operations, the judiciary, administration and service delivery systems to establish an actual democracy.

“You have to ensure accountability and transparency. I believe the interim government will take these reform agendas very seriously. And once people see that their country has started functioning in a way that they have always wanted and that their country has started respecting ordinary citizens, I think only then will the situation calm down. There is no shortcut to this,” she added.

About the demands of the students, the adviser said the list of demands of the protesters was not very long but they were very profound.

“They are not asking for something that cannot be done. They are asking for justice. If you say it cannot be done, then you are not living in a civilized society. They are asking for the rule of law and they are asking for democracy,” she said.

She added that it is possible to meet their demands but there will be challenges because there are vested interests that have been created both in the last 15 years and prior to that.

“Anyone who gets the votes and comes to power becomes somewhat ‘fascist’. For the outgoing one, it was a long time (in power) so they became extra fascist and also not very respectful of people’s rights. So it is possible but there will be challenges.”

About the probe to be carried out into the killings during the quota reform movement, Hasan said justice has to be done and those involved in activities that are dangerous, unlawful and unauthorized would be punished.

The people in authority who commanded these atrocious acts will be brought to justice, she said.

“So it is the interest of all of us that a fair and free trial will be done. And those who are guilty, whichever they come from, are punished.”

Future Role of Student Leadership

Asked about whether students will be included in the government’s activities, the adviser said the interim government, in principle, has decided to include the students in the activities of every ministry and department.

“We managed to change the government but we did not manage to change the system. They (students) will be part of the government’s operations,” she promised, but the details were still to be worked out.

Referring to the role of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which was ousted as a corrupt government 20 years ago, Hasan said their role should be constructive.

BNP should also realize the fact that it fought hard but did not manage to get a proper election from the ousted Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government, she said.

“The ousted government played with every single part of the election mechanism. So, (the government’s ousting) is not to be taken as a victory that has been achieved by any one party. It is a victory for all of us, indeed.

“The BNP has to respond to the calls for reform because they also could not make it to power for almost 18 years because of their misdeeds,” she added.

Check-and-balance and accountability mechanisms must be put in place before holding a national election to ensure that whoever comes to power will not be able to go beyond the limits, the adviser said.

Learn the Lessons of Reconciliation

About reconciliation, she said Bangladesh can definitely learn from South Africa but Bangladesh should have learnt it 40 years ago. All involved agencies must reconcile, and reconciliation has become essential.

“It is a very divided society. We can be divided on political ideology but on national goals, we should not have these divisions,” she added.

Hasan said the Bangladesh Army can play a role in the reconciliation process by assisting in the trial process. But she thinks that the army and democracy are not essentially synonymous.

“I think the army should confine itself within their legal mandate and ensure any force or agency that creates any obstacle to democracy is strictly dealt with. The Army should not side with any given political force. It should maintain its impartiality,” she said.

About her personal goal, she said, “As a citizen, I see myself as someone who is respected, someone who is listened to and someone who is not intimidated or threatened.”

“I bear the identity card of Bangladesh so I deserve that respect. Professionally, I am happy to go back to my earlier job and become a very effective environmental justice advocate,” Hasan noted.

Note: The photos for this article are by renowned photographer and filmmaker Mohammad Rakibul Hasan from his picture essay entitled The Rebirth of Bangladesh.

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Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh resigned her post and fled the country after weeks of violent protests. Credit: UN Photo/Laura Jarriel

By IPS Correspondent
UNITED NATIONS, Aug 6 2024 (IPS)

After weeks of violent clashes against protestors, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned from her position and fled the country on Monday. Preparations are underway for an interim government to take over with the backing of the military, political parties, student leaders of the protest movement and all other groups involved in the transition. A UN spokesperson has urged that all parties involved in the current transition should work together to ensure a peaceful and democratic transition.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres is closely following developments, according to his deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq. In a statement issued on Monday, Guterres condemned and deplored “further loss of life” during protests over the weekend, referencing protests held in the capital of Dhaka on Sunday. More than 100 people were reported dead, including at least 14 police officers. This has been the highest recorded death toll for a single day during a protest in the country’s recent history, according to Reuters.

During the daily press briefing at UN Headquarters, Haq said that the United Nations stands in full solidarity with the people of Bangladesh and has called for the full respect of their human rights. Haq added: “For us, the important things are for the parties to remain calm, and we want to emphasize a peaceful, orderly and democratic transition.”

“Ultimately, regarding what’s happened so far, there’s a need for a full, independent, impartial and transparent investigation into the violence that has happened so far,” he said.

As the situation continues to unfold, Haq added, the UN and its office in Bangladesh are keeping in contact with the authorities on the ground. “The situation is moving very swiftly. We will have to see what happens once the dust settles.”

What began as a movement to protest civil service recruitment practices has since evolved into a greater movement protesting the government’s crackdown, which was seen to have cracked down on human rights, such as freedom of expression and the right to peaceful demonstration. On August 4, protestors were calling for Hasina’s resignation in the wake of her government’s response to the month-long protests. In recent weeks, police and military units shot at protestors and civilians, enacted a curfew, and shut down internet and communications networks for several days.

In an address to the country on Monday, Chief of Army Staff General Waker-uz-Zaman announced Hasina’s resignation and the formation of the interim government. He also asked the people of Bangladesh to “keep trust in the army” during this period.

As multiple reports emerged of public vandalism and arson of government buildings and residences, Zaman said in a later statement that the public should refrain from causing damage to public property or harm to lives.

Senior officials in the UN system have publicly condemned the loss of life during this period. UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay issued public statements condemning the killings of two journalists and calling on the authorities to hold those responsible accountable.

Sanjay Wijisekera, UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia, condemned the reported deaths of 32 children as of August 2, along with reports of children being detained. “In line with international human rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Bangladesh is a signatory, and based on research into the effects of detention on children, UNICEF urges an end to the detention of children in all its forms,” he said.

UN High Commissioner on Human Rights Volker Türk issued a statement on Monday in which he called for the peaceful transition of power, guided by human rights and the country’s international obligations.

“The transition must be conducted in a transparent and accountable way, and be inclusive and open to the meaningful participation of all Bangladeshis,” he said. “There must be no further violence or reprisals.”

Türk called for those who had been arbitrarily detained to be released. He stressed that those who committed human rights violations need to be held accountable, while also reiterating that his office would support any independent investigation into these violations.

“This is a time for national healing, including through an immediate end to violence, as well as accountability that ensures the rights of victims to truth and reparations, and a truly inclusive process that brings the country together on the way forward.”

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Supporters and opponents of the Bangladesh quota system for government jobs face off in Dhaka, July 16, 2024. [Source: Md. Hasan/BenarNews]

By IPS Correspondent
UNITED NATIONS, Jul 19 2024 (IPS)

Student protests over the Bangladesh government’s recruitment system have escalated into violent retaliation from the police from the authorities.

Today (Friday, July 19), violent clashes continued to rock Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, and the northern city of Rangpuras, where university students continued their protest over the government’s civil service recruitment system. AFP reports reports the death toll reached 105.

The quota system, as it is known, now reserves 56 percent of positions in the civil service to certain groups: 10 percent to women, 10 percent to those from underdeveloped districts, 5 percent to indigenous peoples, 1 percent to people with disabilities, and 30 percent to those who fought in the 1971 war of independence, along with their descendants.

In June, Bangladesh’s High Court ruled to reinstate the measure to reserve jobs for the fighters, which had been previously abolished by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2018.

Students and young workers raised concerns that this system did not reward merit but rather favored those affiliated with the Awami League, the ruling party.

Since then, students have been demanding a reform to the quota system. This comes at a time when the unemployment rate is at 40 percent for youth who are neither working nor in university.

On July 14, Hasina implied that the protestors were “razakars,” a contentious term in Bangladesh as it refers to the people who supported Pakistan during the 1971 war, traitors in the eyes of the Bangladeshi people. The comments from Hasina caused outrage among students and they decried them during the protests.

The escalation into violence began on July 15, when protestors were attacked by members of the Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the Awami League. Reports emerged of heavily armed BCL members attacking indiscriminately against unarmed protestors, including women and younger students.

The government consequently called for all university campuses to shut down amid the tensions. The police force was sent in to suppress the movement, where they have used rubber bullets and tear gas against students.

Protests and the resulting violent clashes have broken out all over the country, including Chittagong, Rangpur, and Dhaka.

On Thursday, the government deployed the military, namely the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB). Since then, at least 105 deaths have been reported and over 25,000 people have been injured during the protests. This number could be much higher.

Since July 18, internet and phone communications have been shut down, first in select areas and now across the country.

The internet shutdown has also meant that the websites of some major news outlets, such as the Daily Star and Bangladesh have gone offline. Just prior to the shutdown, the BCL’s official website was hacked with a message that reads “Hacked by THE R3SISTANC3.”

There are also reports that the official websites of the police and the prime minister’s office were also hacked with messages reading, “Stop killing students” and “It’s not a protest anymore, it’s a war now.”

Amid the protests, the government announced on Thursday announced that it would be willing to sit down with protestors to discuss their demands for reform to the quota system.

Law minister Anisul Haq said that discussions would be held whenever the student protestors agreed. Student protestors have so far denied this call to action, with one student telling the BBC on Thursday, “The government has killed so many people in a day that we cannot join any discussions in the current circumstances.”

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk expressed concern for the violation of human rights and has called for impartial investigations into the attacks.

“The government should take the necessary measures to ensure the protection and safety of the students participating in peaceful protests, and to guarantee the right to freedom of assembly and expression without fear of attacks against their lives and physical integrity, or other forms of repression,” he said. “Bangladesh’s political leaders must work with the country’s young population to find solutions to the ongoing challenges and focus on the country’s growth and development. Dialogue is the best and only way forward.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed deep concern about the violence and called for “restraint on all sides.”

In a statement issued on Thursday, he called for authorities to “investigate all acts of violence, hold perpetrators to account, and ensure a conducive environment for dialogue.”

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Jishuram Das has been catching fish from the Karnaphuli River since his childhood. Nowadays, he often sits idle after drastic fall of fish in the river due to pollution and salinity intrusion. Credit: Rafiqul Islam/IPS

By Rafiqul Islam
CHATTOGRAM, Bangladesh, Jun 10 2024 (IPS)

Jishuram Das, a sexagenarian who was born in Jelepara, located in Chattogram, has been catching fish from the Karnaphuli River since his childhood. But nowadays, he often sits idle without going to catch fish, as their catches have drastically fallen.

“Once there were plenty of fish in the Karnaphuli River, where we caught fish generation after generation. But, in recent years, salinity has entered the river water, driving the freshwater fish species to disappear, which makes our lives harder,” Jishuram said.

Recalling the days when fishermen were able to catch enough fish from the river about 10 to 12 years ago and earn handsome money by selling their catches, Jishuram said nowadays he can catch merely half a kilogram of fish in a day and many days even he has to return home empty-handed.

“My son and I used to catch fish together from the Karnaphuli River. As we cannot catch enough fish from the river for our living, I am not taking my son fishing. I asked my only son to find an alternative livelihood. Now he has been working at a factory so that he can support my family,” he said.

The seasoned fisherman said, as he does not know any other work, he still continues their traditional fishing despite the drastic fall of fish in the river.

“But many have already changed their livelihoods for a better life,” he told IPS.

Gopal Das (55), who learned fishing from his father, said when he was young, he caught big fish from the river by fishhook. But now he could not catch a single fish in a whole day as big fish have disappeared from the river due to unchecked pollution, he said.

“In the past, I caught big fish like rui (rohu fish), catla, chitol (chitala chitala), and boal (wallago fish), weighting 15-20 kg, from the river, but these are not found there right now. We can now catch only three or four sea fish species, including shrimp and poya fish; the river has become salty,” Gopal said.

The families of fishermen in Karnaphuli struggle to make a living and feed their families, and many have fallen into a debt trap.

Gopal, a fisherman living in Jelepara, said, “We have fallen into economic hardship. I borrowed Taka 30,000 (nearly USD 300) from a microcredit organization, and now I am repaying the loan. Like me, many others in our locality get trapped in the circle of debt.”

Gopal has changed professions and now works as an assistant to a mason.

“So, we are not taking our children to fishing boats anymore. We are sending our children to educational institutions so that they can choose other professions except fishing after completing their studies,” he added.

The younger generation of Jelepara has left their time-honored way of life.

“I caught fish from the Karnaphuli River but now I am working as a shopkeeper.  There is a scarcity of fish in the river, so I have chosen another work. The young generation is not interested in fishing and that’s why they are looking for jobs or other work,” Soman Das (28) told IPS.

Md Sarowar Hossain Khan, town manager of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said they have been providing training to young fishermen on livelihood options under its Livelihood Improvement of Urban Poor Communities (LIUPC) Project so that they can find suitable professions.

“Young people in Jelepara have been given training on driving and ready made garment (RMG) work, while many of them have already switched to these from fishing,” he said.

A 2016 study revealed that salinity and dissolved oxygen (DO) were the two most important variables shaping the species makeup in the Karnaphuli River estuary. Species diversity was low as the river estuary is highly polluted due to industrial pollution and the high discharge of polluted material from oil tankers, fertilizer factories, and Chattogram City Corporation.

Earlier in March 2024, various species of fish and aquatic animals died in the Karnaphuli River due to melted raw sugar burned in a fire at a warehouse in Chattogram. The burnt sugar fell to the river, declining its water quality, leading to various fish species dying.

“Fish stock in the Karnaphuli River has drastically declined due to overfishing and unchecked water pollution,” Dr Mohammed Shahidul Alam, Associate Professor of the Fisheries Department at the University of Chittagong, told IPS.

Factories and tanneries located on the banks of Karnaphuli have been discharging chemical waste into the river, destroying the habitat of aquatic species, he said, adding that climate change-induced salinity is also contributing to the rapid decline of freshwater fish species in the river.

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Migrants use a cross-border bus in Bulawayo to enter South Africa. Credit: Ignatius Banda/IPS

By Ignatius Banda
BULAWAYO, May 8 2024 (IPS)

While there have been a record number of displaced people worldwide, according to a new report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), migrant remittances are promoting human development.

Millions of people from developing countries rely on money sent from abroad by relatives, helping drive local economies marked by high unemployment and poverty, according to humanitarian agencies that include the World Bank.

The IOM report released on May 7, 2024, comes at a time of increasing global crises such as war and famine that have forced millions out of their home countries, while migrants fleeing economic hardships are also making perilous journeys in search of better employment opportunities.

The IOM estimates that there are currently 281 million international migrants worldwide, while another 117 million people have been displaced by natural disasters, violence, conflict, and other causes.

The humanitarian agency says these numbers represent the highest in modern-day records.

Increased migration has in turn fed a spike in remittances, with a jump of more than 650 percent from 2000 to 2022, the IOM World Migration Report 2024 says.

International remittances shot up from USD128 billion to USD831 billion in 22 years, and the IOM notes that COVID-19 travel restrictions did not disrupt migration trends.

“Of that USD831 billion in remittances, USD647 billion were sent by migrants to low- and middle-income countries. These remittances can constitute a significant portion of those countries’ GDPs, and globally, these remittances now surpass foreign direct investment in those countries,” the IOM says.

The World Migration Report 2024 also comes at a time when African immigrants especially are losing their lives in the high seas as they attempt to cross into Europe.

For the migrants who make it to the shore, the promise of better lives has been shattered by what critics say are populist right wing political parties who are whipping up anti-migrant emotions.

The IOM, however, says a more balanced telling of the migrant’s story is needed if the world is to better understand what has routinely been termed a global crisis.

“Migration, an intrinsic part of human history, is often overshadowed by sensationalized narratives. However, the reality is far more nuanced than what captures headlines,” the IOM notes.

“Most migration is regular, safe, and regionally focused, directly linked to opportunities and livelihoods. Yet, misinformation and politicization have clouded public discourse, necessitating a clear and accurate portrayal of migration dynamics,” the IOM added.

Amid such challenges, the IOM says the earnings of the migrants are not only helping address host labour market deficits but, more importantly, boosting remittances and driving the human development index in their home countries.

“The World Migration Report 2024 helps demystify the complexity of human mobility through evidence-based data and analysis,” IOM Director General Amy Pope said at the May 7 launch in Bangladesh.

In explaining the location of the launch, the IOM explained in a press release:

“By choosing Dhaka as the report’s launch site, IOM not only highlights the country’s efforts in supporting vulnerable migrants and fostering pathways for regular migration but also recognizes Bangladesh’s important role in shaping global migration discourse and policy.”

At a time when migration has become a hot button in developed countries, Bangladesh is being seen as a model for the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration’s Champion country.

“As one of the GCM champion countries, Bangladesh will not only continue to act upon the pledges it has made for its domestic context but will also take up emerging issues and challenges pertaining to migration and development for informed deliberations at the international level,” said Hasan Mahmud, the Bangladeshi foreign minister.

The Asian country “has demonstrated a strong commitment to addressing migration issues and implementing policies that safeguard migrants’ rights,” the IOM says.

These sentiments also come at a time of anti-immigrant sentiment and xenophobia, which analysts say have slowed efforts to promote human development through remittances.

“In a world grappling with uncertainty, understanding migration dynamics is essential for informed decision-making and effective policy responses, and the World Migration Report advances this understanding by shedding light on longstanding trends and emerging challenges,” Pope said.

“We hope the report inspires collaborative efforts to harness the potential of migration as a driver for human development and global prosperity,” DG Pope said.

Researchers say there is still more to be done to understand the urgency of the challenges and opportunities brought by migration.

“It is the insecurity that citizens face—economic and existential—that feeds the sense of crisis,” said Loren Landau, professor at the University of Witwatersrand’s African Centre for Migration and Society in South Africa.

For now, there does not appear to be anything that will stop the migration trend, with the IOM calling for “meaningful action in addressing the challenges and opportunities of human mobility.”

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Ethnic women in Bangladesh had to traverse a long hilly path to fetch water for their households, but now they can easily collect water from newly-revived springs after the village common forests conservation project. Credit: Rafiqul Islam/IPS

By Rafiqul Islam
RANGAMATI , Mar 22 2024 (IPS)

Just a few years ago, Sudarshana Chakma (35), a resident of the remote Digholchari Debarmatha village under Bilaichari upazila in the Rangamati Hill District, had to traverse a long hilly path to fetch water for her household because there were no local water sources.

“Unchecked deforestation and degradation of village common forests (VCFs) led to the drying up of all-natural water sources in our village. We struggled to collect drinking and household water,” Chakma explained to IPS. 

Ethnic communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) rely significantly on forests for their lives and livelihoods. They gather water from natural sources like streams and practice jhum (shifting cultivation) in nearby forests. However, indiscriminate deforestation of the natural resources had dried up springs and streams, causing water scarcity in many areas.

The tide turned when the USAID-funded Chittagong Hill Tracts Watershed Co-Management Activity (CHTWCA) engaged surrounding communities, including those living in Digholchari Debarmatha village, as conservation volunteers to protect Village Common Forests (VCFs) in 2020. This initiative successfully revived springs, ensuring a year-round water supply.

The Strengthening Inclusive Development in Chittagong Hill Tracts Project, which the Ministry of Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs implemented, has transformed many lives, including Chakmas’.

“Now we can easily fetch water from nearby springs, bringing peace to our lives. Due to the arduous journey ethnic women had to make to fetch water, quarrels over who was going to fetch the water were common in the village and among families. Now, we live in harmony,” said Sudarshana, a mother of four.

Silica Chakma of Digholchari Hajachara village echoed her sentiments, highlighting the voluntary conservation efforts by ethnic communities to ensure an adequate water supply during the dry season.

“Before the restoration of our forests, we faced water scarcity. Now, we have no water crisis, as we collect water four to five times a day from the springs revived in the forests,” she said.

Silica emphasised that village common forests are conserved voluntarily, with strict regulations against harvesting forest resources without the approval of VCF management committees.

Barun Chakma, President of the Digholchari Debarmatha VCF Management Committee, emphasised the shift in mindset, stating that locals now protect the forests voluntarily, contrasting with past practices where trees were felled indiscriminately.

Enhancing Small Agriculture Sustainability

The CHT faces aggravated water crises during the dry season, impacting agriculture and homesteads.

To address this, local ethnic farmers in Digholchari Debarmatha have constructed bamboo-made dams on streams, creating water reservoirs fed by springs from the village common forest.

Pujikka Chakma, a 45-year-old female farmer, is grateful for the progress.

“After conserving the local forests, farmers do not face water scarcity for their agriculture and homesteads. We store spring water in the reservoir to irrigate cropland during the dry season.”

Thirty-seven-year-old Lika Chakma also acknowledged the benefits of the expanded use of spring water in agriculture, including cultivating various crops and ensuring food security for the community.

Conserving Medicinal Plants

In addition to addressing water security, ethnic communities in the Rangamati Hill District have been actively conserving medicinal plants for healthcare and treatments.

Lika Chakma explained, “We conserve medicinal plants in our local forests for use when we fall sick.”

Poitharam Chakma emphasised the importance of these efforts, given limited access to healthcare facilities in remote hilly areas. “Once our forests were degraded, we faced problems collecting medicinal plants. Now, we are conserving those in our forests.”

Barun Chakma provided details of the planting, a few years ago, of various medicinal plants, including Haritaki (myrobalan), Bohera (Terminalia bellirica), and Amloki (Indian gooseberry), in the Digholchari Debarmatha VCF. While acknowledging that it will take time for these plants to yield herbal medicines, he expressed confidence in the community’s ability to support health treatments in the future.

The conservation initiatives run by ethnic communities in Bangladesh address issues with water security, support agricultural sustainability, and protect priceless medicinal plants.

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Bangladeshi women cooperative farmers underwent training and support on climate-tolerant agricultural practices, which helped them cope with the adverse consequences of extreme weather events in the coastal regions. Credit: Rafiqul Islam/IPS

By Rafiqul Islam
PATUAKHALI, BANGLADESH , Jan 10 2024 (IPS)

In the past, Salma Begum, 40, lost her crops every year due to natural disasters. She lives with her five-member family in Ashabaria village under Rangabali upazila, a remote coastal island in Patuakhali district.

“We did not have enough livelihood options in the coastal area where we live. Cyclones, coastal floods, and tidal surges have been having adverse impacts on agriculture, making it difficult for my wage-laborer husband to find work regularly,” she said.

“We have no arable land either,” said Salma, a mother of three.

Now, the Local Government Initiative on Climate Change (LoGIC) project, jointly implemented by the Bangladesh government and UNDP for delivering adaptation benefits to vulnerable coastal people, has ushered in a ray of hope for Salma and many others since they got training on climate-tolerant livelihood practices.

After the training, eight women of Ashabaria village, including Salma, formed a group, and each member of the group received Taka 30,000 (USD 273) from the project’s Climate Resilient Fund (CRF) through their bank accounts. Later, they deposited the money in a group bank account.

“With the money we received from the CRF, we first leased arable land from a local landlord at Taka, which cost us one lakh (USD 910), and we started climate-resilient agriculture under cooperatives last year,” said Salma, who is also the group leader.

She said they sowed mug dal, also known as mung bean, and paddy on the agricultural land.

“Because torrential rain damaged our paddy field just before harvesting the food grain, we were unable to make a profit from cultivating that paddy last year. But this year we earned a profit of Taka 20,000 (US$ 180) by sowing mug dal. We got Taka 2,500 each from the profit.”

Shahnaj Akter, another member, said that before starting a new venture, they sit together and take any decisions in consultation with each other.

“We work together on the crop field too. During the mug dal cultivation, we ourselves sowed and harvested the cash crop. And even we ourselves processed mug dal before selling it,” she said.

Shahnaj said they also received training on sheep and duck farming and vegetable cultivation. Now she spends several hours a day at her homestead, where she has built a duck farm and is cultivating vegetables.

“Now I have 20 ducks at my farm. I get eggs every day and sell them. I get meat too from my duck farm. So, I am now supporting my family financially by selling vegetables and eggs,” she said.

“In the past, we led a miserable life as we did not have enough income. Now, after starting agriculture under cooperatives, we are now able to support my family,” said Rabeya Begum, a mother of five.

Building Climate Resilience

Led by the Local Government Division of the Ministry of Local Government Rural Development and Cooperatives, the LoGIC project is providing the Community Resilience Fund (CRF), aiming to help the most climate-vulnerable women build resilience to climate change by enabling them to take climate-adaptive livelihoods.

Through this CRF support, the women apply community-based approaches to invest in climate-adaptive livelihoods like sunflower production, climate-tolerant rice, dal and watermelon cultivation, and more.

Maksudur Rahman, the project’s community mobilization facilitator, said the climate-vulnerable coastal women developed business plans together and accordingly leased arable lands from landowners within their surrounding neighborhood. Later, they prepared the land for cultivating climate-tolerant crop varieties.

“We provide technical support for them. The LoGIC project also facilitates market linkages and networking support for women farmers so that they can sell their agricultural products,” he said.

Project coordinator AKM Azad Rahman said about 2,013 groups of women farmers have so far been formed under the project in the climate-vulnerable regions of Bangladesh, supporting around 35,000 women through the CRF scheme.

Extreme Weather Hits Coastal Agriculture Hard

Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change, while cyclonic storms, flooding, and storm surges severely affect agriculture in the country’s coastal area every year. Once a natural disaster hits the coastal region of Bangladesh, it damages a huge area of crop fields, putting local farmers in peril.

According to an estimate from the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Bangladesh incurred crop loss worth Taka two billion due to the recent cyclone Midhili that lashed the country’s coast.

The cyclone damaged 432.6 hectares of Aman paddy, and pea, mustard, Boro paddy seed beds, betel, and lentils were affected too.

Mahmud Hasan, chairman of Maudubi Union Parishad at Rangabali, said climate change is severely affecting agriculture in the country’s coastal area.

He said there is plenty of rainwater during the monsoon but a scarcity of water during the dry season.

“Pulse and watermelon cultivation faces setbacks during the dry season for lack of freshwater as the groundwater level drops drastically at that time,” he said.

Farmer Saifuddin Mito said they had to sow Aman paddy twice this year as their paddy seedbeds were damaged earlier due to excessive rainfall, resulting in an increase in the cost of crop production.

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Five fishers pray for a benevolent sea in Dublar, Bangladesh. Credit: Rodney Dekker/Climate Visuals

By Umar Manzoor Shah
DUBAI, Dec 11 2023 (IPS)

Wealthier nations must deliver the finances so developing countries can adapt—the time for excuses is over, says Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Bangladesh’s Special Envoy for Climate Change in the Prime Minister’s Office.

In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with IPS, Chowdhury said climate change was at the forefront of Bangladesh’s focus, as one in seven people faces displacement due to climate impacts. With this in mind, the country was focused on building resilience and ensuring resources were directed toward the most marginalized.

“The biggest challenge we will have is the melting of the glaciers in the Himalayas because it means flooding in the short term and sea level rise in the long term. We will lose about one-third of our agriculture GDP between now and 2050, and we can lose up to 9 percent of our GDP by 2100,” Chowdhury said.

“For us, it is not just one sector of our economy; it is an existential challenge for Bangladesh.”

Saber Hossain Chowdhury, Special Envoy for Climate Change, Prime Minister’s Office Bangladesh, addresses an event on climate change at the Bangladesh Pavilion at COP28 in Dubai. Credit: Umar Manzoor Shah/IPS

Here are edited excerpts from the interview:

IPS: In terms of climate change and the government’s actions, where is Bangladesh?

Chowdhury: Bangladesh is giving most importance to the Global Stocktake because it has two dimensions—one is looking back and the other is looking forward. We all know how bad things are when we look back because we know we are nowhere near where we are supposed to be.

But what do we do with that knowledge? How do we move forward across the board in terms of mitigation, adaptation, funding, loss and damage, and, of course, the global goals? And one of the points we are stressing is the continual interconnectedness between mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage.

The more effective our mitigation in terms of keeping temperatures in check, the more manageable the adaptation becomes, and the more manageable the adaptation becomes, the lesser the burden that we pass on the loss and damage.  And it is meaningless to talk about adaptation without the context of mitigation. Because of the rise in temperature to 1.5°C (the threshold to which world leaders pledged to try to limit global warming), there will be a certain level of adaptation that you can do, but if the temperatures are close to 3°C, as it is now said the temperature is likely to rise to, then all adaptation will become loss and damage because there are limits to adaptation and there are limits to resilience.

IPS: What are your views on the ongoing COP 28?

Chowdhury: We got off to a great start. The fact that the Loss and Damage Fund was agreed upon on the first day. In terms of context, we only had this in the agenda last year and it was approved and within a year, the funds have started coming in.  That was a huge positive. We know that funds are nowhere near what the needs are. But it is a good start and we are hoping that the same spirit will be seen in other challenges such as mitigation, adaptation, funding, etc.

Also, I believe the presidency has tried to be very inclusive. But at the end of the day, it depends on global solidarity. If members of the conference come together, then we will have the deal we need. Let me say that this COP is a hugely important COP because we don’t have the luxury of tradeoffs.  We have to deliver across the board, and mitigation (to keep to the Paris Agreements) of 1.5°C is an absolute must, and if we go beyond that, I think we have lost the game. To what extent we can mitigate will then determine what our adaptation requirements are. The better we manage adaptation, the lesser the burden will be on loss and damage.  It is a litmus test. Bangladesh being at ground zero for climate change impact, this is a hugely important event for us.

IPS: Bangladesh is often termed a ‘victim of climate change’ across the globe. Why is that?

Chowdhury: One in seven people in Bangladesh will face displacement because of climate change, and that adds up to about 13–14 million people. We have a huge food security problem because we are losing agricultural land due to sea level rise.  The biggest challenge we will have is the melting of the glaciers in the Himalayas, which means flooding in the short term and sea level rise in the long term. We will lose about one-third of our agriculture GDP between now and 2050, and we can lose up to 9 percent of our GDP by 2100. For us, it is not just one sector of our economy; it is an existential challenge for Bangladesh.

IPS: What do you believe is the responsibility of wealthier nations towards Bangladesh?

Chowdhury: Climate justice is all about wealthier nations. They must deliver the finance so that we can adapt; they must rein in the emissions. They need to act as per science and not have any excuses. It is now or never because the window of action is closing very fast. If we don’t get it right in COP 28, whatever we do in subsequent COPs may well be too little, too late. We have to reduce emissions by 43 percent by 2030. We must reduce emissions by 60 percent by 2035, then we can get to net zero. With that, you also must have tripled the amount of renewable energy and doubled your energy efficiency. So, it has to be a package of responses. It is for the wealthier nations to mitigate, to provide funds for loss and damage as well as for adaptation.

IPS: How responsive do you find these developed nations to the climate crisis?

Chowdhury: Responses must be taken at two levels: one is making pledges, and the other is delivering on pledges. There is no point saying we will do this and then, as in the past, not do it. Pledges are the first step, and therefore everybody has to realize that this is the question of global solidarity.  It is not the question of Bangladesh and the developed world. What is happening in Bangladesh today will also happen in those countries that we call developed. Greenland will become greener again because the ice is going to melt. They will also face sea level rise. So it is not the question of “if,” it is the question of when.

IPS: Bangladesh has advanced warning systems for the climate. Please tell us about it.

Chowdhury: We have what we refer to as an ‘early warning system’ If you look at the cyclone that hit Bangladesh in the early 1970s, up to a million people died because of it. But now, when the cyclone hits Bangladesh, the number of deaths is in single digits. The reason for that is that through an early warning system, we can evacuate people to cyclone shelters. That has saved lives, and Bangladesh is a model for that.

Our honorable Prime Minister has this program where we are building cyclone shelters all around the coast of Bangladesh so that people can be evacuated there. We cannot stop a storm or a hurricane from coming, but we can prepare ourselves so that the loss of lives is minimal, and that is what Bangladesh has achieved. Also, the early warning system is very basic, and it is community-based.

IPS: What is Bangladesh doing about the agrarian crisis?

Chowdhury: Bangladesh has a huge success story in terms of food production. From a deficit nation, we are now a surplus nation, but climate change threatens that.  This is something we look at in terms of food security, so all of the advances and progress that we have made over the years are now at risk because climate change is impacting this sector.

IPS: What is the role of NGOs in terms of tackling climate change and offering support to governments?

Chowdhury: NGOs need to have partnerships with governments where they can take those ideas and scale them up. That is the reason that NGOs need to have a very close relationship with the government. The whole issue is not how much money I have spent; it is what impact I have generated through spending that money.

But the message at the end of the day is that whatever money is spent must be spent on those who are most marginalized. So how do we get funds for the people who are most in need? I think that must be an overriding issue. This is a learning process, and we are all on the learning curve. When we go back to Bangladesh, we need to have a brainstorming session with NGOs and CSOs and find out what is working, how we can make their job easier, and how we can make the collaboration a win-win between various ministries, government departments, and NGOs.
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The salinity of the water in coastal Bangladesh contributes to high blood pressure. Credit: Rafiqul Islam/IPS

By Rafiqul Islam
DHAKA, Nov 7 2023 (IPS)

Since her childhood, Parveen Begum, 52, has been adding extra salt while eating her meals. However, she did not know that this contributed to high blood pressure.

Recently, she suffered severe headaches, forcing her to go to a physician, and when the doctor checked her health, he she had hypertension.

“I could not take my daily meals without taking additional salt, which helped develop the chronic disease in my health. Now I have to take medicines for blood pressure regularly, putting an extra financial burden on my family,” said Parveen, a resident of Musapur at Raipura in Narsingdi district.

Rabeya Begum, 50, is a resident of the saline-prone Ashabaria village of Rangabali in the Patuakhali coastal district. Like many others, she and her family members often drink saline water since freshwater sources are affected every year due to coastal flooding, cyclones, and storm surges. Salinity instruction has reached the aquifer in her locality.

Local people face scarcity of drinking water during the dry season as salinity reaches an acute level that time, so they are compelled to drink saline water, Rabeya said.

“I felt symptoms of high blood pressure like headache and chest pain. So, I checked it and found blood pressure. But there are not enough facilities for screening blood pressure in our remote village,” she said.

Like Parveen and Rabeya, a huge number of people have been suffering from high blood pressure, also called hypertension, in Bangladesh, but most of the cases remain undiagnosed. High blood pressure is a chronic disease and a silent killer, too.

More than 4.5 crore people, or 25% of Bangladesh’s total population, have high blood pressure, according to recent research by Bangladesh’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Hypertension or high blood pressure develops when the pressure level in one’s blood vessels reaches 140/90 mmHg or higher. A healthy lifestyle, quitting tobacco, and remaining more active can help lower blood pressure.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 1.28 billion adults aged 30–79 years worldwide have hypertension, with two-thirds of them living in low- and middle-income countries. An estimated 46 percent of adults with hypertension are unaware of their condition. Only less than half of adults (42 percent) with hypertension are diagnosed and treated.

Undiagnosed Hypertension

Undetected high blood pressure could add to the health burden in Bangladesh. Many people are not on medication as they are unaware of their condition. According to a survey, more than half of hypertensive patients are ignorant of their condition.

Experts say early identification and improved hypertension screening can reduce the high global burden of untreated high blood pressure.

According to a 2022 study, hypertension is common in elderly people, and undiagnosed hypertension increases with age. The risk of undetected hypertension was high among people aged 33–35. Overall prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension among men and women was similar. Men aged above 50 had lower levels of awareness and participation in early detection initiatives.

The study revealed that the prevalence of hypertension is significantly higher among the residents of Bangladesh’s coastal and eastern regions.

It suggested that early detection and screening are urgent for checking the prevalence of undiagnosed hypertension. The study suggested the authorities should take robust health promotion measures in the coastal and northern regions of Bangladesh.

Dr Mahfuzur Rahman Bhuiyan, programme manager of the High Blood Pressure Control Programme at National Heart Foundation Hospital and Research Institute, said it would be possible to reduce the risk of high blood pressure by 50 percent if people avoid the intake of extra salt while taking meals.

He recommended screening people to identify those with high blood pressure.

Hypertension Amplifies Risk of Heart Diseases

Hypertensive heart disease is a long-term condition that worsens with time. In Bangladesh, around 68 percent of deaths are caused by non-communicable diseases, with hypertension accounting for 15–20 percent.

According to the first Global Report on Hypertension 2023, released by the WHO, about 273,000 people die of cardiovascular diseases each year in Bangladesh, while around 54 percent of these fatalities are attributable to hypertension.

The report also reveals that half of the people having hypertension are not even aware of their condition, and the rate of those receiving medical treatment for hypertension is alarmingly low, merely 38 percent.

“Hypertension is one of the leading causes of deaths associated with non-communicable diseases. The prevalence of heart diseases can be reduced to a great extent by keeping hypertension under control,” Prof Sohel Reza Choudhury, Head of the Department of Epidemiology and Research at the National Heart Foundation, told a webinar recently.

National Professional Officer at WHO Bangladesh Office Dr Farzana Akter Dorin, suggested strengthening the primary healthcare system and ensuring free hypertension medicine to cut the risk of developing heart diseases among people.

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Gabura Union, situated in the southwestern region of Bangladesh near the Sundarbans Mangrove Forest, faces a dire threat as scientists predict that it could be submerged by the year 2025 due to the impacts of climate change. This area, characterized by low-lying coastal terrain, is exceptionally vulnerable to sea-level rise and storm surges. The rising sea levels, exacerbated by global warming, have already resulted in significant land erosion and the displacement of local communities. According to scientific studies and reports, including those from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the situation in Gabura Union is dire, and urgent measures are required to mitigate the impending crisis. Efforts to combat this issue include the construction of protective barriers and the promoting of climate-resilient practices, but the challenge remains substantial. The plight of the Gabura Union is a stark reminder of the profound and devastating impacts of climate change, particularly in coastal regions. It underscores the urgency of global efforts to mitigate its effects. Gabura, Satkhira, Bangladesh Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

By Mohammad Rakibul Hasan
DHAKA, Sep 1 2023 (IPS)

Bangladesh, a picturesque land of rivers, lush green landscapes, and a vibrant cultural heritage, faces one of its most significant challenges ever — climate change.

Situated in South Asia, with a population of over 160 million people living in an area the size of the US state of Iowa, Bangladesh is among the most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change. Rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and changing rainfall patterns are already profoundly impacting this nation, with potentially devastating consequences for its people and environment.

The country is a low-lying delta formed by the confluence of several major rivers, including the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna. This geographical feature makes Bangladesh prone to flooding, and as global temperatures rise, the situation only worsens. One of the most immediate and visible impacts of climate change in Bangladesh is the rising sea levels. Approximately 80 percent of the country is less than 5 meters above sea level, and a 1-meter rise in sea level could displace millions of people, submerge vast areas of agricultural land, and inundate significant cities like Dhaka, Chittagong, and Khulna. This poses a severe threat to the country’s economy and social stability.

Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, is a bustling metropolis known for its vibrant culture and dynamic economy. One of the most striking aspects of Dhaka is its staggering population density. With over 8 million crammed into just 306 square kilometers, Dhaka is one of the world’s most densely populated cities. It fosters a diverse and energetic atmosphere that drives economic growth and cultural exchange but is vulnerable to climate change-induced weather patterns.
Dhaka, Bangladesh Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

Bangladesh is also experiencing increased extreme weather events such as heatwaves, cyclones, storms, and heavy rainfall. The frequency and intensity of these events have risen in recent years, causing widespread damage to infrastructure, homes, and agricultural land. The cyclone-prone coastal areas are particularly at risk. Climate change alters rainfall patterns in Bangladesh, leading to erratic monsoons and prolonged dry spells. These changes affect crop production, causing food insecurity for many. Additionally, altered river flows disrupt livelihoods dependent on fishing and agriculture. Agriculture is the backbone of Bangladesh’s economy, employing nearly half its workforce and contributing significantly to its GDP. Rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, and increased salinity in coastal areas reduce crop yields and make traditional farming practices unsustainable. This has far-reaching consequences for food security nationally and globally, as Bangladesh exports rice and other agricultural products.

Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, a bustling metropolis known for its vibrant culture and dynamic economy, is also vulnerable to the impacts of climate change-induced weather patterns.

Dhaka City has significant infrastructural and environmental pressures, including traffic congestion and pollution, which the city grapples with daily. Climate change has added another layer of complexity to Dhaka’s demographic dynamics. Rising sea levels, more frequent cyclones, and erratic weather patterns have made life increasingly precarious in climate-prone areas of Bangladesh. As a result, a steady influx of people from these regions is migrating to Dhaka in search of employment opportunities. The city, already bursting at the seams, needs help accommodating this influx, leading to informal settlements and overburdened public services. This influx highlights the urgent need for sustainable urban planning, climate resilience, and job creation efforts in Dhaka to address the challenges posed by its population density and climate-induced migration. Dhaka, Bangladesh Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

A case study of Gabura, a union of Satkhira District, Bangladesh, adjacent to the Sundarbans, comprises twelve villages and an island near the mainland, the most vulnerable places in Bangladesh. It is home to more than 35 thousand people that was washed out by cyclone Aila in 2009. Hundreds of people, cattle, trees, and wild animals drowned and died in the water. Many people went to the nearest cyclone centers to survive, but many survived by climbing the trees or standing on the roofs of houses made of wood. Even after the cyclones, people were too poor to rebuild their homes and lived on the dams for over two years.

The study noted that along with the flood, the cyclone brought seawater that caused permanent salinity. Regular water sources were damaged, and crop fields created food insecurity. The land became barren, and trees couldn’t sustain themselves due to soil salinity.

Flooding also impacts the region. Because of the geographical setting, Bangladesh receives and drains a massive volume of upstream water. The flows of significant rivers originate from the Himalayas; due to the temperature rise, melting glaciers cause floods, and areas become waterlogged. Floodwaters seep into supplies used for drinking and washing, and latrines are washed away, allowing raw sewage to increase the threat of diseases such as cholera.

The Mawa area, situated in the Munshiganj district near Dhaka, Bangladesh, is grappling with a critical issue of river erosion. The region is flanked by several major rivers, including the Padma and the Arial Khan, which have been eroding their banks at an alarming rate. River erosion in this area has become a persistent threat, causing the loss of valuable agricultural land, homesteads, and infrastructure. This ongoing erosion has led to the displacement of many families who have seen their homes and livelihoods washed away by the relentless force of the rivers. Efforts to combat this issue often involve the construction of dams and other protective measures. Still, the battle against river erosion remains an ongoing and challenging struggle for the communities in the Mawa area. Addressing this problem requires comprehensive strategies that consider both short-term relief and long-term sustainable solutions to mitigate the devastating impact of river erosion on the region’s residents and their way of life. Mawa, Munshiganj, Bangladesh Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

Climate migration from the Sundarbans area to major cities in Bangladesh, particularly Dhaka, has been a growing phenomenon driven by the adverse effects of climate change. The Sundarbans, a UNESCO World Heritage site and the world’s largest mangrove forest, faces rising sea levels, increased salinity, and more frequent cyclones due to climate change. As these environmental pressures intensify, many residents of this ecologically sensitive region are compelled to leave their homes for better opportunities and safety. Dhaka, the country’s economic hub, attracts a significant portion of these climate migrants. Satkhira, Bangladesh Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

Women in developing countries like Bangladesh mostly live in poverty and natural disasters. These are making them more vulnerable, affecting their livelihoods and security. In general, women are responsible for household work. The impact of climate change around coastline areas of Bangladesh has made women more prone to poverty. 

The effect of climate change impacts indirectly on people, especially women and children.

Physical vulnerability may include death, injury, diseases, physical abuse, chronic malnutrition, and forced labor. Social vulnerability includes loss of parents and family, internal displacement, risk of being trafficked, loss of property and assets, and lack of educational opportunities.

Women contribute to both household maintenance and work in agriculture. “Up to 43% of rural women devote their time to aquaculture and agriculture, which are spheres likely to be affected by weather variability” (Hanifia et al. 2022), and when catastrophes hit either in rural coastal areas, income declines directly affect women’s agency, quality of their diet, and wealth and this in turn impacts the children. 

Southwestern Bangladesh grapples with a significant scarcity of safe drinking water. The region is prone to salinity intrusion due to its proximity to the Bay of Bengal, making the groundwater increasingly salty and undrinkable. This situation has dire consequences for the local population, as access to clean and safe drinking water is essential for human health and well-being. Many communities in Satkhira are forced to rely on rainwater harvesting systems and surface water, which can be contaminated, leading to waterborne diseases. Addressing the issue of safe drinking water scarcity in Satkhira requires innovative solutions, including desalination technologies and improved water management practices, to ensure that the residents have access to a vital resource for their daily lives. Satkhira, Bangladesh Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

Safe drinking water sources have become scarce in coastal areas because of groundwater salinity. Women and children must collect drinking water from distant places, and even many cases, they collect water crossing rivers. Frequent cyclone hits, food shortages, and inadequate water supply make women’s lives difficult, and as a result, school dropout rates and child marriage rates are high across the coastline. Malnourishment and diseases also impair learning. Extreme climate change-related disasters threaten school buildings and educational materials. For example, cyclones Sidr and Aila caused massive damage to school buildings and wiped out teaching materials around Sundarbans and its locality.

“When my husband, Ruhul Amin Seikh, goes fishing, I wait for him by the river’s edge. Some days, when I do not feel sick, I join him in our small boat. I can barely support my husband as I am aging and suffering from diseases. Our children are separated (from us). They have their families and are no longer able to provide for us. The forest is no longer providing us with food. After spending hours in the river, my husband returns with a few fish. We can hardly sell fish for 80 Taka (1 USD) daily. We starve or eat once (a day) as we grow older. Water is saltier than ever; our house is still broken after the cyclone, and now the coronavirus is killing us. We have almost no food for the coming days. We remain hungry; we remain thirsty.” – Fatema Khatun. Gabura, Satkhira, Bangladesh Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

“We are left with one bucket of rice and some vegetables for our 21 family members. Since the virus hit, we are no longer allowed to go fishing. In the last seven months, I entered the jungle for only seven days. My sons are trying to work as laborers now. But there is very little work now. Our lands went into the river, and with every passing year, calamities are hitting us hard. There is little drinkable water left in the area, and now the devastation of this pandemic is going to kill us with the scarcity of food. Our children are hungry all the time. When again will we be able to eat a proper meal? We do not have any idea.”– Motiar Rahman Gazi, 60 years old, has a big family to feed. But the pandemic hit this already vulnerable family in Ahsasuni at the Bay of Bengal hard. The river has flooded their land, and now their survival depends on the other work they can find for a living. The scientists forecasted that the whole coastal belt of Bangladesh around the Sundarbans will be under seawater by 2050. Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

The coastal areas of Bangladesh have completely different geophysical features from the other parts of the country. It also has socio-political patterns that are not seen in the rest of the country, which elevates risks and vulnerabilities of the people who live across the coastline territories.

The coastline brings challenges for earning income. Thus, the poverty margin accelerates many risks and human security factors immediately impacting its inhabitants, as do frequent natural catastrophes. 

“A vast river network, a dynamic estuarine system, and a drainage basin intersect the coastal zone, which made coastal ecosystem as a potential source of natural resources, diversified fauna, and flora composition, though there also have an immense risk of natural disasters,” Shamsuddoha and Chowdhury (2007) noted.

Every year people are displaced from the coastal areas of Sundarbans. The tidal floods and cyclones bring seawater to destroy sweet water sources such as ponds, rivers, and land groundwater. Over the last two decades, the increase in salinity has been high. Paddy and various vegetable fields have failed, and this has resulted in food scarcity exacerbating many diseases. The International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research Bangladesh (ICDDRB) researchers have noticed an alarmingly high rate of miscarriages in the small village of Chakaria, near Cox’s Bazaar, on the east coast of Bangladesh (Haider, 2019). Studies and research on the other part of the coastal areas around Sundarbans on fertility and uterus cancer that may be linked to climate change and salinity rise are underway because there is evidence that consuming saline water harms the skin, menstruation, and, more seriously, unborn children.

The Asian Disaster Reduction Center (ADRC) reports have indicated the increasing ferocity of weather patterns throughout the years, documenting the environmental and social impacts of each disaster.

“After eleven days of cyclone Amphan, my daughter was born. We had no electricity, no food, and no drop of drinking water. My husband could not go fishing in the river because of the lockdown in coronavirus. Since then, my husband could hardly manage permission to enter the jungle. I got married when I was 15 in the aftermath of another cyclone. Every year, at least twice, our house has been destroyed in cyclones, tornados, or storms. We suffered terribly from drinking water as every year salinity is increasing. Now, my husband and I eat once daily. During the lockdown, I hardly ate as there was no food. My youngest child is now six months old; she is severely underweight. What could we do? I must first give food to my father-in-law and mother-in-law, who are in their nineties. And then I feed our children; if we have something left, my husband and I will have it. There is nothing in our food storage. Today, we only have one kilogram of rice, a few onions, garlic, and vegetable leaves. I have nothing to cook tomorrow.” – Marzina Begum. Satkhira, Bangladesh Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

People around coastlines near Sundarbans constantly search for food, catching excessively young shrimps from rivers and degrading the marine ecology and biodiversity. As the places around coastlines are affected by salinity due to climate change, people’s usual professions are replaced by alternatives to survive in hostile conditions. Due to the lack of work opportunities, women have no choice but to catch baby shrimp from coastal rivers; they sell them in the local market. A significant number of agents work for big shrimp firms that buy undersized shrimps.

Fishing communities in Bangladesh report that the availability of many local species has declined with riverbeds’ silting up, temperature changes, and earlier flooding. Communities are coping by selling labor, migrating, and borrowing money from lenders. The unemployment rate has increased as local peasants lose their jobs due to the scarcity of agricultural land. Shrimp farming needs much less labor than agriculture. As a result, many migrate to wealthier areas, while others depend on Sundarbans’ forest resources. 

“I am the only earning member of my family. My husband left me. I live with my mother, who is in her sixties and cannot walk properly. We lost our home during cyclone Bulbul. Since then, we have been sheltering in a temporary house made of a Gol leaf for over a year. When six months ago cyclone Amphan hit, I thought of fleeing our village. If I catch fish, we will eat. Since corona, there is a restriction, and we cannot enter the forest like before. My family has nothing to eat tomorrow. We are just surviving with little or no food.” – Fatima Banu. Satkhira, Bangladesh Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

“Six months ago, during cyclone Amphan, I lost all domestic cattle. Since then, I have continued living in our wrecked house all alone. My children have left for the city to find a job. They could not manage to come (back) since the lockdown. I started to raise animals again and protect them all the time. The river is coming close; I might lose my destroyed home someday. I used to work at people’s houses in return for food. When I could not assist with any household chores, I went fishing. There is no work in this locality; we hardly catch fish. I have little left to eat. How am I going to survive with so much struggle? I do not know.” – Helena Begum. Satkhira, Bangladesh Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

The government has invested in constructing cyclone shelters and early warning systems, reducing the loss of life during cyclones and storms. Efforts are underway to promote climate-resilient agricultural practices, including developing drought-resistant crop varieties and better water management. Expanding access to renewable energy sources, such as solar power, in rural areas reduces the pressure on traditional biomass fuels, mitigating deforestation minimizes the stress on conventional biomass fuels and mitigates.

Bangladesh has sought international support and partnerships to fund and implement climate adaptation projects, including efforts to protect coastal areas from sea-level rise. The country’s efforts to adapt and mitigate the impacts of climate change are commendable, but the scale of the problem requires sustained international cooperation and support. The world must recognize that Bangladesh is not alone in this battle; the consequences of climate change here are harbingers of what may come in other vulnerable regions if global action is not taken promptly. To protect this beautiful nation and its people, we must act decisively to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support those on the front lines of climate change, like Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is highly vulnerable to its adverse effects. The key challenges are rising sea levels, increased salinity in coastal areas, more frequent cyclones, and erratic rainfall patterns. These impacts lead to displacement, food and water scarcity, and significant economic losses, especially in agriculture and fisheries. Bangladesh actively pursues climate adaptation and mitigation strategies to mitigate these effects and build resilience. However, the road ahead remains challenging as the country grapples with climate change’s consequences. It underscores the urgent need for global cooperation to combat climate change and support vulnerable nations like Bangladesh to adapt to this rapidly evolving environmental crisis. Satkhira, Bangladesh Credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan

Mohammad Rakibul Hasan is a documentary photographer/filmmaker and visual artist. He was nominated for many international awards and won hundreds of photographic competitions worldwide, including the Lucie Award, the Oscar of Photography, the Human Rights Press Award, and the Allard Prize. His photographs have been published and exhibited internationally. He is based in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Note: Research for this article comes from:

• Hanifia S.M. Manzoor Ahmed, Menon NIDHIYA, and Quisumbingc AGNES. 2022. ‘The impact of climate change on children’s nutritional status in coastal Bangladesh.’ Science Direct Volume 294, February 2022.
• Shamsuddoha, Md. and Chowdhury, Reazul. 2007. ‘Climate Change Impact and Disaster Vulnerabilities in the Coastal Areas of Bangladesh.’ 
• Haider, Reaz. 2019. ‘Climate Change-Induced Salinity Affecting Soil Across Coastal Bangladesh.’ Reliefweb [online].
• Asian Disaster Reduction Center. 2007. ‘Bangladesh: Tropical Cyclone.’  IPS UN Bureau Report

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Excerpt:

A young child in Cox’s Bazar engages with her peers at one of BRAC’s Humanitarian Play Labs. CREDIT: BRAC

By Abigail Van Neely
NEW YORK, Aug 21 2023 (IPS)

A Rohingya woman tells a forum of peer counselors the story of her divorce. A survivor of domestic abuse, she has started a new life alone with her daughter. She has weathered a storm of neighbors telling her she was the problem. Now, she provides the support she didn’t have to other women like her.

Similar scenes occur across refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar. Here, BRAC, an international NGO based in Bangladesh, has developed a program to train counselors who can provide mental health services to Rohingya refugees. This includes 200 community members who have begun to practice the psychosocial skills they’ve learned in their own lives.

A Growing Need for Support

Over 900,000 Rohingya have fled to Cox’s Bazar since massive-scale violence against Rohingya in Myanmar’s Rakhine State began in 2017, the UN Refugee Agency reports. The prolonged exposure of the ethnic minority group to persecution and displacement has likely increased the refugees’ vulnerability to an array of mental health issues, a 2019 systematic review found. Their struggles include post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and gender-based violence.

Around the world, there is growing attention to the importance of socio-emotional learning as a skill to help people in areas of crisis cope with challenges. Educators are often tasked not only with providing traditional academic instruction but with building resilience in children. They are asked to create a sense of normalcy in environments that are anything but normal.

The teaching the children need is much more than about reading, writing, and math; but about giving young children a safe space to practice socio-emotional skills. CREDIT: BRAC

“It’s about not only teaching [kids] how to read and how to do mathematics … in these settings, kids and teachers themselves have the need for psychosocial support,” Ramya Vivekanandan, the senior education specialist at the Global Partnership for Education, said.

Teachers, caregivers, and frontline mental health providers are overburdened, Vivekanandan explains. They lack adequate pay, working conditions, and professional development. As they try to support the growing number of people in crisis, who will support them?

For some counselors in Cox’s Bazar, the answer is each other.

Community Care

Even when resources are available, stigmas around mental health can prevent support from being received. Taifur Islam, a Bangladeshi psychologist responsible for mental health training and supervision at BRAC, says people in the communities he works with are rarely taught to identify their feelings. When you are struggling to access basic needs, Islam explains, it is easy to forget that emotional well-being can improve productivity. If a person seeks help, they may be labeled ‘crazy.’

Training people to take care of their own communities can be a powerful way to overcome stigma in a culturally relevant way.

BRAC’s Humanitarian Play Labs were established in 2017 to give Rohingya children a safe space to practice socio-emotional skills through play. Erum Mariam, the executive director of the BRAC Institute of Educational Development, explains that each play lab is tailored to fit the community it serves. Rohingya children now rhyme, chant, and dance in 304 Humanitarian Play Labs across the camps in Cox’s Bazar.

“We discovered the Rohingya culture through the children. And the whole model is based on knowing the culture,” Mariam said.

‘Play leaders’ are recruited from the camps and trained in play pedagogy. Mariam watched Rohingya women who had never worked before embracing their new roles. As they covered the ceilings of their play spaces with rainbows of flowers – the kind of tapestry that would hang from their homes in Myanmar – Mariam realized that a new kind of social capital could be earned by nurturing joy. Traditional play didn’t just help uprooted children shape their sense of identity – it was also healing for the community.

If a play leader notices a child is withdrawn or restless, they can refer the child to a ‘para counselor’ who has been trained by BRAC’s psychologists to address the mental health needs of children and their family members. Almost half of the 469 para counselors in Cox’s Bazar are recruited from the Rohingya community, while the rest come from around Bangladesh. Most para counselors are women.

Many para counselors are uniquely positioned to empathize with the people they serve as they go door to door, building awareness. This is crucial because it creates a bottom-up system of care without prescribing what well-being should look like, Chris Henderson, a specialist on education in emergencies, says.

At the same time, by supporting others, mental health providers are learning to take care of themselves.

Learning by Doing

A play leader engages the children in the session. Humanitarian professionals encourage frontline teachers, caregivers, and counselors to actualize their own ideas for improvement. CREDIT: BRAC

For months, Suchitra Rani watched violence against Rohingya people every time she turned on the news. When she was recruited by BRAC to become a para counselor in Cox’s Bazar, she saw an opportunity to make a difference. Alongside fellow trainees, Rani, a social worker originally from Magura, poured over new words she learned in the foreign Rohingya dialect and worked to find her place in the community.

Rani tested what she had learned about the value of psychosocial support and cultural sensitivity when she met a 15-year-old Rohingya girl too scared to tell her single mother she was pregnant. Terrified of bringing shame to the family, the girl had an abortion at home. As the young woman spiraled into depression, Rani felt herself slipping into her own fears of inadequacy.

It took time for Rani to convince the girl to open up to her mother. Talking through feelings of guilt slowly led to acceptance. As they worked to heal fractured family bonds, Rani began to feel surer of herself, too.

Now, the Rohingya community calls Rani a “sister of peace.” Rani says she has become confident in her ability to use the socio-emotional skills she’s learned to both help others and resolve problems in her personal life.

Throughout the program, para counselors have changed the way they communicate their feelings and felt empowered to create more empathetic environments.

Islam recounts a 26-year-old Rohingya refugee’s perilous journey to Cox’s Bazar: In Myanmar, the woman’s husband was killed in front of her. One of her two young children drowned during a river crossing as they fled the country. She arrived at the camp as a single mother without a support network. Only once she had the support of others willing to listen could she speak openly.

Islam remembers counselors telling the woman about the importance of self-care: “If you actually take care of yourself, then you can take care of your child also.”

Toward Empowerment 

According to Henderson, evidence shows that one of the best ways to support someone is to give them a role to help others. In places where there may be a stigma against prioritizing ‘self-care,’ people with their own post-crisis trauma are willing to learn well-being skills to help children.

A collection of teacher stories collected by the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies reveals a similar pattern. Teachers in crisis areas around the world say the socio-emotional skills they learned to help students helped them reduce stress in their own lives, too.

Henderson suggests that the best way international agencies can promote trauma support is by holding up a mirror to the strength already shown by refugee communities like the Rohingya.

Instead of seeing what they lack, Henderson encourages humanitarian professionals to help give frontline teachers, caregivers, and counselors the agency to actualize their own ideas for improvement. Empowered community leaders empower the young people they work with, who, in turn, learn to empower each other. This creates “systems where everyone sees their position of leadership as supporting the next person’s leadership and resilience.”

At the end of her para counselor training, the Rohingya domestic abuse survivor said she wasn’t sure what she would do with the skills she’d learned for working through trauma, Islam remembers. But she did say she wished they were skills she had known before. According to Islam, she is now one of their best para counselors.

“The training is not only to serve the community; that training is something that can actually change your life,” Islam says. It’s why he became a psychologist.

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With the monsoon refugees in the cramped camps in Cox’s Bazar are expected to be impacted by an increase of dengue, which last year accounted for 1,283 cases in the Rohingya camps. Credit: Rafiqul Islam/IPS

By Rafiqul Islam
DHAKA, Jun 27 2023 (IPS)

With the monsoon in Bangladesh, Rohingya refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar have emerged as a dengue hotspot, with the mosquito-borne disease continuing to spread among the stateless refugees.

“A total of 1,066 dengue cases were reported in highly cramped refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar up to May 23 this year, while the case tally was only 426 among the local community there,” Dr Nazmul Islam, Director of Disease Control and Line of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), said.

However, the latest data of the DGHS revealed that 1,283 people were infected with and 26 people died of dengue in the Rohingya camps and surrounding host community in Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas of Cox’s Bazar from January 1 to June 6, 2023.

Nazmul said the dengue infection rate is highest in the Rohingya camps.

“Rohingya camps in Cox’s Bazar have the highest number of dengue patients. Last year, over 17,000 dengue patients were identified there. The number of dengue patients is so high this year, too,” he said.

Official data showed that dengue cases increased significantly in 2022 when the monsoon started. Experts fear the dengue situation will be more acute in the Rohingya camps during the monsoon this year.

Bangladesh witnessed its largest influx of Rohingya refugees in 2017 following a military crackdown in the Rakhine State of Myanmar. According to UNHCR, nearly 1 million refugees are now living in the country.

The forcibly displaced Rohingyas took shelter in overcrowded makeshift camps where they lacked access to civic amenities, including education, food, clean water, and proper sanitation, and also face natural disasters and infectious disease transmission.

“Most refugees have no adequate access to clean water, sanitary facilities, or healthcare. The monsoon season also poses a huge threat to thousands of Rohingya families living in makeshift shelters as dengue outbreak emerges in camps during the period,” said Ro Arfat, a Rohingya refugee.

Nazmul said Rohingya refugees live in a limited space in the camps where there is not enough scope to runoff rainwater, so stagnant water creates an enabling environment for the breeding Aedes mosquito, carrier of the dengue virus.

He said the risk of dengue infections climbs in densely populated areas. With the monsoon, the dengue situation could turn dangerous in the refugee camps.

Dr Iqbal Kabir, Professor and Director at the Climate Change and Health Promotion Unit, the Ministry of Health, Bangladesh, said in recent years, environmental changes have been markedly observed throughout the globe, and there is no exception in Bangladesh.

“The nature of the Aedes mosquito is that it must bite five humans to suck blood as per its demand, and an Aedes mosquito lays more than 200 eggs a time. Once they get suitable humidity and temperature, mosquito breeding occurs,” Kabir said.

He observed that dengue spreads very fast, but the authorities have not controlled dengue infections in the highly-crowded refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar.

During the monsoon, Bangladesh experiences spikes in dengue outbreaks. In 2022, 17 refugees died from dengue infections in Rohingya camps.

Despite having a high dengue infection rate in the camps, lack of awareness about the virus and the absence of prompt diagnosis of the disease make the Rohingya refugees more vulnerable.

“An Aedes mosquito can infect many within seconds, and keeping densely populated refugee camps safe from mosquitoes is really difficult. So there is a high possibility of a severe outbreak in the refugee camps,” said Mahbubur Rahman, Civil Surgeon, and Chief Health Officer for Cox’s Bazar.

Urgent Action Needed

The burden of dengue is related to the changes in rainfall patterns. The rainfall pattern has been changed. Pre-monsoon erratic rainfall is linked with the increase of vectors.

Unusual rainfall occurred in Cox’s Bazar area earlier this year, triggering dengue outbreaks in the camps.

Kabir said the dengue national guideline should be revisited to check dengue outbreaks across the country, including Rohingya camps.

He suggested launching a crash programme to prevent dengue infections in Rohingya camps; if clustering could be ensured, it would be easy to deal with the dengue situation there.

Golam Rabbani, head of BRAC’s Climate Bridge Fund, said the Bangladesh government should initiate research and increase the authorities’ capacity to tackle any future outbreak of dengue in the country.

He says the Department of Public Health and the DGHS should identify dengue as one of the most climate-sensitive diseases and improve their disease profile, suggesting the government initiate investment and policy interventions to address the dengue in Bangladesh.

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Shymoli Boiragi is a beneficiary of the rainwater harvesting scheme. Credit: Rafiqul Islam/IPS

By Rafiqul Islam
KHULNA, Bangladesh, Sep 23 2022 (IPS)

Like many other women in Bangladesh’s salinity-prone coastal region, Lalita Roy had to travel a long distance every day to collect drinking water as there was no fresh water source nearby her locality.

“In the past, there was a scarcity of drinking water. I had to travel one to two kilometers distance each day to bring water,” Roy, a resident of Bajua Union under Dakope Upazila in Khulna, told IPS.

She had to collect water standing in a queue; one water pitcher was not enough to meet her daily household demand.

“We require two pitchers of drinking water per day. I had to spend two hours each day collecting water. So, there were various problems. I had health complications, and I was unable to do household work for lack of time,” she said.

After getting a rainwater harvesting plant from the Gender-Responsive Coastal Adaptation (GCA) Project, which is being implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Roy is now collecting drinking water using the rainwater harvesting plant, which makes her life easier.

“I am getting the facilities, and now I can give two more hours to my family… that’s why I benefited,” she added.

Shymoli Boiragi, another beneficiary of Shaheber Abad village under Dakope Upazila, said women in her locality suffered a lot in collecting drinking water in the past because they had to walk one to three kilometers every day to collect water.

“We lost both time and household work. After getting rainwater harvesting plants, we benefited. Now we need not go a long distance to collect water so that we can do more household work,” Boiragi said.

Shymoli revealed that coastal people suffered from various health problems caused by consuming saline water and spent money on collecting the water too.

“But now we are conserving rainwater during the ongoing monsoon and will drink it for the rest of the year,” she added.

THE ROLE OF PANI APAS

With support from the project, rainwater harvesting plants were installed at about 13,300 households under 39 union parishads in Khunla and Satkhira. One pani apa (water sister) has been deployed in every union from the beneficiaries.

Roy, now deployed as a pani apa, said the GCA project conducted a survey on the households needing water plants and selected her as a pani apa for two wards.

“As a pani apa, I have been given various tools. I go to every household two times per month. I clean up their water tanks (rainwater plants) and repair those, if necessary,” he added.

Roy said she provides services for 80 households having rainwater harvesting plants, and if they have any problem with their water tanks, she goes to their houses to repair plants.

“I go to 67 households, which have water plants, one to two times per month to provide maintenance services. If they call me over the cellphone, I also go to their houses,” said Ullashini Roy, another pani apa from Shaheber Abad village.

She said a household gives her Taka 20 per month for her maintenance services while she gets Taka 1,340 (US$ 15) from 67 households, which helps her with family expenses.

Ashoke Kumar Adhikary, regional project manager of the GCA, said it supported installing rainwater harvesting plants at 13,300 households. Each plant will store 2,000 liters of rainwater in each tank for the dry season.

The water plants need maintenance, which is why the project has employed pani apas for each union parishad (ward or council). They work at a community level on maintenance.

“They provide some services, and we call them pani apas. The work of pani apas is to go to every household and provide the services,” Adhikary said.

He said the pani apas get Taka 20 from every household per month for providing their services, and if they need to replace taps or filters of the water plants, they replace those.

The pani apas charge for the replacements of equipment of the water plants, he added.

NO WATER TO DRINK

The coastal belt of Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable areas to climate change as it is hit hard by cyclones, floods, and storm surges every year, destroying its freshwater sources. The freshwater aquifer is also being affected by salinity due to rising sea levels.

Ullashini Roy said freshwater was unavailable in the coastal region, and people drinking water was scarce.

“The water you are looking at is saline. The underground water is also salty. The people of the region cannot use saline water for drinking and household purposes,” Adhikary said.

Ahmmed Zulfiqar Rahaman, hydrologist and climate change expert at Dhaka-based think-tank Center for Environmental and Geographic Information Services (CEGIS), said if the sea level rises by 50 centimeters by 2050, the surface salinity will reach Gopalganj and Jhalokati districts – 50 km inside the mainland from the coastal belt, accelerating drinking water crisis there.

PUBLIC HEALTH AT RISK

According to a 2019 study, people consuming saline water suffer from various physical problems, including acidity, stomach problems, skin diseases, psychological problems, and hypertension.

It is even being blamed for early marriages because salinity gradually changes girls’ skin color from light to gray.

“There is no sweet water around us. After drinking saline water, we suffered from various waterborne diseases like diarrhea and cholera,” Ullashini said.

Hypertension and high blood pressure are common among coastal people. The study also showed people feel psychological stress caused by having to constantly collect fresh water.

Shymoli said when the stored drinking water runs out in any family; the family members get worried because it’s not easy to collect in the coastal region.

SOLUTIONS TO SALINITY

Rahaman said river water flows rapidly decline in Bangladesh during the dry season, but a solution needs to be found for the coastal area.

The hydrologist suggested a possible solution is building more freshwater reservoirs in the coastal region through proper management of ponds at a community level.

Rahaman said low-cost rainwater harvesting technology should be transferred to the community level so that coastal people can reserve rainwater during the monsoon and use this during the dry season.

He added that the government should provide subsidies for desalinization plants since desalinizing salt water is costly.

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Two refugees identified as Muhindo and his wife Harriet are among the new waves of people leaving the Democratic Republic of Congo following inter-communal clashes in South-West DRC. UN agencies have called for substantive action on refugees, especially regarding food security. Credit: UNHCR

By Juliet Morrison
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 21 2022 (IPS)

Representatives from UN agencies and several countries called for more substantive action to support refugees and internally displaced people amid the ongoing global food crisis.

Co-hosted by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations, a panel discussion held on September 14, 2022, also explored innovative solutions to combat the food shortage and increase the capacity of refugees. It came ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on the global food crisis and protection.

Food insecurity has become an enormous problem. In 2019, WFP estimated that 145 million people were facing acute food insecurity. Now the organization predicates 345 million people are facing insecurity. The combination of climate change shocks, COVID-19, and conflict has pushed several countries, such as Somalia, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Yemen, to a very real risk of famine.

Yoseph Kassaye, Deputy Permanent Representative of Ethiopia, and Raouf Mazou, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Operations at the UN Headquarters in New York City. Credit: Juliet Morrison/IPS

Action on food insecurity today is “more important than ever”, Valerie Guarnieri, WFP Assistant Executive Director, said during the panel section.

Among those particularly vulnerable to the negative impacts of food insecurity are refugees and internally displaced people.

Raouf Mazou, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Operations and moderator of the event, explained that the increased vulnerability of refugees is primarily to the nature of displacement and the loss of community safety networks that accompany it.

“When fleeing many refugees sell or are forced to leave behind their assets their journey to safety is often full of dangers. Family and community support systems breakdown. They usually lose their income and often find themselves with no option but to employ harmful strategies as coping mechanisms.”

Coping mechanisms refer to tactics a family or community employs to compensate for a loss in income. In response to COVID-19 lockdowns, UNHCR reported instances of transactional sex, early marriage, child recruitment, and trafficking in person across its operations.

For Mazou, these challenges point to a need to center protection in efforts to address food security by governments and NGOs.

Special attention must also be paid to the specific plights of women and girls, he argued. In searching for food, displaced women and girls are at an increased risk of sexual violence, intimate partner violence, and child and forced marriages.

In Somalian regions affected by drought, gender-based violence has gone up 200 percent since 2021, Mazaou noted. He pointed to several factors that may lead to violence when a community is facing food insecurity.

“Food insecurity increases the risk of violence, neglect and exploitation and abuse of children. Girls may drop out of school at a higher percentage rate than boys when families are unable to afford school fees for all their children. Household sent children in search of food work on pasture for livestock exposing them to increased risks.”

The food crisis is also affecting the ability of host countries to provide for refugees.

Ethiopia, the third largest refugee-hosting country in Africa, is on the brink of famine. The country is reckoning with the historic drought hitting the Horn of Africa region, which is severely threatening its food networks.

Yoseph Kassaye, Deputy Permanent Representative of Ethiopia to the UN, underscored the crisis and its strain on the nation’s ability to protect refugees.

The drought has wiped away important nutrition sources that refugees rely on, such as cattle and water wells. Kassaye explained that the lack of natural resources means refugees can only rely on humanitarian assistance.

Yet, this is also at risk. As a result of funding constraints, in June, the WFP had to reduce its rations for refugees in Ethiopia by 50 percent.

“It is indeed troubling to learn that the level of support by international humanitarian agencies is reported to have decreased due to the funding shortages. In our view, urgent measures are needed if we’re to respond to the people in need of assistance in a timely and effective manner,” Kassaye said.

Citing related statistics, Guarnieri emphasized the importance of more humanitarian aid. But, she also underscored initiatives that increased the capacity of refugee populations and host countries.

“We have to do everything as WFP and UNHCR, as an international community to meet these urgent food needs and these desperate protection needs, but we’re never going to be able to catch up with the situation unless we are also investing in building the resilience in supporting the livelihoods and strengthening the self-reliance of populations who have forcibly displaced population who are seeking refuge in other countries.”

She also stressed the power of collaboration across sectors. One example of this was the WFP-UNHCR’s Joint Hub, a collaboration between agencies and governments to support refugees through innovative solutions and policies.

Established in 2020, the hub has worked on several projects. One with the Government of Mauritania resulted in Malian refugees being included in its national social protection plan—making refugees eligible for cash transfer funds for vulnerable households.

Dorte Verner, the lead agricultural economist in the Agricultural and Food Global Practice with the World Bank, brought up another innovative solution to boost food production: insect farming.

According to Verner, insect farming has enormous potential for tackling food insecurity in vulnerable communities as it requires no arable land and very little water and will not lead to any biodiversity loss. These characteristics mean it can even be practiced in refugee camps, Verner stated.

“Insert farming can provide displaced people with the skills that they need to produce where they are, and they can take these skills to human capital with them to where they go afterward. [It] can contribute to alleviating the world’s food and nutrition insecurity for forcibly displaced people and the host community.”

Closing the meeting, participants coalesced around the need to leverage the commitments being made to meaningfully tackle food insecurity.

Several participants also noted the opportunity to continue the conversation at the Security Council meeting to be held later that afternoon, where more concrete action on food insecurity could be examined.

A representative from Ireland stated that overall action from the Security Council was needed to meaningfully tackle the issue at its core.

“If we don’t look at what’s driving these prices in the first place, what’s driving this insecurity in the first place? Then, you know, we’re going to be chasing our tails all the time because the problems are getting worse.”

He called for the Security Council to address the matter further.

“[The humanitarian] part of the UN system is playing its part, but the UN Security Council needs to play its part as well. That means responding early when we see the signs of crises coming, but it also means responding, particularly to protect civilians, and crises and meeting to make sure that things are put at the center of our response.”

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