Climate Migrants in the Dhaka Metropolitan Region: The Process of Livelihood Adaptation

Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries in the world to the impact of climate change, evidence of which seems to be present all over the country. The cities and towns also face severe impacts. Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh and one of the largest metropolitan regions in the world, is facing many adverse impacts of climate change, both directly and indirectly. Dhaka accommodates many internally displaced populations, along with other impacts from climatic hazards. From this perspective, the present research aims to explore the context of migrationMigration to Dhaka due to climate change and environmentally induced problems, as well as the adaptationClimate Changeadaptation strategies of the migrants as they arrive at the city. This study is based on primary data collected from a large census of 12,078 migrant households in the Dhaka Metropolitan Region. Around 20.9 percent of these households were identified as having left their place of origin due to climate change-induced factors. A random sample of 553 households was selected from this sub-group of “climate change-induced migrants” (climate migrantsClimate Changeclimate migrants) for a sample survey in the final phase of the analysis. Our study revealed that immediately after migrationMigration, the majority of the mostly unskilled jobs found by this group was in the informal sector although, over time, the migrants tried to upgrade to more skilled sectors. More than two-thirds of the surveyed households enhanced their income after a prolonged stay in the city although some failed to reach their pre-migration level of income. The study findings reveal that despite a lack of institutional support, Dhaka City remains the major destination point for climate migrantsClimate Changeclimate migrants and that the city ultimately accommodates them, enabling them to earn livelihoods in their adopted metropolitan environment. Our research hopes to draw attention to the multifaceted issues connected to climate change-induced migrationMigration to the big cities, where a well-coordinated approach is needed to address them.