A year after Cyclone Aila, the last major cyclone to hit southwest
Bangladesh, IOM and the BRAC Development Institute (BDI) have
organized the country’s first policy dialogue on Environment,
Climate Change and Migration.

The meeting, which was attended by government policy makers,
representatives of civil society and donors, also saw the launch of
a study commissioned by IOM from independent researcher Mathew
Walsham: "Assessing the Evidence: Environment, Climate Change and
Migration in Bangladesh."

BDI launched a second study examining the links between climate
change and urbanization in Bangladesh.

The two studies show that climate change and natural disasters
like cyclones have complex but tangible effects on patterns of
migration. Over the long-term they result in migration from
environmentally vulnerable regions. But both papers concede that
there still is a dearth of studies on the nexus between climate
change and displacement.

"Bangladesh needs to learn more and respond proactively if we
are to minimize the risks and maximize the benefits of
environmentally induced migration. While disaster risk reduction
and post-disaster response have improved significantly, Cyclone
Aila showed us that there is still a lot of room for improvement,"
says IOM Regional Representative for South Asia Rabab
Fatima. 

Over four million people living in low-lying coastal areas were
directly affected by Aila on 25 May last year. The cyclone killed
190 people, left a trail of destruction and displaced tens of
thousands. A year on, some 100,000 people are still displaced on
mud embankments, with little food, drinking water or
sanitation.

In the immediate aftermath of the cyclone, IOM provided shelter
kits and basic non-food relief items to more than 24,000 families
(120,000 people), with funding from the United Kingdom. It also set
up a Displacement Tracking Matrix.

For more information please contact:

Asif Munier

IOM Dhaka

Tel: + 880.2.988.9765

E-mail: "mailto:amunier@iom.int">amunier@iom.int

or

Farhana Chowdhury

E-mail:  "mailto:fchowdhury@iom.int">fchowdhury@iom.int