New paradigms Currently, there are upwards of one million Rohingya refugees living in Cox’s Bazar. For all the talk of moving the Rohingya elsewhere, such as Bashan Char Island, or repatriating them to Myanmar, it is almost certain that they will remain where they are for an indefinite period of time. History has shown that the average age of a …

Seeking refuge in a climate vulnerable nation Dr Saleemul Huq is the director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development at the Independent University, Bangladesh. The interview has been edited for clarity. There is a general belief that climate change will cause mass migrations in the future. Did climate change play any role in the exodus of Rohingya …

Moving towards a humanitarian-development response to the Rohingya refugee crisis Giorgi Gigauri is the Chief of IOM-UN Migration Agency’s mission in Bangladesh. This interview has been edited for clarity. What is IOM’s overall vision for on-going Rohingya crisis in Bangladesh? Our overall vision is basically two-fold. The first is the humanitarian phase. So, before we speak of midterm, longer term …

Sumbul Rizvi is the senior humanitarian coordinator assigned on behalf of the broader humanitarian community to coordinate the response to the Rohingya refugee crisis in Cox’s Bazar. The interview has been edited for clarity. The Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya refugee crisis was launched earlier this year, requiring USD 951 million to provide humanitarian aid to the Rohingya refugees …

The academy will be hosted at the Independent University of Bangladesh (IUB) The Bangladesh Academy for Climate Services (BACS) has been launched. Environmental experts launched BACS at the conference room of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) in Dhaka on Sunday. Speaking at the event, Director of International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) Dr Saleemul Haque said, they decided …

Understanding Bangladesh’s most complex environmental and man-made problem Most filmmakers that come to document climate change in Bangladesh include a segment on salinity intrusion in southwest Bangladesh. While is salinity intrusion is predicted to be amplified by the sea level rise, there is in fact numerous other contributing factors. The first of which is tidal surges which occur in the …

Special report on 1.5c leaked A newly leaked draft from the International Panel on Climate Change — the “Special report on 1.5°C ” — highlights the difference between a rise of 1.5°C and 2°C of global warming above pre-industrial level. The leaked report meant for international climate policymakers is expected to be published later this year. The report emerges out …

A sociologist-to-be investigates salinity issues in Gabura After being called Piya enough times, I decided to pick up a copy of The Hungry Tide by Amitav Ghosh. Like Piya, the protagonist, I am an American of Bengali descent studying the Sundarbans. Unlike Piya, I am a proud Bengali speaker, though my accent betrays my bideshi roots. While reading, I was …

At the heart of the Paris Agreement lies mitigation — the seemingly insurmountable task of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions to curtail the consequences of climate change. According to various studies, 65% of greenhouse gas emissions comes from fossil fuels combustion, 24% from industrial activities among which up to 67% is estimated to come from management of materials activities. Since …

Understanding depression among women in disaster prone areas When it comes to a natural disaster, the loss of property and livelihood are ultimately monetary issues that can be overcome. But how do you deal with the trauma that often comes in response to experiencing such world altering events? Such impacts cannot be dealt with solely with money. While previous studies …