Stakeholders have urged the government to prioritize the implementation of the local model in building climate-resilient, migrant-friendly cities in Mongla and Bagerhat.
They have also said coastal cities and towns are at significant risk of climate change impacts due to sea-level rise. This risk is exacerbated by high levels of poverty and the limited capacity of urban and local governments to assess vulnerabilities.
The stakeholders made remarks at a meeting on Monday night at Brac Centre in Mohakhali.
Speakers pointed out that inclusive planning, which takes into account climate migration trends, could help secondary cities and towns along the Bangladesh coast to benefit from migration in the future, rather than collapsing under pressures.
However, sufficiently supported and skilled migrants could contribute to economic growth in these cities, which typically possess the advantages of ports and special economic zones for generating employment, as they have determined.
Bangladesh National Adaptation Plan identifies the development of such climate-resilient and migrant-friendly towns as the key strategy to promote resilient urban development and deal with the issues of climate migrations, said project presenter Imamul Azam shahi, Program Head of Brac Urban Development Program.
Under the project, an adaptation plan will be formulated for Mongla Port Municipal Town in Bagerhat, and a pilot program will be conducted for its implementation.
This program will be expanded to three additional cities by 2026 and to 26 cities across the country by 2030.
According to Brac Management Information System (MIS) data, around 55% of households in Mongla port are migrant families, 85% of households lack access to municipal pipe water facilities, often requiring long distances for water, 10% of the population has completed higher secondary education, 78 % families face water-logging crisis.
Data also showed that 35% of men work as day labour but they do not have work available daily, while 18 women are engaged in different formal or informal income-generating activities.
The methods used in the project will follow the eight principles of locally managed adaptation.
Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change Habibun Nahar said that the primary issue faced by Mongla city is the inadequate supply of clean drinking water.
"Due to salinity, the residents here are exposed to various health risks. It is crucial to identify the principal problems and implement necessary measures for their sustainable solutions."
She further said: "Mongla Port Municipality is situated in a climate-vulnerable area. Ensuring a stable supply of fresh water is crucial here to address climate risks. Furthermore, it is imperative to offer necessary facilities for climate migrants."
Liaquat Ali, director of Brac’'s Climate Change Program and Urban Development Program, said the project, funded by the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), is being implemented for the first time in Asia.
The project will be worthwhile if the real needs of the climate migrants living in Mongla are identified and appropriate measures are taken to address them, he added.