More Assistance Needed from Bangladesh Government for Displaced Communities

January 31

Displacement Solutions and Young Power in Social Action Urge Bangladesh Government to do More to Assist Climate Displaced Communities

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Displacement Solutions (DS) recently completed its fourth visit to Bangladesh in conjunction with its Bangladesh Climate Displacement and HLP Rights Initiative. Working closely with Young Power in Social Action (YPSA), DS met with a range of senior Government officials and representatives including Sree Nani Gopal Mondol, Member of Parliament, Khulna-1, Dr. S M Munjurul Hannan Khan, Deputy Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forest and Mr. Mohammad Abdul Wazed, Director General, Disaster Management Bureau, urging the Government do be more pro-active in its efforts to protect the HLP rights of climate affected communities throughout the country.

In addition, DS and YPSA discussed the climate displacement crisis in Bangladesh with senior media figures, academics, UN officials and other stakeholders to discuss the work that DS and YPSA have undertaken on climate displacement to date and to advocate for a rights based approach to developing and implementing solutions for climate displaced persons.

In response to these discussions, DS was directly requested by a number of senior Government officials to provide further technical expertise and cooperation in resolving climate displacement across the country. In response, DS is currently preparing a number of proposals for further engagement on this issue.

DS and YPSA will shortly be published three major research projects carried out during the past year that look at the land dynamics of resolving growing climate displacement in Bangladesh.

During the remainder of 2013, the DS Bangladesh HLP Initiative will carry out research identifying government factors responsible for the resolution of climate displacement in the country, provide growing legal assistance to local organisations to better support climate affected communities and a range of additional measures with our civil society partners and the Government of Bangladesh to find urgent housing, land and property rights solutions for the current and future millions of climate displaced people across Bangladesh.

DS Hosts International Workshop on Land Solutions to Climate Displacement

October 08
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 DS hosted an international workshop on land solutions to climate displacement in Auckland, New Zealand on 4 October. The workshop brought together experts and government officials from Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and New Zealand to discuss and examine legal and policy solutions to climate displacement in seven focus countries – Bangladesh, Kiribati, Maldives, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. An element of DS’ Land Solutions Project, the workshop examined the role of customary land law, internal relocation programmes and the construction of new housing, land and property options as solutions to ensuring the rights of climate displaced persons. The workshop will lead to the publication of seven papers on rights-based legal and policy solutions to climate displacement in each of the focus countries. These papers will be compiled into an innovative edited volume designed to provide policy-makers and affected groups with an in-depth understanding of the legal issues involved, how they can be approached and where work is already underway today to protect the rights of climate displaced persons. It is expected that this publication will be available in early 2013.

DS Holds First Ever Australia-Bangladesh Skype Conversation for its Coastal Kids Project

September 04
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This year, as part of its Climate Change and Displacement Initiative, Displacement Solutions (DS) has launched the Coastal Kids Project to connect schools and students living in coastal areas in Bangladesh with schools and students in Australia who are also coastal dwellers. Today, 4 September 2012, the much anticipated, first ever Skype conversation between an Australian school (Sorrento Primary School, Victoria) and a Bangladeshi school (William Carey Academy, Chittagong) was facilitated by DS. Designed to increase understanding among all participants about the lives of coastal kids around the world and how climate change is affecting them, this classroom-to-classroom conversation was an exciting and insightful event for students and teachers alike, and was enthusiastically engaged in by all involved.This conversation marks the first of a number of Skype conversations which will be held between these two schools and, in time, similar conversations will be facilitated with schools from other climate-affected countries to further build awareness and engagement with the issue of climate change, and encourage transnational cooperation and learning among coastal kids everywhere. Make sure to keep checking for more news as the Coastal Kids Project continues to progress and expand! For further information, please email info@displacementsolutions.org.

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The Coastal Kids Project Gets Underway

July 12
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DS has continued its work under the Coastal Kids Project with Sorrento Primary School educating students about climate change and its implications for coastal dwellers throughout the world. A short piece about this Project featured in Peninsula Weekly and can be accessed here.

Climate Displacement in Bangladesh: The Need for Urgent Housing, Land and Property Rights Solutions

June 13
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Displacement Solutions: Climate Displacement in Bangladesh Report May 2012

This 36-page report comprehensively examines the scope and causes of climate displacement across Bangladesh. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, the report highlights that climate displacement is not just a phenomenon to be addressed at some point in the future, it is a crisis that is unfolding across Bangladesh now. Sea-level rise and tropical cyclones in coastal areas, as well as flooding and riverbank erosion in mainland areas, are already resulting in the loss of homes, land and property and leading to mass displacement. Further, all of the natural hazards that are causing displacement are expected to increase in both frequency and intensity as a result of climate change – almost inevitably leading to the displacement of many millions more across Bangladesh.

This report – prepared by DS legal consultant Ezekiel Simperingham – is designed to develop awareness and deepen knowledge of this crucial issue as well as to propose concrete, practical recommendations that can be utilised by the Government of Bangladesh, civil society actors, climate affected communities themselves, academics, development practitioners, the regional and international communities and other relevant stakeholders.

This report comprehensively examines current and future causes of climate displacement in Bangladesh. The report also examines existing and proposed Government and civil society policies and programmes intended to provide solutions to climate displacement. The report highlights a number of protection gaps in the response of both the Government of Bangladesh and the international community to the plight of climate displaced persons. The report emphasises that rights-based solutions, in particular, housing, land and property rights solutions must be utilised as the basis for solving this crisis.

The report concludes by proposing a number of concrete recommendations that could be utilized to provide solutions to climate displacement.

New Internationalist Blog Piece: Domestic Land Solutions for Bangladesh

May 28
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Kadir van Lohuizon

Read Scott Leckie and Zeke Simperingham’s recent observational piece on the climate displacement situation in Bangladesh, published by a highly acclaimed independent monthly not-for-profit magazine/blog that reports on actions in support of global justice. The New Internationalist believes in putting people before profit, in climate justice, tax justice, equality, social responsibility and human rights for all, views shared by Displacement Solutions.

The Search for Domestic Land Solutions for Thousands of Climate Displaced Bangladeshis

Much of the world knows little about Bangladesh other than threatened coups, George Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh in 1971, the annual monsoonal floods and perhaps, the Grameen Bank, changing lives one microcredit loan at a time. But it should also be known that this country’s grassroots groups,…. read more

Displacement Solutions Mission to Bangladesh April 2012

May 03
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DS team with local peopleDisplacement Solutions (DS) has just completed its most recent mission to Bangladesh, which took place from 15-29 April. DS partners Young Power in Social Action (YPSA) hosted and facilitated the mission which travelled throughout the country, focusing in particular on climate displacement issues in Chittagong and on the within-country resettlement of climate change displaced persons. The DS team met with a wide range of government officials, Ministers, MPs, civil society actors and others in connection with our Bangladesh HLP Initiative.

DS to Undertake Major Project on Land Solutions for Climate Displacement

November 30
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In 2012, DS will carry out a major project on land solutions for climate displacement with researchers and scholars from 7 climate-affected countries – Bangladesh, Kiribati, Maldives, PNG, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. The study will examine in detail the feasibility of land acquisition, relocation and resettlement options for communities threatened with land loss and homelessness caused by climate change.

New DS Project – Coastal Kids

November 30
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Nauti Primary School grounds, Funafuti, Tuvalu

One of DS’ latest projects – Coastal Kids – will be starting in earnest in early 2012. The Coastal Kids Project will initially bring schools and students living in coastal areas in Bangladesh, Kiribati and Tuvalu into direct contact with schools and students in Australia who are also themselves coastal dwellers. Using communications technology such as Skype and other forms of internet-based connections and learning, the Coastal Kids Project will bring children from these four countries into direct face-to-face contact during which time they can discuss the reality of climate change, learn how climate change is affecting them and what kids in all of these countries can do to better understand the needs and wishes of coastal kids everywhere. Check here soon for further updates!

New article about DS published in Deutsche Welle

August 22
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Deutsche Welle recently published an article about Displacement Solutions and its work in finding solutions for displaced persons throughout the world. Included in this article is information about the work of DS in Bangladesh and other climate-affected countries. To access the article, click here.

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