The devastating and complex effects of climate change are driving a hidden crisis of modern slavery for Bangladesh’s climate refugees and migrants. Around 92% of people, almost all, who migrated from the climate-vulnerable regions of Bangladesh and were surveyed by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) suffered at least one form of modern slavery while working abroad, a new study reveals.
Worsening climate disasters – such as extreme heat, cyclones, floods and soil and water salinity – have devastating economic and social consequences for the affected people of Bangladesh, explained Shakirul Bhai Islam, report co-author and founding chair of the Ovibashi Karmi Unnayan Program (OKUP), a community-based migrant organisation in Bangladesh. Livestock losses, crop failures and damaged homes push families into a debt spiral, as they take out loans to rebuild their lives, only to be hit by the next disaster.
Previous IIED research estimates that households in Bangladesh collectively spend almost USD 2 billion each year repairing climate-related damage, trapped in a vicious cycle of loss and debt. This amount is 12 times more than provided by international donors.
Climate Migration in Bangladesh
The interplay of climate shocks and socioeconomic vulnerabilities force many to undertake distress migration, often as a last resort, to sustain their families and survive. However, migration rarely resolves their vulnerabilities. Rather than providing relief, migration often exposes these individuals to exploitative labour conditions, modern slavery and human trafficking, according to the IIED’s new research. “It’s a do-or-die situation,” said Ritu Bharadwaj, an IIED principal researcher and co-author of the report. “They either stay there and let their families suffer hunger, or they move even though they understand it might be dangerous for them.”
Impact of Climate Change in Bangladesh
The IIED study found that among the 648 households surveyed in Pirojpur and Sylhet, 92% of internal migrants reported experiencing at least one form of modern slavery. Additionally, of those working abroad, 81% reported experiencing more than five types of slavery, including withholding of wages, physical violence, restricted movement and debt bondage.
The prevalence of modern slavery is especially high among agricultural, garment and construction workers, the report found. Different vulnerable communities face different levels of risk. For example, women and girls face heightened risks, such as exposure to sexual exploitation and forced marriage. Indigenous and rural communities – reliant on land and nature-based livelihoods – are at a greater risk of exploitative labour markets when their ways of life become insecure because of climatic impacts.
IIED’s new paper includes interviews with some of the survey respondents. One respondent from Mathbaria, Pirojpur, explained the struggle of managing food, water, and sanitation facilities after losing everything due to riverbank erosion. After losing their only child to malnutrition, they fell into depression, and with no local work available, they moved to Dhaka to find employment in a brick kiln.
Another, a 40-year-old man with six children, paid more than USD 3,000 and sold livestock so he could migrate for work. “A relative living abroad offered me a chance for a better life in Oman. I saw it as a ray of hope in the darkness,” he said. Yet, his hosts physically attacked him, leaving him seriously injured and sick, and ignored pleas for medical attention. “Before Eid, without any treatment, without any notice and salary, they sent me back to Bangladesh,” he said.
Growing Global Issue
Climate-driven migration is a growing global crisis, and these stories represent just a fraction of the immense human suffering it inflicts. The latest IPCC report noted that the greatest single impact of climate change could be on human migration, said Bharadwaj. A World Bank report projected that 216 million people are likely to be internally displaced by 2050. This number would be much higher if we accounted for the cross-border migration, Bharadwaj added.
Additionally, no international legal framework currently exists to protect those displaced by climate change. Without official refugee status, these millions of vulnerable people are exposed without formal protections.
Bangladesh Climate Injustice
The humanitarian crisis involving climate refugees in Bangladesh represents a major example of climate injustice. Those who are least responsible for climate change are facing its most severe consequences. The economic losses are significant on their own, but the social and human costs are immeasurable.
“These disturbing [IIED report] statistics show how important it is to tackle modern slavery,” said Ritu Bharadwaj. “However, there are systems that can soften the blow, like the rural employment guarantee scheme used in neighbouring India. As a low-income country, Bangladesh may need international help to institute something similar, but a work program that focuses on creating disaster-resilient infrastructure could be a huge boost for the people most affected by the warming climate.”
The IIED report provides additional recommendations to tackle the challenges associated with climate migration. These include building climate resilience at the local level to address the root causes of distress migration and enhancing livelihood opportunities. For those who migrate, the report recommends fostering safe migration pathways and financial protections and implementing safeguards against exploitative employers who take advantage of vulnerable economic migrants. Additionally, leveraging climate finance for resilience and adaptation efforts is essential to meet the scale of the unfolding climate crisis in Bangladesh. This involves direct financial transfers during disasters, which can provide immediate support, as well as climate finance for skills development and job creation in climate-resilient sectors to provide long-term, sustainable livelihoods for vulnerable households.
Evelyn Smail
Writer, United Kingdom
Evelyn is a freelance writer and journalist specialising in climate science and policy, the just energy transition and the human impacts of climate change. She writes for independent publications, NGOs and environmental organisations. Evelyn has a background in sustainable development, climate justice and human rights.
Evelyn is a freelance writer and journalist specialising in climate science and policy, the just energy transition and the human impacts of climate change. She writes for independent publications, NGOs and environmental organisations. Evelyn has a background in sustainable development, climate justice and human rights.
