[This is an excerpt from an article in The Round Table: The Commonwealth Journal of International Affairs and Policy Studies.]
Md Rafiqul Islam’s Climate Change, Migration and Conflict in Bangladesh investigates a timely and complex triad – climate change, migration and conflict – within the context of one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations. The book’s central argument is that environmental degradation, particularly in the form of floods, cyclones and riverbank erosion, has displaced thousands of people within Bangladesh. These climate-induced internal migrants often resettle in already fragile regions such as the urban slums of Dhaka or the ethnically sensitive Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT). Islam contends that such migrations – while initially viewed as adaptation strategies – can spark or exacerbate conflict when the host communities feel threatened socially, economically or demographically. Drawing from interviews with migrants and experts, the author argues that migration caused by environmental stressors can become a flashpoint for resource-based disputes, ethnic tension and political instability, especially when local governance structures are weak or unprepared. This book situates Bangladesh as a valuable case study to understand the emerging risks of climate-induced social upheaval in the Global South.
The introductory chapter effectively frames the book’s scope and urgency. It situates Bangladesh within the global climate discourse and explains why climate-induced migration deserves special attention. Islam introduces both key sites – urban slums and the CHT – where displaced populations have moved, setting the stage for localised conflict analysis. The chapter’s strength lies in establishing the empirical and theoretical gaps that the book seeks to fill. In light of it, Islam provides a comprehensive overview of existing studies on the nexus between climate change, migration and conflict in Chapter 2. He traces evolving scholarly debates and introduces key concepts such as resource scarcity, human security and environmental stress. The discussion is informative, although it could have benefited from more engagement with critical perspectives that question direct causal links between climate change and conflict. Still, the chapter provides a useful theoretical scaffold for the empirical chapters that follow.
Migration from Bangladesh: Impulses, Risks and Exploitations
Commonwealth Bookshelf
In chapters 3 and 4, Islam contextualises the study by laying out Bangladesh’s environmental vulnerabilities and demographic trends. He makes a compelling case that climate change has intensified rural displacement and reshaped urban and regional demographics. The discussion of the CHT’s ethnopolitical history is especially valuable, as it illustrates how new migration patterns intersect with longstanding ethnic grievances. This chapter deepens the reader’s understanding of how climate and conflict interact, not in isolation, but through layers of political and historical dynamics. Based on interviews with climate migrants in urban slums and the CHT, this chapter presents rich, first-hand accounts of displacement and resettlement. The narratives highlight how sudden and slow-onset climatic events push people to migrate, often with little support.
Here, in Chapter 5 and 6, Islam introduces the ‘mediating factors’ that influence where and how climate-affected individuals migrate – such as social networks, government policies and historical state intervention. The discussion is insightful, especially in the context of government-sponsored resettlement programmes in the CHT. These factors show that climate change may be a trigger, but not the sole cause, of migration; it interacts with a wider web of institutional and social dynamics. Later, Islam shows how this migration transforms into tension or violence in host communities. Through qualitative data, Islam shows how land disputes, competition over resources, and demographic shifts have deepened mistrust between Bengali settlers and the indigenous peoples of the CHT. The urban case is also mentioned but not explored in as much detail, which slightly imbalances the comparative framing. Nevertheless, the chapter succeeds in illustrating how climate-induced migration can aggravate social fragmentation, especially in regions with weak conflict resolution mechanisms. Moreover, Islam recaps the findings and reiterates that the climate – migration – conflict nexus is nonlinear and deeply context-specific. Islam emphasises that migration should not be assumed to be adaptive in all cases; it can just as easily destabilise already fragile settings. The conclusion is thoughtful and reinforces the need for more empirical studies, especially in climate-vulnerable regions like Bangladesh.
Climate Change, Migration and Conflict in Bangladesh is a timely and thoughtful exploration of a critically important issue. It offers valuable insights into how climate-induced migration can disrupt host communities and exacerbate latent tensions, especially in ethnically diverse or politically sensitive areas like the CHT.
Aminur Rahman is a Researcher and Development Practitioner, South Asian University, New Delhi.
Climate change, migration and conflict in Bangladesh by Md Rafiqul Islam, India, Routledge, 2023.
