In a crowded informal settlement on the outskirts of Dhaka, 38-year-old Rahima Begum recalls the night the river took her home. A former resident of Kurigram district in northern Bangladesh, she had already rebuilt her house twice after repeated floods. The third time, there was nothing left to rebuild. “I had land, I had neighbors, I had a life,” she says quietly. “Now I have to start from zero in a place where no one knows me.” Rahima’s experience is increasingly common in Bangladesh, where environmental pressures are steadily erasing homes, livelihoods, and long-standing community ties. Her story is not about crossing borders, but about survival, yet it is unfolding in a region where migration is increasingly framed through the lens of security.
Across South Asia, governments have begun responding to climate-induced mobility with a mix of border tightening, surveillance measures, and political rhetoric centered on “illegal migration.” In neighboring India, migration debates are often entangled with domestic political narratives that emphasize demographic pressure and territorial control. While such approaches may resonate within national politics, they risk obscuring the environmental drivers of displacement and narrowing the space for cooperative solutions. Analysts warn that framing climate migration primarily as a security issue diverts attention from the long-term structural challenges of climate change, encouraging narratives of blame and border control rather than cooperation around shared environmental causes. [IOM], 2023). Now more than ever, South Asian countries must cooperate to respond to climate migration in a way that builds peace.
The scale of the crisis itself leaves little room for denial. Climate-induced displacement in Bangladesh is no longer a future scenario but an ongoing reality. The World Bank estimates that up to 13.3 million people in the country could be internally displaced by 2050 due to slow-onset climate impacts such as sea-level rise and salinity intrusion (World Bank, 2021). Each year, floods, cyclones, and riverbank erosion force millions in South Asia to relocate, often with minimal institutional support (IDMC, 2026). Bangladesh alone saw 1.3 million new internal displacements due to floods in 2024 (IDMC, 2026). Coastal regions are becoming increasingly uninhabitable, agricultural productivity is declining, and river systems continue to reshape the landscape in unpredictable ways. As Bangladeshi climate expert Saleemul Huq has observed, “Many people… will simply not be able to continue there” (National Geographic, 2019).
For most, migration is not a choice but a necessity. Despite this, the overwhelming majority of climate migration in South Asia remains internal, with displaced populations moving toward urban centers such as Dhaka. These cities, already under strain, are absorbing new arrivals at a rapid pace, creating additional pressure on housing, infrastructure, and employment systems. Yet even as migration remains largely domestic, its political implications are increasingly regional. Climate change acts as what scholars describe as a “threat multiplier,” intensifying existing inequalities and vulnerabilities rather than directly causing conflict (United Nations, 2022).
When governments respond through securitization rather than cooperation, these underlying tensions risk becoming more pronounced. This is where the current trajectory begins to show its limits. Regional mechanisms such as the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation have historically struggled to address politically sensitive issues like migration, leaving countries to respond in fragmented and often reactive ways. Yet climate-induced displacement does not respect national boundaries in its causes or consequences. River systems, weather patterns, and ecological disruptions are inherently transboundary, making unilateral approaches both insufficient and unsustainable.
A shift toward cooperation, however, offers a different pathway, one that aligns more closely with both the realities of climate change and the principles of peacebuilding. At the regional level, this could begin with renewed efforts to strengthen climate diplomacy. Joint risk assessments, shared data on displacement trends, and coordinated disaster response mechanisms would not only improve preparedness but also help depoliticize migration by grounding it in evidence rather than rhetoric. Such cooperation would require political will, but it is far from unprecedented; South Asia has a history of collaboration in areas such as disaster management that could be expanded to address climate mobility.
Equally important is the need to move from a narrow focus on state security to a broader understanding of human security. This approach prioritizes the safety, dignity, and livelihoods of individuals rather than treating them as potential threats. In practical terms, it involves recognizing climate-induced displacement within policy frameworks, ensuring access to essential services for affected populations, and protecting migrants from exploitation and marginalization. At present, there is no formal recognition of “climate refugees” under international law, leaving millions in a legal gray area. The United Nations has increasingly emphasized the importance of rights-based approaches to climate mobility, encouraging countries to integrate migration into national adaptation strategies (MDPI, 2025).
At the local level, solutions are already emerging, often driven by the very communities most affected. Across Bangladesh, adaptation strategies such as flood-resistant housing, floating agriculture, and community-based disaster preparedness are helping to reduce vulnerability and, in some cases, delay or prevent displacement. Investing in these initiatives can strengthen resilience while also reducing the likelihood of conflict over scarce resources.
In areas where migrants settle, community dialogue and inclusive development policies can play a crucial role in easing tensions between newcomers and host populations, ensuring that migration does not become a source of social fragmentation (IOM, 2023). Urban areas, too, must be reimagined as part of the solution. Cities like Dhaka are on the frontline of climate migration, but they also offer opportunities for innovation. By integrating migration into urban planning, through affordable housing, resilient infrastructure, and inclusive labor markets, governments can transform cities from sites of crisis into spaces of adaptation.
Collaboration between cities across South Asia could further enhance these efforts, allowing policymakers to share strategies and lessons learned in managing climate-induced mobility.
None of these efforts, however, can succeed without meaningful international support. Climate finance remains heavily skewed toward mitigation, with insufficient resources allocated to adaptation and displacement management. Increasing investment in resilience-building, planned relocation programs, and livelihood support would help address the root causes of migration rather than merely its symptoms. Global actors also have a role to play in encouraging cooperative frameworks, ensuring that climate migration is approached as a shared challenge rather than a competitive one (European Comission, 2026).
Rahima Begum’s story is a reminder that behind every statistic is a life disrupted and a future uncertain. Yet it is also a reminder that the choices made by governments today will shape the region’s trajectory for decades to come. A response defined by fear and securitization risks turning environmental change into political conflict. A response grounded in cooperation, by contrast, offers the possibility of stability, resilience, and peace. As climate pressures intensify, South Asia stands at a crossroads. It can continue down a path of fragmentation, where borders harden and mistrust deepens. Or it can choose a different direction, one that recognizes shared vulnerabilities and builds collective solutions.
In the face of rising waters, the most sustainable path forward may not be to retreat behind borders, but to move forward together.
Keywords: Climate refugees, South Asia, Climate change, Asia, Bangladesh, India, Climate migration, migration
Sheikh Mehzabin
Sheikh Mehzabin Chitra is an anthropologist, human rights advocate, and researcher focused on marginalized communities, displacement, and grassroots peacebuilding. Her work combines ethnographic research with journalism and policy analysis to amplify voices from the margins and examine how everyday practices sustain peace in humanitarian settings.
