Article Information

Abstract

Bangladesh faces ongoing climate-related displacement problems because its existing legal and institutional systems fail to provide official recognition and protection for displaced people. The research investigates environmental governance deficiencies through doctrinal legal analysis, policy assessment and field study of 35 participants including displaced individuals and relevant officials. The findings reveal three critical gaps which include the absence of statutory recognition for climate-displaced people and fragmented institutional coordination and the absence of enforceable rights related to relocation and rehabilitation. Interview data show that women and children and landless people experience more exclusion from both compensation and decision-making than others. The study compares Bangladesh with India, Vietnam and the Philippines to establish that legal recognition and coordinated governance result in better protection outcomes. The findings indicate that Bangladesh needs to change its disaster management practices by implementing a rights-based governance system through the revision of essential laws and the creation of inter-ministerial coordination systems and the establishment of participatory and gender-sensitive safeguards.