Geeta Kiran Gunjal
Symbiosis School for Liberal Arts
Symbiosis International (Deemed University)

Abstract

This paper focuses on the Sundarban region shared by India and Bangladesh. Several natural calamities caused due to climate change have had a significant impact on the region, its unique ecosystem, and its population. The livelihoods of people in the region are affected by repeatedly having to withstand the worst of various natural calamities. However, due to a lack of aid and compensation for losses, people have to migrate to safer places, searching for new income opportunities. This paper looks at the following two questions: first, what is the impact of climate change that causes forced climate migration in the Sundarbans mangrove region? Second, what are the solutions implemented across India and Bangladesh to manage the issue in the last ten years? Using data from secondary sources I describe the ways in which factors such as rise in sea level, cyclones, and increase in the salinity of water, impact primary sources of income like agriculture and fishing for the people in the region, and how this eventually results in forced climate migration. I also explore the role of government policies — both of India and Bangladesh — in addressing the phenomenon of forced climate migration.

Keywords: forced climate migration, Sunderbans, climate change, India, Bangladesh, natural calamities, government action.