Accommodating the stateless.

Upcoming P2 presentation
Wednesday, 16 January 2019
14:45 – 15:45
Room BK-IZ Z

Asmeeta Das Sharma

Accommodating the stateless: An inclusive regional preparedness strategy for climate refugees in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta.
Ganges/Brahmaputra Delta, India/Bangladesh

An increasing number of people are losing their land and livelihood due to the adverse effects of climate change, inducing mass migration as an adaptive strategy for survival. These ‘illegal migrants’ are pushed towards the vulnerable informal settlements with limited hope for upliftment. Caught in this negative cycle of vulnerability, the environmentally displaced lack visibility and a basic definitive legal category which makes it impossible for them to seek refuge or claim national or international aid. This research investigates the role of spatial planning and strategy as a tool to address this humanitarian crisis and proposes an inclusive preparedness development strategy for areas subject to high climatic risks. It uses the sinking Ganges-Brahmaputra Delta in India and Bangladesh as a case.