Climate Migration

Take a look at this interesting post on Nicholas Kristof’s On the Ground blog. Nicki Bennett, who works for Oxfam on post-hurricane reconstruction in Bangladesh, makes the observation that many in Bangladesh are moving to urban centers not only for economic reasons, but also for reasons related to climate change and natural disasters. Based on projections for climate change, this trend could explode in the coming years: within the next two decades, Bangladesh could lose up to 20 percent of its land to rising sea levels and melting glaciers, a scary thought in one of the world’s most densely populated countries. One could argue that we in the U.S. have already experienced climate migration, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. As Bennett states, dealing with this emergent form of migration will require genuine political and financial commitment to climate change adaptation.