Climate change and human trafficking in Bangladesh

As Bangladesh grapples with the impact of the climate emergency, another equally serious crime — human trafficking — has increased, raising serious concerns. Based on fieldwork in rural areas where the economic impact of the climate emergency is being felt most acutely, Aminur Rahman And Quazi Arunim Rahman discuss the interconnections between climate migrants and human trafficking.

While the government of Bangladesh is working hard to stop human trafficking, it falls short of the minimum requirements to combat it. Bangladesh has remained at Level 2 of the U.S. Department of State’s 2023 report on human trafficking due to increased government efforts, despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to combat human trafficking. Bangladesh is also a country on the frontlines of climate change, facing serious challenges related to environmental degradation.

In this post, we explore how these two — human trafficking and climate change — are linked. We investigate the drivers of this interlinked development, studying the most climate-vulnerable people in villages in Bangladesh. Through Focused Group Discussions (FDG; see photo 1) and Key Informant Interviews (KII) with affected communities and government officials, we discuss how climate change is affecting livelihoods and forcing migration, leading to exploitative conditions and human trafficking.

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Studies show that climate-induced displacement is closely linked to changes in land use and tenure. Historically, migration trends have increased due to increasing climate vulnerability in areas affected by floods and droughts. Research has also pointed to climate change accelerating old forces of destruction, creating new patterns of displacement, and fueling an explosion of rapid, chaotic urbanization.

Climate change has severely affected the livelihoods of many people, particularly those who depend on agriculture, aquaculture and fisheries. Rising temperatures, erratic rainfall and extreme weather events such as cyclones and floods – now common in Bangladesh – disrupt agricultural cycles, reduce fish yields and damage local community infrastructure. In coastal and riverine areas such as Satkhira, Barishal and Patuakhali, farmers and fishing communities face significant challenges.

Our FDGs showed that erratic rainfall and prolonged droughts have reduced crop productivity. In addition, the withdrawal of thousands of litres of groundwater for agricultural irrigation is prolonging the drought period in some areas. For example, farmers in Patuakhali reported that river erosion and flooding often destroy their crops and homes, leaving them financially destitute. Fish farmers in Satkhira also reported that heat waves and flooding from extreme salinity in local water reservoirs are reducing fish yields and increasing diseases in fish farms.

Photo 1: FDG in Barishal district, Banaripara upazila, 2023 © Authors. Do not use without permission.

As living conditions deteriorate due to the devastation of climate change, and in the absence of other income-generating activities, many people are forced to migrate. This migration is often driven by economic necessity rather than choice, as people seek opportunities to support their families. However, this migration is fraught with dangers. The FDGs and KIIs highlighted that many individuals migrate to urban centres such as Dhaka or even abroad (particularly to the Middle East) in search of work. Unfortunately, these migrants often face exploitation and unsafe conditions. An FDG participant from Satkhira said that young men and women out of financial desperation are lured by traffickers with promises of well-paid jobs abroad, only to find themselves trapped in forced labour or sexual exploitation. Farmers from Patuakhali reported that seasonal migration for work often results in precarious working conditions. Many migrants end up in harsh conditions with little to no legal protection, such as in brick factories. This makes them vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, which can lead to modern slavery.

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The interconnectedness between climate-induced migration and human trafficking is clear. Economic hardship and lack of opportunity push people into situations where they are easily exploited by traffickers who prey on the vulnerability created by environmental and economic instability, offering false promises of safety and economic prosperity. The FDGs revealed that the most vulnerable groups are young women and children. In several cases, young girls from impoverished families who were promised jobs in urban areas ended up in brothels or forced labor. Similarly, young men seeking work abroad often ended up in debt bondage, working in inhumane conditions and unable to return home.

The interplay between climate change and human trafficking in Bangladesh highlights a critical need for comprehensive and integrated solutions. The UN Migration Reports show that if the country does not take immediate action on climate change, Bangladesh will lose 11 percent of its land and one in seven people will be displaced by 2051. The Government of Bangladesh has put in place numerous plans and projects to address these issues, including plans and projects that prioritize thematic and hotspot-specific strategies, policies and programs to address regional imbalances and disparities in development and resource allocation, population size, natural disaster prevention, and the production of climate/environmental migrants.

Despite recognition of the twin and interlinked crises of climate change and human trafficking, government responses have been mixed and often inadequate. The KIIs with district-level government officials highlighted some efforts but also revealed significant gaps in policy and implementation. Patuakhali officials cited ongoing efforts to improve disaster management systems, such as early warning systems and construction of cyclone shelters.

However, these measures are often insufficient to address the scale of the problem. Many affected communities reported receiving little to no support during or after disasters, exacerbating their vulnerability. The CIIs also revealed a lack of effective legal frameworks to combat human trafficking in the context of climate change. Although anti-trafficking laws exist, with little understanding of what constitutes trafficking under existing law, enforcement is weak and there is a serious lack of coordination between climate change and anti-trafficking agencies. This lack hampers efforts to protect vulnerable populations and prevent trafficking. Concerned authorities in the country, together with other stakeholders at home and abroad, must urgently respond to address this challenge before it is too late.

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Banner image © Israfil Molla, Khulna City, Bangladesh, 2020, Unsplash.

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