Rohingya crisis and the environmental challenge it poses

Our decision makers should be more cautious in their decision making by drawing a mindset to the links between the environment and refugee management

Recently, a large number of Rohingya penetration into Bangladesh has been a priority concern in dealing with the country’s several challenges. Alongside with many socioeconomic challenges of the refugee access in the country, the situation will have an adverse impact on our environmental management issues. It has already been reported in the broadcasting media that the environmental degradation might be occurred in areas of the refugee shelters, and probably going to be a severe environmental management issue in the nearest future if we don’t be much alert in focusing their settlement issues immediately. The settlement of refugees should be strategic and integrated in terms of the sustainable manner, when we have been a signatory and addressing the SDGs in our all development agendas. Refugee operations are usually characterized by the needs of creating some quick decisions — but decisions which, if not managed sustainably, we may suffer with our limited resources and welfare of the country’s huge numbers of the population in both present and future. Since Bangladesh is a country with very limited land and resources in against of its large population, therefore, the refugee management issues should be based on a very systematic considering the country’s sustainable development strategies integrated in the humanitarian issues.

It shows the reality that any kind of humanitarian support seeks for an emergency support which immediately may or may not consider the environment and natural resources, but if the situation has impacts for the long term violations of the nature, we must think of it in parallel with all kinds of present supports to the refugees. We are here concerned about the country’s prospective environmental disasters that we cannot bypass through our present activities to protect the violations of humanity.    

Last year, the huge Rohingya slums were built violating the environmental rules and laws of Bangladesh. Earlier, there were 32 thousand 527 Rohingya people, now about eight lakhs and expecting to ten lakhs by this year. Beside the existing Rohingya camps, the slums of the Rohingyas have also spread out over the hills in the surrounding plains. The Rubber gardens, Government Khas land, fallow or crop lands are occupied by small and large-medium slums - made by various types of Rohingya.

In many areas, local residents have been cultivating crops with the leased land from the very long time. Here are very good vegetables in hilly land where irrigation is given from the water coming from the hills. The cultivated major crops are rice, beans, vegetables etc. in the hills. Now thousands of “jhut-ghars” (small houses) have landed on those lands. The increasing trend of the present Rohingya situation will undoubtedly shrink the production of local agricultural crops, which ultimately affect our livelihoods including many indigenous people.  

On the other hand, the country’s most attractive tourist area of “Cox’s Bazar” has fallen in an unbalanced of its natural beauty. There is a danger of local security and crimes at any time. If there is no sustainable management of the Rohingya situation, then a large number of natural and social disasters will lead to serious environmental disasters.

We are human being, where we are ethically bound for any humanitarian assistance to each other. In our responsibilities to protect the refugees, many campsites must be established; shelters must be built; access routes are also needed to enable food supplies and medication; refugees must be provided with the fundamental needs for survival. However, many of these supports, such decisions are linked in some ways with the environmental management, either directly or indirectly. If we think about the dimensions of environmental violations of the existing refugee movement, the challenges are like in the following manner – 1) If we go for a large population of the Rohingya settlement in limited areas, we would not able to protect our nature that ultimately systematically increasing concentrations of substances extracted from the earth’s crust. That means a particular area of huge population settlement would have a huge pressure for the future consumption, production and transportation of their basic needs for livelihoods that increasingly support the extraction of the earth’s crust by means, such as more fossil fuel use or any other nonrenewable resources of the earth’s crust.

2) Sudden settlements of refugees would promote the concentrations of substances in the society. We should care about the use of various materials as being used in all the camps, or in the process of humanitarian assistances to the refugees. For example, plastics and other cooking appliances might be used by the refugees, or used in the packaging of food or relief assistances. Waste management is a huge task of this large population in a very restricted place.

3) The most striking environmental concern indicates about the degradation by physical means as caused by the emergency settlement of Rohingya habitation. A widespread cutting of hill tracts and forest resources incites the degradation of land and water body in the refugee settlement area. A recent report says, about 4000 acre hilly tracts is already cut down to construct Rohingya camps. In total, including the surrounded area of these hills, the occupied land is about 10000 acres for their accommodation. According to the local environmentalists, the intensive land degradation is going to be happened through such accommodation process of Rohingya, which would possibly a significant reason of the prospective environmental disaster occurred by the soil erosion process. Two thousand acres of new land are also asked for a new demand for Rohingyas accommodation in the next few months. Indigenous and local people fear the severe environmental disaster in the area, due to cutting of this huge amount hills and trees. They are concerned about the danger of large-scale of natural resources and beauty anytime.

4) Beside these environmental violations, refugees are severely facing the fundamental needs of livelihoods. In principle of humanity towards sustainable development, we cannot undermine the capacity to meet any needs of the refugees. We have to ensure all the basic needs of the refugees since they have become our guest currently as a part of the human being. If we think about the sustained services to a humanitarian issue, all the Rohingya population in our country should have access to nine fundamental livelihood needs such as subsistence, protection, affection, understanding, participation, leisure, creation, identity and freedom. We have already attempted in our first emergency support which is to manage subsistence (food, cloth, accommodation and health) to them, giving less priority to meet up other needs of the refugees. For a large group of refugees, we should protect them by giving a legal identity in access of other livelihood benefits, such as creative education, ensuring their participation in local or cultural events etc.

Our decision makers should be more cautious in their decision making by drawing a mindset to the links between the environment and refugee management; and highlighting the key issues to enable the country’s SDGs interest with the appropriate actions of Rohingya operations. It seems decision-makers still remain unconscious of the links between our environmental management and human well-being, where the environmental condition is found as the marginalized by irrelevant decisions.

However, if Rohingyas are given shelter considering the humanity, then they might be settled in the Government Khas land adjacent to the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, or any other similar types of land in Bangladesh.

The writer is Senior Research Associate and Sustainability professional at BRAC Research and Evaluation Division [email protected]; [email protected]

Rohingya crisis and the environmental challenge it poses

Our decision makers should be more cautious in their decision making by drawing a mindset to the links between the environment and refugee management

Recently, a large number of Rohingya penetration into Bangladesh has been a priority concern in dealing with the countrys several challenges. Alongside with many socioeconomic challenges of the refugee access in the country, the situation will have an adverse impact on our environmental management issues. It has already been reported in the broadcasting media that the environmental degradation might be occurred in areas of the refugee shelters, and probably going to be a severe environmental management issue in the nearest future if we dont be much alert in focusing their settlement issues immediately. The settlement of refugees should be strategic and integrated in terms of the sustainable manner, when we have been a signatory and addressing the SDGs in our all development agendas. Refugee operations are usually characterized by the needs of creating some quick decisions but decisions which, if not managed sustainably, we may suffer with our limited resources and welfare of the countrys huge numbers of the population in both present and future. Since Bangladesh is a country with very limited land and resources in against of its large population, therefore, the refugee management issues should be based on a very systematic considering the countrys sustainable development strategies integrated in the humanitarian issues. It shows the reality that any kind of humanitarian support seeks for an emergency support which immediately may or may not consider the environment and natural resources, but if the situation has impacts for the long term violations of the nature, we must think of it in parallel with all kinds of present supports to the refugees. We are here concerned about the countrys prospective environmental disasters that we cannot bypass through our present activities to protect the violations of humanity. Last year, the huge Rohingya slums were built violating the environmental rules and laws of Bangladesh. Earlier, there were 32 thousand 527 Rohingya people, now about eight lakhs and expecting to ten lakhs by this year. Beside the existing Rohingya camps, the slums of the Rohingyas have also spread out over the hills in the surrounding plains. The Rubber gardens, Government Khas land, fallow or crop lands are occupied by small and large-medium slums - made by various types of Rohingya. In many areas, local residents have been cultivating crops with the leased land from the very long time. Here are very good vegetables in hilly land where irrigation is given from the water coming from the hills. The cultivated major crops are rice, beans, vegetables etc. in the hills. Now thousands of jhut-ghars (small houses) have landed on those lands. The increasing trend of the present Rohingya situation will undoubtedly shrink the production of local agricultural crops, which ultimately affect our livelihoods including many indigenous people. On the other hand, the countrys most attractive tourist area of Coxs Bazar has fallen in an unbalanced of its natural beauty. There is a danger of local security and crimes at any time. If there is no sustainable management of the Rohingya situation, then a large number of natural and social disasters will lead to serious environmental disasters. We are human being, where we are ethically bound for any humanitarian assistance to each other. In our responsibilities to protect the refugees, many campsites must be established; shelters must be built; access routes are also needed to enable food supplies and medication; refugees must be provided with the fundamental needs for survival. However, many of these supports, such decisions are linked in some ways with the environmental management, either directly or indirectly. If we think about the dimensions of environmental violations of the existing refugee movement, the challenges are like in the following manner 1) If we go for a large population of the Rohingya settlement in limited areas, we would not able to protect our nature that ultimately systematically increasing concentrations of substances extracted from the earths crust. That means a particular area of huge population settlement would have a huge pressure for the future consumption, production and transportation of their basic needs for livelihoods that increasingly support the extraction of the earths crust by means, such as more fossil fuel use or any other nonrenewable resources of the earths crust. 2) Sudden settlements of refugees would promote the concentrations of substances in the society. We should care about the use of various materials as being used in all the camps, or in the process of humanitarian assistances to the refugees. For example, plastics and other cooking appliances might be used by the refugees, or used in the packaging of food or relief assistances. Waste management is a huge task of this large population in a very restricted place. 3) The most striking environmental concern indicates about the degradation by physical means as caused by the emergency settlement of Rohingya habitation. A widespread cutting of hill tracts and forest resources incites the degradation of land and water body in the refugee settlement area. A recent report says, about 4000 acre hilly tracts is already cut down to construct Rohingya camps. In total, including the surrounded area of these hills, the occupied land is about 10000 acres for their accommodation. According to the local environmentalists, the intensive land degradation is going to be happened through such accommodation process of Rohingya, which would possibly a significant reason of the prospective environmental disaster occurred by the soil erosion process. Two thousand acres of new land are also asked for a new demand for Rohingyas accommodation in the next few months. Indigenous and local people fear the severe environmental disaster in the area, due to cutting of this huge amount hills and trees. They are concerned about the danger of large-scale of natural resources and beauty anytime. 4) Beside these environmental violations, refugees are severely facing the fundamental needs of livelihoods. In principle of humanity towards sustainable development, we cannot undermine the capacity to meet any needs of the refugees. We have to ensure all the basic needs of the refugees since they have become our guest currently as a part of the human being. If we think about the sustained services to a humanitarian issue, all the Rohingya population in our country should have access to nine fundamental livelihood needs such as subsistence, protection, affection, understanding, participation, leisure, creation, identity and freedom. We have already attempted in our first emergency support which is to manage subsistence (food, cloth, accommodation and health) to them, giving less priority to meet up other needs of the refugees. For a large group of refugees, we should protect them by giving a legal identity in access of other livelihood benefits, such as creative education, ensuring their participation in local or cultural events etc. Our decision makers should be more cautious in their decision making by drawing a mindset to the links between the environment and refugee management; and highlighting the key issues to enable the countrys SDGs interest with the appropriate actions of Rohingya operations. It seems decision-makers still remain unconscious of the links between our environmental management and human well-being, where the environmental condition is found as the marginalized by irrelevant decisions. However, if Rohingyas are given shelter considering the humanity, then they might be settled in the Government Khas land adjacent to the Myanmar-Bangladesh border, or any other similar types of land in Bangladesh. The writer is Senior Research Associate and Sustainability professional at BRAC Research and Evaluation Division [email protected]; [email protected]