The Environmental Impacts of Rohingya Forced Migration on Host Communities in Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper aims to shed light on the environmental impacts of the Rohingya people's forced migration to Bangladesh. For decades, the Rohingya population has endured systematic persecution by the state agencies of Myanmar. During the 2017 influx, nearly one million Rohingya refugees sought refuge in Bangladesh, making it one of the most rapid mass migrations in the world. Nevertheless, the Rohingya crisis remains unresolved, and Bangladesh is shouldering the burden of providing shelter to many refugees within its territory. This paper employed qualitative methodologies by analyzing diverse literature sources, including scholarly articles, reports from governmental and international organizations, relevant books, and news articles, to assess environmental degradation due to the Rohingya influx. This paper uses the Rapid Environmental Impact Assessment (REIA) framework, previously implied in the UNDP and UN Women Bangladesh (2018) report, to identify the environmental consequences. Further, Homer-Dixon's theory of environmental scarcity and violent conflict was analyzed to understand the relationship between environmental impacts from Rohingya refugees and rising conflict among the local host communities of Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh. The findings indicate that regions with decreased forest cover due to camping activities are experiencing soil erosion, adverse health impacts, and sanitation issues. The refugee influx has strained its limited environmental resources, disturbed natural habitats, created environmental resource scarcity, and created potential conflict with the host communities. Both the locals and the Rohingya are marginalized. Hence, it is imperative to analyze the environmental consequences of the refugee crisis, which give rise to conflicts and related issues concerning natural resources in host communities, prior to formulating refugee policies.

Keywords: Environmental Impacts, Rohingya, Forced Migration, Natural Resources, Conflict, Host Community, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Refugee.