Climate change set to trigger conflicts in South Asia, says Bangladeshi security expert

DHAKA, Dec. 27 — Dec. 26 perilous impact of the climate change could create 2.5 million to three million refugees and that might result in conflicts in the South Asian region, said a security analyst in Dhaka Saturday.

President of the Bangladesh Institute of Peace and Security Studies (BIPPS) Major General (retd) Muniruzzaman said internally displaced persons (IDPs) have already been creating pressure on unplanned urban areas and that may turn into a resource conflict.

Highlighting the outcome of the Cop15 conference, the analyst said South Asia’s 40 percent people now live within 50 miles of coastal belts while Bangladesh is more exposed to tropical cyclone in terms of intensity and velocity.

Muniruzzaman, who represented the BIPPS in the just held Cop-15 conference, described the event as ‘technically failure but generally successful’ and said Bangladesh could not reach the desired level despite two years work.

On the sidelines of the conference, he said, he attended two important meetings on security issues organized by Danish Foreign Affairs Ministry on December 15 where Bangladesh’s vulnerability got highest focus compared to others.

Bangladesh already faced many a number of irreversible security simplifications, including climate refugee that would eventually increase border tension in the region, he said.

He said Bangladesh is crisscrossed by 58 rivers of which 54 are transboundary but its water dependency stood at 91 percent while India’s only 34 percent, he said.

“That is why, there will be a disaster if Bangladesh faces water security threat.”

There was no specific declaration for climate change refugee situation, the retired General said and stressed the need for creating public opinion at the international level for legally binding agreements in this regard. (PNA/APP)

LDV/rsm

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