Patterns and factors of out-migration in the Meghna Estuarine Islands of Bangladesh

Abstract

Although migration may be regarded as fundamentally social and economic in nature natural hazards are found to be increasingly responsible for human migration. Given this context this paper explores the trends and factors of out-migration in Meghna Estuarine Islands. In this empirical research, primary data were collected through a three-stage socio-economic survey. The findings indicate that natural hazards such as river bank erosion, saline tide, flood, cyclone, and storms caused extreme havoc to the life and livelihood of Meghna inhabitants rapidly forcing some of them to migrate temporarily or permanently. To others the impacts have been in the form of slow migration decision in tandem with the steady disturbance of the existing regular economic, social and environmental systems. A simplistic model was thus generated to depict the relationship between natural hazards and outmigration in the study area.

Keywords: circular migration, livelihood disturbance, natural hazards, out-migration, permanent migration, temporary migration