Project Description

Client: The World Bank  |   Duration:  September 2021 – April 2024 |   Location: Bangladesh

Located in Bangladesh, Cox’s Bazar is one of the country’s most hazard-prone and climate-vulnerable areas and hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world. However, the large and rapid influx of people has put significant pressure on local livelihoods, services, economy and natural resources over the past decades. 

To reduce the pressures on livelihoods and the delivery of essential services in Cox’s Bazar district, the Government of Bangladesh has facilitated the voluntary relocation of about 32,000 Rohingya refugees to Bhasan Char island since 2021. But, given its coastal location and climate, coupled with the characteristics of an island landscape, Bhasan Char shares Cox’s Bazar’s susceptibility to both recurring extreme weather events and the prolonged effects of climate change.

Designed in two phases, the project aimed to:

• Phase 1: Map the exposure of Cox’s Bazar’s host and refugee population, infrastructure and other critical assets to various scenarios of hazards such as cyclones, landslides, floods, and storm surges, all projected to worsen due to climate change. The mapping and analysis allowed a better understanding of the risks caused by these hazards to ensure that risk reduction and humanitarian investments planned and designed are resilient. 
• Phase 2: Update the exposure and risk assessment results for Cox’s Bazar utilizing the newest data and expand the scope of the risk analysis to Bhasan Char Island.