{"title":"Displaced by nature, driven by choice: Exploring the factors influencing environmental migrants' habitat preferences in coastal Bangladesh","authors":"Md. Nasif Ahsan , Jannatul Naim , Pankaj Kumar , Naoyuki Okano , Ashraful Alam , Sajib Chowdhury , Md Tariqul Islam , Amina Khatun , Nishad Nasrin , Karina Vink","doi":"10.1016/j.habitatint.2024.103215","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the factors influencing environmental migrants’ habitat preferences in southwestern Bangladesh. Using a multi-stage sampling technique, we selected 408 households in rural and urban areas, who had moved to their current locations due to climatic extremes. We applied relevant regression models to analyze the complex interplay of socioeconomic, environmental, and institutional factors shaping migration decisions. Our empirical results suggest that, despite having greater access to services in cities, migrants reported lower levels of well-being than their rural counterparts, which could be attributed to reduced social cohesion and limited opportunities for participation in decision-making. Disaster preparedness, early warning access, and prolonged exposure to environmental hazards significantly influence migration decisions and well-being. Protracted post-disaster suffering increases the likelihood of migration to urban slums, emphasizing the vulnerability of rural populations. Men are more likely than women to migrate to urban areas, possibly due to perceived employment opportunities. Surprisingly, while slum dwellers have better service access, their well-being scores are lower than rural residents. Access to education, healthcare, safe drinking water, and early warning systems are all crucial determinants of well-being. Policy recommendations include improving disaster preparedness and early warning systems in rural areas, developing targeted interventions for urban slum migrants focused on social cohesion and income diversification, and implementing gender-specific support programs. This research contributes to understanding environmental migration dynamics in Bangladesh and informs policymakers about sustainable resettlement strategies. Future studies should explore non-linear relationships and expand to diverse geographical contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48376,"journal":{"name":"Habitat International","volume":"153 ","pages":"Article 103215"},"PeriodicalIF":6.5000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Habitat International","FirstCategoryId":"96","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0197397524002157","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"DEVELOPMENT STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
This study examines the factors influencing environmental migrants’ habitat preferences in southwestern Bangladesh. Using a multi-stage sampling technique, we selected 408 households in rural and urban areas, who had moved to their current locations due to climatic extremes. We applied relevant regression models to analyze the complex interplay of socioeconomic, environmental, and institutional factors shaping migration decisions. Our empirical results suggest that, despite having greater access to services in cities, migrants reported lower levels of well-being than their rural counterparts, which could be attributed to reduced social cohesion and limited opportunities for participation in decision-making. Disaster preparedness, early warning access, and prolonged exposure to environmental hazards significantly influence migration decisions and well-being. Protracted post-disaster suffering increases the likelihood of migration to urban slums, emphasizing the vulnerability of rural populations. Men are more likely than women to migrate to urban areas, possibly due to perceived employment opportunities. Surprisingly, while slum dwellers have better service access, their well-being scores are lower than rural residents. Access to education, healthcare, safe drinking water, and early warning systems are all crucial determinants of well-being. Policy recommendations include improving disaster preparedness and early warning systems in rural areas, developing targeted interventions for urban slum migrants focused on social cohesion and income diversification, and implementing gender-specific support programs. This research contributes to understanding environmental migration dynamics in Bangladesh and informs policymakers about sustainable resettlement strategies. Future studies should explore non-linear relationships and expand to diverse geographical contexts.
期刊介绍:
Habitat International is dedicated to the study of urban and rural human settlements: their planning, design, production and management. Its main focus is on urbanisation in its broadest sense in the developing world. However, increasingly the interrelationships and linkages between cities and towns in the developing and developed worlds are becoming apparent and solutions to the problems that result are urgently required. The economic, social, technological and political systems of the world are intertwined and changes in one region almost always affect other regions.