Khulna Workshop Drafts Guidelines for Climate Migration Center

A two-day joint workshop was held on August 9 and 10 at the CSS Ava Center in Khulna to strengthen and streamline the operations of the Climate Migration Center which supports communities displaced by climate change. The workshop was organized with technical support from Helvetas Bangladesh and consulting firm ECLED.

Twenty-seven participants attended including government officials, union parishad chairmen, administrative officers, civil society representatives, migrants, development partner representatives and members from organizations such as ESDO, Uttaran and DROP alongside representatives from climate-affected regions.

The workshop aimed to develop sustainable, realistic and participatory guidelines for managing climate migration centers, drawing on participants' field experience and the real needs of affected communities. Through discussions and group exercises, participants examined the center's operations, stakeholder roles and local coordination mechanisms.

Participants stressed the need for a coordinated approach to address climate change's impact on livelihoods and housing, saying locally grounded guidelines would support more effective and sustainable management of the centers.

Notable attendees included Dhansagar Union Parishad Chairman Md. Atikuzzaman, Sharankhola Upazila's Mainul Islam Tipu, Koyra Acting Chairman S. M. Lutfar Rahman, Helvetas Bangladesh Project Coordinator Milton Kumar Saha, Consultant Palash Sarkar, ECLED's Abdul Alim Sheikh and journalist Shefali Akhter Rakhi.

Organizers said bringing stakeholders together to co-develop operational guidelines will make the center's activities more integrated and effective, while strengthening coordination in addressing climate-induced migration at the local level.