2026

In a flood-prone region in southern India, displacement does not follow a linear trajectory, it is a cyclical occurrence tied to the monsoon season. Families repeatedly anticipate, leave their homes, return and recover according to the intensity of rainfall, necessitating flexible support systems.

The climate crisis exposes the limits of current legal frameworks. Imminent tipping point harms and new advances in science and litigation create an opportunity to strengthen protections for those most vulnerable to climate-induced displacement.

Bangladesh’s Loss and Damage framework aims to establish an enabling policy environment and the necessary institutional arrangements for mobilising funds to support people displaced by climate change impacts. Ensuring grassroots access to these funds is key to enabling tangible local actions that strengthen livelihoods and resilience.

Humanitarian discourse often celebrates ‘resilience’, yet for many displaced people resilience is less a free choice and more a necessity imposed by crisis. That reality calls for policies that turn survival strategies into supported pathways for adaptation.

Climate change is threatening livelihoods and traditional ways of life for India’s marine fisherfolk, but community organisation is spearheading resistance and adaptation. Policy frameworks must shift towards structural reform to translate these successes into broader resilience.