CLIMATE RESILIENCE IN DISPLACEMENT: Examining UNHCR’s SuLMER Intervention in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh Policy Brief November 2025 2 UNHCR / November 2025 Climate Resilience in Displacement: Examining UNHCR’s SuLMER Intervention in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh Acknowledgments The authors would like to thank Mohammad Faysal Saleh (UNHCR), George Omondi Odour (UNHCR), Jing Song (UNHCR), Juliette Murekeyisoni (UNHCR), Md. Iltemas Amin Adee (UNHCR), Jana Birner (UNHCR), Kate Pochapsky (UNHCR), Shahadat Hosen (ACTED), Salma Alam Alina, Taslima Akter, Rubel Barua, Paval Barua, Brinda Dev Mishi, Anrul Arafatul Mina, Muhammad Jamir Hossain, Md. Sohel Islam, Somaiya Siddika Shoma, Shahab Uddin, Anna Belli (Alliance), and Victor Villa (Alliance), for their significant contributions to this research. Recommended citation Vaselli, A., Khalid, S., Savelli, A., Craparo, A., Basel, A., Minoarivelo, H.O., Tsoka, J, Suza, M., Barua, N., Hoque, M.E., Sarma, S., Keogh, S., Mastrorillo, M., Pacillo, G, Läderach, P.. 2025. Policy Brief on Climate Resilience in Displacement: Examining UNHCR’s SuLMER Intervention in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The Alliance of Bioversity and The International Center for Tropical Agriculture; Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. 8p. Cover Photo: Adam Savelli, CC BY-NC 4.0 Publication information This research was implemented by CGIAR researchers from the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT and was carried out with support of the CGIAR Food Frontiers and Security, and Climate Action Science Programs. We would like to thank all funders who supported this research through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund: https://www.cgiar.org/funders/ Authors Alessandra Vaselli , Shahab Khalid , Adam Savelli , Alessandro Craparo , Ashleigh Basel , Henintsoa Onivola Minoarivelo , Jonathan Tsoka , Hoa Dao , Ma Suza , Nipul Barua , Md. Ehsanul Hoque , Santanu Sarma , Sean Keogh , Marina Mastrorillo , Grazia Pacillo , Peter Läderach 1 1 1,2 1 1 1 1 3 4 4 5 5 5 1 1 1 Affiliations 1.The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT (The Alliance) 2.Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) 3.Hanoi University of Science (HUS) - Vietnam National University (VNU) 4. Independent consultant 5.Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Climate Resilience in Displacement: Examining UNHCR’s SuLMER Intervention in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh UNHCR / November 2025 3 The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, through the CGIAR Science Program on Food Frontiers and Security, partnered with the UNHCR Country Office in Bangladesh and Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific to identify technical entry points for enhancing the resilience outcomes of the Sustainable Land Management and Environmental Rehabilitation (SuLMER) initiative in Cox’s Bazar, strengthening its contributions to humanitarian, development, and peace objectives. Cox’s Bazar, one of Bangladesh’s most climate-vulnerable districts, hosts approximately 1,148,529 refugees across 33 camps in Ukhiya and Teknaf Upazilas as of July 31st, 2025 (Government of Bangladesh & UNHCR, 2025). The Kutupalong Mega Camp (KMC) in Ukhiya is home to approximately 909,790 Rohingya refugees (187,690 households) and 44,960 households from local host communities (UNHCR Bangladesh Country Office, personal communication). Rohingya refugees live in precarious, overcrowded conditions and face high exposure to climate-related hazards, including cyclones, storms, floods, and landslides, compounded by environmental degradation and waste pollution. In response to recurring floods and general environmental degradation in KMC, in 2019, UNHCR began developing the Sustainable Land Management and Environmental Rehabilitation (SuLMER) intervention that is currently being implemented in Camps 1W and 2W in 2021 with the support of international donors. This initiative aims to mitigate environmental hazards and reduce pollution by increasing water flow, reducing solid waste, stabilising unsteady hillside slopes, decommissioning WASH facilities that were non-functional or susceptible to contamination, and introducing nature-based solutions for environmental challenges. Additionally, the program focuses on integrated site planning, restoring riparian vegetation, increasing tree density and biodiversity, and fostering social cohesion between host and refugee communities. The objective of this research, based on data collected in October 2024, is to provide insights into how UNHCR’s SuLMER intervention in Camps 1W and 2W can support humanitarian, development, and peace (HDP) outcomes by contributing to the household resilience of those affected by severe rainfall or flooding along the Shoa Ma’r Jhiri stream. The mixed-method research presented here is premised on the concepts of resilience, defined as the ability of households to anticipate, withstand, recover from, and transformatively adapt in the face of climate-related hazards, and human security, or holistic wellbeing comprised of economic, social, and environmental security. [1] The Government of Bangladesh refers to Rohingya who fled from Myanmar to Bangladesh from 2017 onward as “Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (FDMN).” In this report, we refer to “Rohingya refugees,” in line with United Nations terminology. Climate Resilience in Displacement: Examining UNHCR’s SuLMER Intervention in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh Data collection consisted of a survey that explored human security and subjective resilience outcomes among intervention participants within the SuLMER catchment and from a control group of respondents outside the catchment. The research team also spent several weeks in the field, observing the intervention and the area’s local social- ecological systems. During this time, key informant interviews were conducted with the intervention’s participants, community leaders, UNHCR personnel, their operational partners, and local governmental organisations. Finally, a mapping of baseline (current) and projected climate hazards, along with remote mapping of physical terrain characteristics, supports an understanding of how drought, extreme heat, flood, and compound hazards will impact Camps 1W and 2W by 2040, facilitating the development of recommendations geared toward medium-long-term resilience. Figure 1. Summary of baseline (1980-2010) and projected future (2020-2040) climate hazards in Camps 1W, 2W, and 1E in Ukhiya, Cox's Bazar. Climate hazards range from low to extreme levels. Compound hazard refers to the simultaneous occurrence of drought, extreme heat and flooding hazards. Climate Hazard Index Low Moderate High Severe Extreme 4 UNHCR / November 2025 Sub-Types of Resilience in the Conceptual Framework* Anticipation: The ability of individuals and groups to understand and effectively prepare for hazards before they occur. Withstanding: The ability of individuals and groups to mitigate the negative impacts hazards as they are taking place. Recovery: The ability of individuals and groups to re-establish wellbeing after the impacts of a hazard are felt. Transformative adaptation: The ability of individuals and groups to address root causes of vulnerability and catalyse social transformation through empowerment, equity, and sustainability. Hazard Type Heat Drought Flood Compound Risk Level Matrix Baseline (1980-2010) Future (2020 -2040) Moderate Severe Extreme Extreme ExtremeExtreme Severe High Climate Resilience in Displacement: Examining UNHCR’s SuLMER Intervention in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh UNHCR / November 2025 5 Intervention Strengths Opportunities Going Forward By rehabilitating the Shoa Ma’r Jhiri waterway, SuLMER had a positive effect on flood-vulnerable households’ subjective resilience (i.e., their abilities to anticipate, withstand, recover from, and transformatively adapt to future instances of severe storms and flooding) With the risk level of key climate hazards (heat, drought, flood, compound risk) facing communities in the SuLMER catchment projected to reach severe and/or extreme levels by 2040, urgent, integrated, and coordinated HDP action is essential to effectively address intertwined environmental and socio-economic risks Women and men reported similar gains in resilience gains, though women reported a 10% greater increase in their capacity to withstand hazards as they are occurring than men Support local ownership of SuLMER activities by refugee and host communities through integration into existing community structures and site management services, overseen by UNHCR to enhance participatory governance, landscape management, and social cohesion The results and recommendations detailed in the report align with a larger body of research showing that climate action and resilience building are both critical and feasible in protracted refugee settings (Al-Zu’bi, 2025; FAO, 2025; Fransen et al., 2024; Jaskolski et al., 2024; Perry, 2024; USA for UNHCR, 2024). While acknowledging that structural limitations undermine agency and wellbeing of the Rohingya in Cox’s Bazar, UNHCR can meaningfully collaborate with refugees, host communities, government authorities, and other HDP actors so that they support refugees’ resilience to climate risks. By leveraging cross-sectoral coordination and investing in inclusive, community-driven approaches, UNHCR can support climate adaptation, household resilience, and social cohesion amongst refugee and host communities. Key results from the research are summarised below, with a focus on intervention strengths and opportunities going forward: [2] [2] Results are based on a non-experimental mixed-methods assessment that estimates the effect of SuLMER on participants’ self-reported (subjective) resilience levels. The results should not be interpreted as definitive causal impacts. Summary for HDP Practitioners Intervention Strengths Opportunities Going Forward SuLMER had a positive effect on households’ environmental security by reducing public health risks related to waterborne and zoonotic disease, enhancing mobility within the camps, and strengthening people’s affinity with the landscape Expand community-led waterway restoration to include additional activities (riparian vegetation, slope protection and terrace gardening in uphill areas), new geographies (upstream and tertiary canals), and support systemic waste management improvements SuLMER’s Cash for Work opportunities provided valuable earning opportunities for households that were able to partake Develop a participatory landscape management plan, involving host and refugee communities and supported by capacity-building initiatives, to empower households to actively participate in the design and implementation of future DRR efforts in the catchment. SuLMER’s kitchen gardens increased food security for households that received them, enabling them to engage in subsistence and limited market- oriented production. This increased their access to nutritious food, helped them save money, and connected them to cultural practices from Rakhine Scale Cash for Work opportunities for rehabilitation and development activities by improving how opportunities are distributed, expanding their geographic focus, implementing capacity development activities, and incorporating with block-level SuLMER committees Overall, SuLMER strengthened environmental awareness and households’ engagement with the landscape though improved ecosystem services Expand kitchen gardens and implement homestead gardening techniques to improve household food security Strengthen community-led dispute resolution mechanisms to mitigate conflict over sand extraction, youth recruitment by organised groups, and systemic inequalities within the camps Leverage strategic research and implementation partnerships to grow the evidence base for larger-scale landscape management and ecosystems restoration interventions throughout KMC, Ukhiya, and Cox’s Bazar 6 UNHCR / November 2025 Climate Resilience in Displacement: Examining UNHCR’s SuLMER Intervention in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh Works Referenced Al-Zu’bi, M. (2025, August 19). IWMI taps into local knowledge to build climate resilience in Jordan’s Jerash Camp. IWMI. https://www.iwmi.org/blogs/iwmi-taps-into- local-knowledge-to-build-climate-resilience-in-jordans-jerash-camp/ FAO. (2025, March 26). FAO Celebrates Successful Conclusion of Japan-Funded Climate Resilience Project in Jordan. FAO. https://www.fao.org/jordan/news/detail/fao- celebrates-successful-conclusion-of-japan-funded-climate-resilience-project-in-jordan/en Fransen, S., Werntges, A., Hunns, A., Sirenko, M., & Comes, T. (2024). Refugee settlements are highly exposed to extreme weather conditions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(3), e2206189120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2206189120 Government of Bangladesh & UNHCR. (2025). Joint Government of Bangladesh- UNHCR Population Factsheet as of December 2024. https://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/113687 Jaskolski, M., Majdalani, R., Valiyev, I., Birner, J., Pacho, I., & Eggleston, D. (2024, November 10). Integrating Climate, Water, and Food Security in Settings Affected by Conflict and Displacement: Examples from the MENA Region. https://www.cgiar.org/news-events/news/integrating-climate-water-and-food-security-in- settings-affected-by-conflict-and-displacement-examples-from-the-mena-region/ Perry, J. (2024, November 1). Localizing Climate Adaptation Planning in Kenya’s Refugee-Hosting Counties. Refugees International. https://www.refugeesinternational.org/reports-briefs/localizing-climate-adaptation- planning-in-kenyas-refugee-hosting-counties/ USA for UNHCR. (2024, April 19). Meet four people in refugee communities who are creating a greener future. USA for UNHCR. https://www.unrefugees.org/news/meet- four-people-in-refugee-communities-who-are-creating-a-greener-future/ Climate Resilience in Displacement: Examining UNHCR’s SuLMER Intervention in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh UNHCR / November 2025 7 8 UNHCR / Day, Month, Year UNHCR Md. Ehsanul Hoque hoque@unhcr.org www.unhcr.org CLIMATE RESILIENCE IN DISPLACEMENT: Examining UNHCR’s SuLMER Intervention in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh POLICY BRIEF November 2025 CGIAR Adam Savelli a.savelli@cgiar.org www.cgiar.org