 by climate change, so we would like to hear your participation. Thank you. Thank you, Ambassador Laura Thompson, for giving us this opportunity to be here. Let me begin by thanking IOM for organizing this high-level panel discussion on this very important topic of human mobility, environment and climate change, and particularly for inviting us to be a part of it in this panel. Ladies and gentlemen, the impact of climate change poses a global threat, and we may like it or not. Almost no country will be spared of it. I will do a presentation in basically two parts. In the first part, I'll try to introduce the impact of climate change as it affects Bangladesh in some detail and how we chose to respond to it. In the second part, I'll try in my own way to highlight some recent information about climate change and as it links up to migration, the scope and magnitude of the problem, and the possible solutions that are being talked about, and conclude finally by a few remarks on how Bangladesh positions itself in the ongoing approach to the problem in different forums. We know that it is a global problem, but it is being manifested locally and very unfortunately to the poor and the vulnerable countries which bear the major problem, though having contributed the least to climate change and global warming. In many countries, including Bangladesh, the adverse effects of climate change are a serious impediment to the survival of its population. During the 67th UNGA in 2012, while launching the Climate Vulnerable Monitor Report, Honorable Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina mentioned that one degree Celsius rise in temperature is associated with 10% loss of productivity and farming in Bangladesh. For Bangladesh, that means about 4 million metric tons of food grain amounting to a loss of about US dollar 2.5 million, and that is 2% of our GDP. Bangladesh has been faced with climate change scenarios such as a sea level rise, increased air and sea surface temperatures, enhanced monsoon precipitation and runoff, reduced dry season precipitation, heat waves, an increase in the intensity of tropical cyclones and storm surges, floods and prolonged droughts, which are significantly affecting the country's development process already. According to the IPCC, Bangladesh will be among the worst victims of climate change. As projected, the impact of climate change will force millions of people to a dire situation, affecting their food security, livelihoods and housing, and therefore mere existence. Coupled with the environmental degradation, climate change poses serious threat, especially for the poorer segment of the society that does not have adequate access to coping mechanisms. Climate change also threatens the significant gains made in poverty reduction in my country over the past two decades. Indeed, degradation of land, water pollution and arsenic in ground water, floods and cyclones, rising levels of seawater can easily threaten the sustainability of poverty reduction strategies unless appropriate measures are taken. Climate change continues to affect the lives and livelihoods of millions in our unique and fertile delta. Frequency and intensity of flooding, storm surge, salinity as I mentioned before, are affecting our coastal habitat almost irreversibly. It threatens our wheat and major rice crop, which is called Borough locally, and that raises the fear that many people may have to move out, changing their traditional living and livelihoods. In this context, and it's, I think, quite clear that adaptation and loss and damage are two very crucial components for sustainable development for us. Critical balance between adaptation and mitigation will have to be maintained in order to form our responses to this critical and complex phenomenon. From our perspective, migration is a key adaptation strategy in this regard, and that is exactly the scenario Bangladesh's most climate vulnerable country is facing today. What has been our response? In recent years, following a trend which is emerging clearly, we have taken significant steps to address the impacts of climate change. We now have 3.2 million solar home systems. Over 1.5 million improved cook stoves across Bangladesh. We have developed by our own indigenous research stress-tolerant crop varieties, like salinity-tolerant, drought-tolerant crop varieties. And we have implemented in Bangladesh a climate change strategy and action plan. Though we are a climate vulnerable country and an LDC, we allocated 385 million US dollars from our own resources for mitigation measures. The developed countries, we think, must match our own contribution to this effort. Ladies and gentlemen, according to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, there is high degree of agreement on climate change triggering increased displacement of people. Our recent study says migration happens depending on mobility and resources needed. Populations that lack the resources for planned migration experience higher exposure to extreme weather events, particularly in developing countries with low income. Climate change also has the potential to indirectly increase risks of violent conflicts which we have heard number of times today by amplifying the triggers of these conflicts. The report of the United Kingdom Government Office for Science titled Foresight Migration and Global Environmental Change Final Project Report considers migration in the context of environmental change over the next 50 years. The report has fed into many subsequent work by relevant organizations on this issue, drawing on the nexus between environmental migration. The report focuses on some significant areas and concludes that environmental change affects migration and it will continue to do so in the future in parallel with other factors that drive migration. The report elaborates and I quote, compared to 2000, that is year 2000, there may be between 114 and 192 million additional people living in flood plains in urban areas in Africa and Asia by 2016 and end of code. In many cases, the only response to the severity of this may be displacement or migration. Before such huge displacement and migration begin to pose another additional threat, we need to adopt measures that can reduce the chance of humanitarian emergencies and displacement. The key message, if you like, that emanates is that the context of environmental change planned and well-managed migration may offer a durable solution to the vulnerable communities. The common perception about migration as a threat or a risk can give rise to more intractable situations, characterized by increased impoverishment, displacement and irregular migration. On the other hand, planned and well-governed migration as an adaptation response to climate change will prove to be an effective way to build resilience in the long term. Clearly, it requires a strategic approach. Referring to a study on Ghana that shows that outbound migration proved to be the most effective approach to enhancing livelihoods and thus securing resilience, the SAID report concludes that migration, coupled in particular with livelihood skills and training, can offer to be an effective adaptation strategy. Ladies and gentlemen, I will just conclude by making a few remarks on how Bangladesh is positioning itself in the ongoing debate in various forums. Our approach has been to try and shift from a problem-focused or crisis-led approach to a balanced pro-development and pro-migrant governance framework so that the role of migration is captured as a part of population dynamics as it was adopted in the post-2015 Development Agenda discourse. And we look forward to our continued participation and contribution to these following global forums, like the Global Forum on Migration and Development. It is a reflection of our commitment that we have agreed to chair this forum in 2016.