Planned Relocation: A South-South Learning Exchange Between Bangladesh and Fiji

July 15, 2025
Global, Publications

Bangladesh and Fiji, June 2025 – In the face of intensifying tropical cyclones, recurrent flooding, rising sea levels, saltwater intrusion, and vanishing coastlines, planned relocation is becoming an unavoidable reality for many vulnerable communities worldwide.

Planned relocations are defined as processes in which groups of persons move or are assisted to move away from their homes or places of temporary residence, are settled in a new and safer location, and are provided with the conditions for rebuilding their lives. These processes must be people-centered, anchored in human rights, and preserve cultural identities and local practices.

Historically, such relocations have led to extensive negative outcomes for affected communities, encompassing everything from the permanent loss of land, livelihoods, culture, and traditions to impacts on physical and mental health, sense of place, social fabric, identity, and dignity. It’s for these reasons that while planned relocation can help communities avoid impacts from climate change and disasters, they also result in a diversity of economic and non-economic Loss and Damage for all affected communities.

Both Bangladesh and Fiji are highly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change and are experiencing significant impacts on human mobility. Both nations are actively implementing various planned relocation schemes to support displaced and at-risk communities.

Facilitating Mutual Learning and Enhanced Policies

Upon request from the Government of Bangladesh and Fiji, the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD), in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), organized a South-South exchange under the Project to Avert, Minimize and Address Displacement Related to the Effects of Climate Change (PAMAD). The primary objective was to foster mutual learning between Bangladesh and Fiji on planned relocation in the context of climate change, enabling both countries to enhance their policies, planning and support to vulnerable communities. The activity also aimed to facilitate the exchange of insights into current approaches to planned relocation, such as Bangladesh’s Ashrayan Project and Fiji’s Standard Operating Procedures for Planned Relocation, to develop sustainable and community-centered resettlement approaches.

In May 2025, a delegation from Bangladesh traveled to Fiji, then a delegation from Fiji traveled to Bangladesh. Both comprised representatives of government institutions and international organizations. In each country, the program included:

Meetings and dialogues among relevant government agencies.
Field visits and facilitated community discussions in planned relocation sites.
A roundtable discussion with governmental and civil society actors.

Key Takeaways from the Exchange

This South-South learning exchange provided a unique opportunity for both countries to discuss everything from broad strategic policy matters to on-the-ground operational bottlenecks in facilitating planned relocation processes. The following key messages emerged from the exchange:

Whole-of-Government and Society Approach: Coordinate and Communicate

It is clear in both countries that adopting a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach is critical for successful planned relocations. This requires collaboration and clear communication among government ministries, local administrations, traditional leaders, civil society organizations, faith-based groups, and affected communities at every step of the process. Such an inclusive approach is key to implement relocations that are not only technically sound but also culturally appropriate and socially just.

Fiji’s Standard Operating Procedures (2023) clearly articulates this approach, which has significantly strengthened coordination, reduced duplication, and enhanced trust among stakeholders, ultimately supporting dignified and well-managed relocations. Similarly, the Government of Bangladesh’s Ashrayan Project is founded on this approach, actively engaging actors at the national, subnational, and community levels in its implementation. However, challenges persist, particularly with large-scale projects and in cases in which economic resources are particularly constrained.

Developing institutional frameworks that identify lead agencies and set up dedicated units can significantly strengthen coordination and facilitate the smooth running of relocation processes. This is evident in Fiji’s Climate Change Act and the institutional setup of Fiji’s Taskforce on Relocation and Displacement, its associated Technical Working Group, both of which are supported by a Planned Relocation Unit established within a development agency. Bangladesh’s approach to these activities, instead, is largely project-based, albeit the management of relevant processes is embedded within the Prime Minister’s Office. Fiji’s institutional setup offers a way forward for the government and partners in Bangladesh to ensure community-driven and more just relocations.

Strengthen Data Systems to Support Decision-Making

Robust data and risk information are foundational to effective planned relocation processes. However, complex problems often arise when gathering and analyzing relevant data, particularly concerning potential risks faced by communities, estimating the viability of local risk reduction measures, and assessing the non-tangible assets that may be affected by a planned relocation process, including traditional knowledge, sense of place, and cultural values.

In Fiji’s relocation process, data and risk information are critical for informing communities’ decisions to relocate. In order to gather and use data in standardized, predictable manners, the country’s SOP is complemented by a comprehensive risk and vulnerability assessment framework. Bangladesh’s approach to gathering data on disaster impacts and risks, including through its Disaster Damage Assessment tool provides valuable lessons for Fiji.

Any Necessary Relocations Should be Conducted in a Manner that Upholds Human Rights and Human Dignity

Relocation should be a process that upholds human rights and human dignity, preserves communities’ cultural identity, and ensures they have ownership over decisions that shape their future. Fiji has made significant strides in explicitly pursuing these objectives, particularly in planned relocation targeting rural and coastal communities living on customary land in response to climate-related disasters like sea-level rise, cyclones, and flooding. All six planned relocations to date have occurred in village settings, with government-led coordination.

Bangladesh relocates landless and homeless people under poverty reduction schemes, often driven by climate-induced factors, especially in urban and peri-urban settings. This model views relocation not only as a climate change adaptation, risk reduction or durable solution measure but also as a development and social equity strategy, providing vulnerable populations with housing, land, and essential services like water and electricity. In the future, planned relocations in Fiji might potentially be implemented in urban in response to increasing rural-to-urban migration and the rise of informal settlements. While Fiji already has its robust SOP in place, it can draw valuable lessons from Bangladesh in order to keep upholding its core principles and values in such different planned relocation scenarios.

Learnings from the Ashrayan project emphasized that resilience doesn’t stem from grand designs: it comes from listening to those who live with risk daily and building with them, not for them. By focusing on dignity, ownership, and excelling at the basics, planned relocations can be not just reactive responses, but transformative strategies.

Together, these learnings form a strong foundation for more just, strategic, and future-ready planned relocation.

Call to Action

In order to promote more just, resilient and future-proof planned relocations in the context of disasters and the adverse effects of climate change, we call on government agencies, traditional leaders, civil society, development partners, and the private sector actors to collaborate in a coordinated, inclusive manner. This is crucial to:

Strengthen national data systems to guide informed decision-making.
Invest in sustainable livelihoods at relocation sites.
Actively engage private partners to drive innovation and economic opportunity.
Support communities not just to move, but to thrive through empowering relocation processes.

Conclusion

Planned relocation is more than just moving people: it’s about building new beginnings rooted in dignity, resilience, and self-determination. By acting on these key priorities, Fiji and Bangladesh can lead by example in creating relocation models that are people-centered, data-informed, and grounded in strong partnerships.