A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program

Rough Waters: Sri Lanka’s Fishermen Face Climate Challenges and Economic Woes

Close to 2.4 million Sri Lankans are employed in that nation’s fisheries, and the bounty of its seas and freshwater bodies make up close to half of the country’s animal-based protein. But now the livelihood that has sustained these workers for generations faces growing constraints.

Climate change has disrupted traditional fishing practices in Sri Lanka, creating increasingly erratic tide patterns, rougher seas, and reduced fish catches. Economic challenges make the waters even deeper, as inflation and high fuel prices add to the strain on this sector. Small-scale fishermen now must take out loans and adopt new, more expensive technology to fill their quotas.

A longer-term challenge is that Sri Lanka’s younger generation is less attracted to fishing due to its physical demands, low pay, and increasing difficulty. One local fisherman explained: “I want to continue with this work, but I don’t know if I will be able to.”

READ | Managing Fisheries Conflict in the 21st Century: A Role for Regional Management Organizations?

Tracking Food Security and Nutrition: The 2023 SOFI Report

The nations of the world will not be able to meet the goal of ending hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity by 2030, according to an annual UN report that tracks the global transformation of agrifood systems and food security. Global hunger remained high in 2022, affecting an estimated 691-783 million people facing hunger—or 9.2% of the world’s population.

Progress has been made in reducing hunger in Asia and Latin America, but hunger is on the rise in Western Asia, the Caribbean, and all subregions of Africa. Food insecurity also continues to be prevalent, with about 2.4 billion people moderately or severely food insecure in 2022. (The report also notes that this trend disproportionately affects women and people in rural areas.)

This annual survey also estimates that 600 million people will be malnourished in 2030, as growing urbanization offers challenges in combating food security. To seize an opportunity to reverse those trends, the report calls for a diffusion of public data to inform local policies and help achieve food security and healthy diets for all.

LISTEN | The Link Between Food Insecurity and Conflict: A New Report from World Food Program USA

Battling Displacement and Migration in Bangladesh

Migration from the Rohingya crisis and the more erratic and severe weather patterns as a result of climate change pose immense threats to the population of Bangladesh. These challenges are the focus of International Rescue Committee’s (IRC) programming in that country, which now has entered its fifth year of operation, with a total of 30 camps built in the region.

The IRC centered its 2022 interventions on healthcare, protection, education, emergency response, and advocacy. Despite limited access to basic services and diminishing international support, the IRC served 741,489 clients from Rohingya refugee camps and host communities.

Bangladesh’s unique vulnerability to climate change—as well the fact that the majority of its refugees are female—has been a focus of actions that integrate climate resilience and gender initiatives into IRC programs, as well as an expansion of the committee’s operations into the acutely vulnerable regions of Southern Bangladesh.

READ | Investigating Climate Migration: Global Realities and Resilience