Staff Reporter :
Climate-related disasters cost every affected Bangladeshi an average of Tk1.17 lakh ($954) over just ten months, according to Oxfam in Bangladesh, which launched its Loss and Damage Dashboard in Dhaka on Tuesday.
The data, collected from June 2023 to March 2024 across 19 districts, recorded 11,579 incidents causing Tk1.35 billion ($11 million) in reported losses.
The average per-person loss equals roughly 15 months of income for a typical Bangladeshi worker, highlighting the severe economic pressure on vulnerable households.
Oxfam, in collaboration with Oxfam Australia and Novib, supported by Sida, launched the report From Ground to Global: The Loss and Damage Dashboard for Climate Equity.
Bangladesh, despite contributing minimally to global emissions, is among the top ten most climate-impacted nations, losing about $3 billion annually-1-2 percent of GDP-to climate disasters.
Some estimates suggest total losses, including disaster responses, exceed $5 billion per year, excluding slow-onset impacts like salinity intrusion and sea level rise.
The Loss and Damage Dashboard uses community-driven data, satellite imagery, and AI validation to capture economic and non-economic climate losses in real time.
It empowers communities and provides policymakers with credible evidence to quantify impacts and push for climate justice.
At the launch, Nicolas Weeks, Swedish ambassador to Bangladesh, said, “When community voices inform policy, we build stronger climate justice and ensure funding reaches those who need it most.”
The report also highlights gender disparities: men reported higher total losses, while women faced disproportionate health and livelihood impacts, particularly in waterborne diseases and nutrition.
Oxfam Bangladesh Country Director Ashish Damle emphasized that the dashboard turns community pain into policy, setting a global example of climate leadership.
Experts like Roufa Khanum (BRAC University) and Sharif Jamil (Waterkeepers Bangladesh) noted that the tool empowers local communities to record losses, prove climate links, and demand action.
The report warns that climate-related losses exacerbate global inequality, with Least Developed Countries like Bangladesh bearing the brunt of a crisis they did not cause.
The Loss and Damage Dashboard strengthens Bangladesh’s voice in international climate finance negotiations through verifiable, community-generated data.
The event, moderated by Md Sariful Islam (Oxfam), brought together academics, youth activists, and private sector leaders to discuss how community-driven data and innovation can reshape global climate accountability.
