Bangladesh Environment and migration survey (BEMS)
Overview
The Bangladesh Environment and Migration Survey (BEMS) is designed to gather data to understand patterns and processes of contemporary internal and international migration in Bangladesh. The project pays special attention to how environmental stressors--particularly salinity, cyclones, and riverbank erosion--affect patterns of migration in the southwest region of Bangladesh, as well as the role of migration in household and community resilience to environmental change.
Click here to see photographs from our work in Bangladesh
The Bangladesh Environment and Migration Survey (BEMS) is designed to gather data to understand patterns and processes of contemporary internal and international migration in Bangladesh. The project pays special attention to how environmental stressors--particularly salinity, cyclones, and riverbank erosion--affect patterns of migration in the southwest region of Bangladesh, as well as the role of migration in household and community resilience to environmental change.
Click here to see photographs from our work in Bangladesh
Methodology
The BEMS consists of three survey instruments: a household survey (BEMS-HH), a migrant survey (BEMS-M), and a community survey (BEMS-C). Data collection began in the fall of 2013 and will continue through 2014.
The BEMS-HH is administered to household heads and spouses in randomly selected households living in select origin communities in southwest Bangladesh. The BEMS-HH collects information about the following: demographics, economic activity, income, assets, livelihoods, internal and international migration trips, access to services (e.g., health care, education), access to food and water, nutrition, health, social networks, perceptions and responses to environmental change.
The BEMS-M is administered to a sample of migrants who have moved from selected origin communities to urban destinations within Bangladesh. The BEMS-M collects similar information to the BEMS-HH.
The BEMS-C collects information about infrastructure, services, and economic activity within origin communities, including: markets, health care facilities, schools, water sources, employment, NGO’s, government aid, etc. These data will be collected through key informant interviews of village officers and leaders in the community.
The BEMS consists of three survey instruments: a household survey (BEMS-HH), a migrant survey (BEMS-M), and a community survey (BEMS-C). Data collection began in the fall of 2013 and will continue through 2014.
The BEMS-HH is administered to household heads and spouses in randomly selected households living in select origin communities in southwest Bangladesh. The BEMS-HH collects information about the following: demographics, economic activity, income, assets, livelihoods, internal and international migration trips, access to services (e.g., health care, education), access to food and water, nutrition, health, social networks, perceptions and responses to environmental change.
The BEMS-M is administered to a sample of migrants who have moved from selected origin communities to urban destinations within Bangladesh. The BEMS-M collects similar information to the BEMS-HH.
The BEMS-C collects information about infrastructure, services, and economic activity within origin communities, including: markets, health care facilities, schools, water sources, employment, NGO’s, government aid, etc. These data will be collected through key informant interviews of village officers and leaders in the community.
Collaborators
The BEMS is part of a multi-component, interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers from the Vanderbilt University, Columbia University, Khulna University, and the University of Colorado. This project brings together social scientists, physical scientists, and engineers to investigate the critical interactions between natural and human systems that motivate the movement of large numbers of people using an Integrated Social, Environmental, and Engineering (ISEE) model. More information about this project, its components, and the collaborators involved can be found here.
The BEMS is part of a multi-component, interdisciplinary collaboration among researchers from the Vanderbilt University, Columbia University, Khulna University, and the University of Colorado. This project brings together social scientists, physical scientists, and engineers to investigate the critical interactions between natural and human systems that motivate the movement of large numbers of people using an Integrated Social, Environmental, and Engineering (ISEE) model. More information about this project, its components, and the collaborators involved can be found here.
Funding
Office of Naval Research. Environmental Stress and Human Migration in a Low-Lying Developing Nation: A Comparison of Co-Evolving Natural and Human Landscapes in the Physically and Culturally Diverse Context of Bangladesh. PI: Steve Goodbred, Jr. (Vanderbilt).
Office of Naval Research. Environmental Stress and Human Migration in a Low-Lying Developing Nation: A Comparison of Co-Evolving Natural and Human Landscapes in the Physically and Culturally Diverse Context of Bangladesh. PI: Steve Goodbred, Jr. (Vanderbilt).
Publications & Presentations
Donato, K.M., Carrico, A.R., Sisk, B., Piya, B. (2016). Different but the same: How legal status affects international migration from Bangladesh. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, in press.
Piya, B., Donato, K., Sisk, B., Carrico, A.R. (2016). Migration, social capital, and the environment in Bangladesh. Population Association of America Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C.
Donato, K., Carrico, A.R., Sisk, B., Piya, B. (2016). Different but the same: How legal status affects international migration from Bangladesh. Population Association of America Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C.
Donato, K.M., Carrico, A.R., Sisk, B., Piya, B. (2016). Different but the same: How legal status affects international migration from Bangladesh. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, in press.
Piya, B., Donato, K., Sisk, B., Carrico, A.R. (2016). Migration, social capital, and the environment in Bangladesh. Population Association of America Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C.
Donato, K., Carrico, A.R., Sisk, B., Piya, B. (2016). Different but the same: How legal status affects international migration from Bangladesh. Population Association of America Annual Meeting, Washington, D.C.
