GovTwin / Institution
Khagrachhari District
Local Gov
The northern gateway to the Chittagong Hill Tracts, a hill-and-valley district of jhum and valley paddy, fruit horticulture and small border trade among Chakma, Marma, Tripura and Bengali communities. It is the third-poorest district by mean Relative Wealth Index and carries the steepest land-surface warming trend of the four, alongside persistent forest loss.
Wealth rank 3/64
(1 = poorest district)
Warming +0.94°C
(1980s–2020s)
Air NO₂ #62/64
(1 = most polluted)
Night-lights +169%
(2014–23 activity)
Built-up 20 km²
Forest loss 37,132 ha
(2001–23)
Rainfall 3,040 mm/yr
Indicators: Meta RWI (HDX); ERA5-Land; MODIS; Sentinel-5P; VIIRS night-lights; GHSL; Hansen v1.11; CHIRPS v2.0. Exposure: GloFAS v2.1, FABDEM, MODIS LST, ACAG PM2.5, WorldPop 2020.
Problems and issues
- poverty Third-poorest district in Bangladesh with a mean Relative Wealth Index of -0.354 (rank 3 of 64), driven by low-productivity jhum and valley farming, weak connectivity and limited non-farm employment. So what: Entrenched poverty across a border hill district demands targeted investment in productivity and market access, since proximity to plains alone has not lifted incomes. Source: Meta Data for Good Relative Wealth Index (HDX), ~2.4 km grid
- climate disaster Heavy annual rainfall of 3,040 mm on deforested hill slopes, combined with 0.94 C of warming, drives flash floods and landslides during the monsoon. So what: Recurrent landslides and flash floods damage valley paddy and sever hill roads, so disaster preparedness is essential to protect both lives and the district's food base. Source: CHIRPS v2.0 precipitation (UCSB Climate Hazards Group) via Google Earth Engine
- environment Continued deforestation, with 37,132.1 hectares of tree-cover loss over 2001-2023 from jhum and settlement expansion, leaving 258.6 km2 of tree cover by 2021. So what: Thinning hill forest worsens slope instability and dry-season stream depletion, undercutting the watershed services that valley agriculture relies on. Source: Hansen Global Forest Change v1.11 (UMD) via Google Earth Engine
- climate disaster The steepest daytime land-surface warming trend of the four districts (+0.32 C), with recent daytime surface temperature of 27.3 C, signaling intensifying heat stress over exposed, cleared hillsides. So what: Rising surface heat stresses jhum crops and hill horticulture and raises labor exposure, so heat-resilient cropping and tree cover matter for both yields and worker welfare. Source: MODIS MOD11A2 land surface temperature (daytime) via Google Earth Engine
- water No permanent surface water (0.0 km2); valley and hill households depend on seasonal streams, springs and shallow sources that fail in the dry months. So what: Dry-season scarcity threatens both drinking supply and dry-season cropping, making source protection and storage a year-round resilience priority. Source: JRC Global Surface Water (permanent water) via Google Earth Engine
Probable solutions
- Boost valley-paddy and fruit-horticulture productivity and link producers to plains and cross-border markets through cold storage, feeder roads and extension. Responsible: Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board / Ministry of CHT Affairs · policy proposal
- Reforest and agroforest cleared hill slopes to restore tree cover, stabilize soils and moderate surface heat and dry-season streamflow. Responsible: Bangladesh Forest Department · policy proposal
- Flash-flood and landslide early-warning plus hazard mapping and pre-monsoon evacuation drills for valley and hillside settlements. Responsible: Department of Disaster Management · policy proposal
- Spring-source protection, rainwater harvesting and small storage to secure dry-season drinking water and supplementary irrigation. Responsible: Department of Public Health Engineering · policy proposal