GovTwin / Institution

Ukhia (Cox's Bazar)

Local Gov

A hilly upazila between Cox's Bazar town and Teknaf that hosts the bulk of the world's largest refugee settlement, with its forests and land heavily transformed by camp expansion.

Wealth rank 166/452 (1 = poorest upazila)

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

  1. social Ukhia carries the densest concentration of the protracted refugee population, straining land, labour markets, water, and basic services for the host community. So what: Host residents face acute competition for land, jobs, water, and services. Source: Refugee Relief and Repatriation Commissioner
  2. environment Camp expansion, fuelwood demand, and settlement have driven severe hill and forest clearance across the upazila. So what: Denuded slopes raise landslide risk and erode the local resource base. Source: Bangladesh Forest Department
  3. poverty An upazila mean Relative Wealth Index of -0.128, among the lowest in the district, reflects host-community deprivation alongside the camps. So what: Poor host households bear the costs of the refugee influx with little cushion. Source: Meta Data for Good Relative Wealth Index (HDX)

Probable solutions