Food shortages caused by loss of agricultural land in the coastal zone as well as by flooding and droughts elsewhere in Bangaldesh may lead to large numbers not only of internally displaced people but of refugees as well. Bangladesh’s Adivasi tribal minorities – such as the Garo and Santal in the north and west, and the Chakma and other tribes in the Chittagong Hill tracts – are particularly vulnerable; they have lost much of their ancestral land to encroachment by settlers from more overcrowded parts of Bangladesh and are already concentrated on drought-prone or hilly agricultural land. To address these and other climate related threats, priority should be given to using and modifying traditional coping mechanisms developed in the communities in Bangladesh.