For 34-year-old Saiful Gazi — a resident of Ramjannagar Union in Shyamnagar, Satkhira, an area highly vulnerable to climate change — securing institutional financing is a major struggle. Gazi, who supports a family of four, endured the devastating Cyclone Aila on May 25, 2009. Cyclone Aila claimed 190 lives and affected approximately 3.9 million people in Bangladesh. Despite living in a disaster-prone region, he ventured into the fish business in 2022. Although he recently applied for a loan from a private bank to expand his operations, his application was rejected due to a lack of collateral and the necessary documentation. He was compelled to take out a high-interest loan from a local NGO to keep his business running. Across Bangladesh, some of the regions most exposed to cyclones, floods, salinity and river erosion continue to receive only a small share of the country’s bank credit, raising questions about whether formal financing is reaching communities that need it in order to adapt to a changing climate. In Bangladesh, there are eight divisions named after the major regional cities: Barishal, Chattogram, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Mymensingh and Sylhet. These divisions are the highest administrative unit in the country. Bangladesh Bank data show that lending remains heavily concentrated in Dhaka and Chattogram divisions, the country’s main commercial and industrial centers. Together, the two divisions accounted for about three-quarters of total bank loans and advances in the April-June quarter of 2026. The concentration is particularly striking in climate-vulnerable areas. Barishal, Khulna, Sylhet and Mymensingh…This article was originally published on Mongabay

The case of three ring-tailed lemurs, an endangered species, stolen from Gazipur Safari Park in Bangladesh last year resurfaced on social media in September this year, when news spread that two of the lemurs were trafficked to India and later sheltered at a private wildlife conservation facility, Vantara. The viral news prompted Vantara to release a statement, denying the allegations while assuring cooperation in sharing the DNA profile of the ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) currently in its custody with Bangladesh authorities. However, the Bangladesh Forest Department was unprepared to respond to the call immediately, as it had no prior DNA profiling record of the lemurs stolen from Gazipur. Sufi Ullah, special superintendent of police under the Criminal Investigation Department of Bangladesh Police, the investigation agency, told Mongabay on Sept. 13, “Even though Bangladesh court orders further probe following the availability of the DNA profile, cross-border investigation is impossible.” Forest Department officials said that tracing the last destination is challenging and bringing the lemurs back is uncertain, as there is no repatriation protocol under the existing mutual understanding between Bangladesh and India. Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, director at Bangladesh Forest Department’s Wildlife Crime Control Unit (WCCU), said, “Further investigation and repatriation [of the lemurs] may follow only if the governments of the two countries agree to do so.” Meanwhile, South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network Secretary General Krishna Prasad Acharya, in an email to Mongabay, said that the exchange of information can assist the concerned countries in verifying available information, coordinating follow-up, and…This article was originally published on Mongabay