Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 June 2022
The objective of the research is to estimate the cost of ecosystem service value (ESV) due to the Rohingya refugee influx in Ukhiya and Teknaf upazilas of Bangladesh.
Artificial neural network (ANN) supervised classification technique was used to estimate land use/land cover (LULC) dynamics between 2017 (ie, before the Rohingya refugee influx) and 2021. The ESV changes between 2017 and 2021 were assessed using the benefit transfer approach.
According to the findings, the forest lost 54.88 km2 (9.58%) because of the refugee influx during the study. Around 47.26 km2 (8.25%) of settlement was increased due to the need to provide shelter for Rohingya refugees in camp areas. Due to the increase in Rohingya refugee settlements, the total ESV increased from US $310.13 million in 2017 to US $332.94 million in 2021. Because of the disappearance of forest areas, the ESV for raw materials and biodiversity fell by 13.58% and 14.57%, respectively.
Natural resource conservation for long-term development will benefit from the findings of this study.