Girls are being married off as a climate change 'coping strategy'

Runa was 15 when she married a man she had never met before.

Cyclone Remal had ripped through her camp in Bangladesh's Cox's Bazar region, killing her family's chickens and ducks, which were the source of both their food and income.

Runa's mother, who had become the sole income earner after her husband died a year earlier, then lost weeks of labouring work due to the natural disaster.

She could no longer financially support Runa, now 17, and her three brothers.

"She felt she had no choice but to arrange my marriage," Runa told the ABC.

Twelve million girls are tipped to become child brides this year, according to Plan International.

Child marriage is a global problem across cultures and religions.

It is often inherently linked to gender inequality, poverty, food insecurity, and social norms and practices, including family honour and dowry payments.

Climate change is now believed to be a leading contributor to more frequent and younger nuptials.

"Whenever there is a climate change impact … we see a spike in child marriage," said Plan International's Tanushree Soni.

"Financial stress is the trigger.

"The families look to lessen the burden because they don't consider girls to be part of their own families; they consider girls to be part of their [future] husband's family.

"So investing in girls is not a choice they can afford to make."

While climate change is not believed to be increasing the number of tropical storms worldwide, scientists and meteorologists say a warmer atmosphere and rising sea temperatures and levels are increasing their intensity, and the impact they have on communities.

After a natural disaster in Bangladesh, child marriages can surge by up to 39 per cent, according to the International Rescue Committee.

South Asia, one of the most vulnerable regions to the impacts of climate change, accounts for most of the world's child marriages.

Bangladesh has the highest rate in Asia according to Plan International, with more than 50 per cent of girls married before they turn 18.

Getting married meant Runa had to drop out of school to focus on being a wife and, a short time later, a mother.

"I did not want to get married. I wanted to continue my education," she said.

"The decision made me feel very sad and helpless."

But Runa is, in some ways, one of the lucky ones because a few years later her husband's family allowed her to return to her studies.

"It makes me feel happy and hopeful about my future," she said.

"I also want to make sure that my son receives a good education and has opportunities to achieve his dreams."

The now 17-year-old wanted to share her story to "help prevent other girls from being married before they are ready".

El Niño expected to 'intensify' child marriage rate

Kamrul Hasan Shawon said he too often met girls who aspired to be doctors, pilots or even entrepreneurs lose sight of those goals when they became child brides.

The climate change and resilience program manager for Plan International in Bangladesh said, with the right pathways, these girls would go on to "work wonders" if they were not married off.

"Making life safe for them is enough," he said.

But Mr Shawon is worried this year's El Niño would "intensify" the risk of child marriage in the country.

"We are facing climate experiences almost every year and El Niño will affect us dearly,"

he said.

This year's El Niño is predicted to be among the strongest ever recorded.

It is forecast to increase rainfall ⁠in Central Asia, the southern parts of South America, the US and parts of the Horn of Africa.

It could cause drought ⁠in Australia, Indonesia, parts of Asia and Central America, and trigger hurricane formation in the central and eastern Pacific.

"We really need to work hand in hand [with Australia and other countries] because when Bangladesh is struggling … the struggle will eventually reach out to Australia and other parts of the world," Mr Shawon said.

Funding needs to focus on climate-resilient livelihoods, advocates say

New research from Plan International and the University of Technology Sydney found girls were disproportionately affected by climate change across Asia and the Pacific.

The full report, which is due out later this year, looks at how climate-related shocks and environmental stressors are shaping adolescent girls' life trajectories in Bangladesh, Nepal and the Solomon Islands.

Plan International's Ms Soni said it was necessary research as governments around the world had been slow to recognise the link while those working on the ground could see a "direct correlation".

While the Australian government requires a climate and gender focus in its foreign aid programs, Ms Soni said responses to climate change and environmental disasters still focused more on rebuilding infrastructure and recovery efforts rather than social impacts, like child marriage and violence against women.

"We can't shy away from the fact that there are young people, the future of their countries but also of this global community, that are going to be affected by child marriage," she said.

"This is a call to action for governments and especially [the Australian] government.

"Don't look at it as an isolated issue that has nothing to do with climate change because all these issues are intertwined."

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was committed to ending child marriage and "protecting the rights of adolescent girls across the Indo-Pacific region".

"Australia is supporting integrated efforts to address the drivers of child marriage, including through strengthening education, child protection, gender-based violence prevention, and sexual and reproductive health and rights services," a department spokesperson said.

"Under Australia’s International Development Policy, gender equality and climate action are placed at the very core of Australia's aid program."

Nowhere on track to end child marriage

No region is currently on track to meet the 2030 target of eliminating child marriage, according to Girls Not Brides.

Shreya Ghosh, the organisation's head of Asia engagement, said child marriage had become a "coping strategy" for families losing livelihoods and income.

But she said child marriage was "a solvable issue" and many marriages could be prevented if funding and resources for child marriage were better integrated into climate change response and resilience programs.

"All of this is happening because there's not strong enough support mechanisms in the first place,"

Mr Ghosh said.

"It's about making sure that we have very strong responses when disaster or a situation strikes.

"But more importantly, to keep the work going when things are calm … to bridge those gaps, to reduce the inequalities and to increase the resilience of households."

Ms Ghosh said it was also vital more women and girls with knowledge of their communities were involved in tackling the problem.

"They are not there to really speak about how this issue is impacting them and that's why the policies are not responding to their needs," she said.

Building climate-resilient livelihoods is "so critical" to addressing child marriage, according to Plan International, that it now runs programs about growing climate-resistant crops and building floating farms in flood-prone areas.

It is also teaching girls digital skills to help their families make more money by being able to liaise directly with supermarkets to sell their produce, for example, so they became vital to the household income and less likely to be married off.

In Cambodia, where the organisation has run climate adaptation programs combined with education, digital literacy and women's advocacy sessions in rural villages, the child marriage rate has dropped in those areas by at least 65 per cent over three years.

"It works. You need to have a community-based approach to really prevent the practice," Ms Soni said.

"Any investment we make on girls, there is generational impact that happens."