Dhaka, March 22 -- Some 2,000 feet above sea level, natives of Bandarban's Chimbuk Hill are no strangers to water shortages during the dry season. But between March and May, a silent cry for water emanates from the hundred or so settlements inhabited by the Mro community.

During this period, women take turns traversing treacherous mountain trails from midnight to dawn to collect water for their families. In the narrow mountain streams, driblets of water trickle through the stones.

Water sources are few and far between and unless the situation changes, residents fear that they will be forced to leave their homes.

The amount of rainfall in the hills has almost halved from previous years due to climate change, say environmentalists. Fores...