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People forced to leave their home region due to changes to their local environment From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Environmental migrants are people who are forced to leave their home region due to sudden or long-term changes to their local or regional environment. These changes compromise their well-being or livelihood, and include increased drought, desertification, sea level rise, and disruption of seasonal weather patterns (such as monsoons[1]). Though there is no uniform, clear-cut definition of environmental migration, the idea is gaining attention as policy-makers and environmental and social scientists attempt to conceptualize the potential social effects of climate change and other environmental degradation, such a deforestation or overexploitation.
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"Environmental migrant" and "climate migrant" (or "climate refugee") are used somewhat interchangeably with a range of similar terms, such as ecological refugee, environmental refugee, forced environmental migrant, environmentally motivated migrant, environmentally displaced person (EDP), disaster refugee, environmental displacee, eco-refugee, ecologically displaced person, or environmental-refugee-to-be (ERTB).[2] The distinctions between these terms remain contested.
The vast majority of people fleeing environmental distress migrate over short distances, often temporarily. Moreover, the refugees aren't leaving their homes because of fear they will be persecuted, or because of "generalized violence or events seriously disturbing public order."[3] Even though the definition of who is a refugee was expanded since its first international and legally binding definition in 1951 people who are forced to flee due to environmental change are still not offered the same legal protection as refugees.[4]
The term "environmental refugee" was first proposed by Lester Brown in 1976.[5] The International Organization for Migration (IOM) proposes the following definition for environmental migrants:[6]
"Environmental migrants are persons or groups of persons who, for compelling reasons of sudden or progressive changes in the environment that adversely affect their lives or living conditions, are obliged to leave their habitual homes, or choose to do so, either temporarily or permanently, and who move either within their country or abroad."
Climate migrants are a subset of environmental migrants who were forced to flee "due to sudden or gradual alterations in the natural environment related to at least one of three impacts of climate change: sea-level rise, extreme weather events, and drought and water scarcity."[7]
The International Organisation for Migration proposes three types of environmental migrants:
Other scholars have proposed various other types of migrant including:
There have been a number of attempts over the decades to enumerate environmental migrants and refugees. Jodi Jacobson (1988) is cited as the first researcher to enumerate the issue, stating that there were already up to 10 million 'Environmental Refugees'. Drawing on 'worst-case scenarios' about sea-level rise, she argued that all forms of 'Environmental Refugees' would be six times as numerous as political refugees.[18] By 1989, Mustafa Tolba, Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme, was claiming that 'as many as 50 million people could become environmental refugees' if the world did not act to support sustainable development.[19]
In the mid-1990s, British environmentalist, Norman Myers, became the most prominent proponent of this 'maximalist' school (Suhrke 1993), noting that "environmental refugees will soon become the largest group of involuntary refugees".[20] Additionally, he stated that there were 25 million environmental refugees in the mid-1990s, further claiming that this figure could double by 2010, with an upper limit of 200 million by 2050 (Myers 1997).[21] Myers argued that the causes of environmental displacement would include desertification, lack of water, salination of irrigated lands and the depletion of biodiversity. He also hypothesised that displacement would amount to 30m in China, 30m in India, 15m in Bangladesh, 14m in Egypt, 10m in other delta areas and coastal zones, 1m in island states, and with otherwise agriculturally displaced people totalling 50m by 2050.[22] More recently, Myers has suggested that the figure by 2050 might be as high as 250 million.[23]
Norman Myers is the most cited researcher in this field, who found that 25 million environmental migrants existed in 1995 in his work (Myers & Kent 1995),[22] which drew upon over 1000 sources.[24] However, Vikram Kolmannskog has stated that Myers' work can be 'criticized for being inconsistent, impossible to check and failing to take proper account of opportunities to adapt' (2008: 9).[25] Furthermore, Myers himself has acknowledged that his figures are based upon 'heroic extrapolation' (Brown 2008: 12).[26] More generally, Black has argued that there is 'surprisingly little scientific evidence' that indicates that the world is 'filling-up with environmental refugees' (1998: 23).[27]
Many environmental migrants originate from Small Island Developing States (SIDS), where the effects of rising sea levels, increasing natural disasters, and the depletion of fresh water supplies have significantly affected the habitability of these states.[28] Due to their vulnerability to climate change, SIDS have become increasingly uninhabitable, which has caused many environmental migrants to flee their countries in search of a safer environment.[29] In the future, the number of environmental migrants from these countries is projected to increase significantly due to the anticipated continuation of environmental disasters.[29] The countries face many financial, legal, and political barriers regarding environmental migration since they are low on resources and economic stability.[30] There are multiple islands within SIDS that are experiencing increasing levels of environmental migrants. Islands in the Pacific Ocean such as Kiribati, Vanuatu, and Fiji are in immediate danger from the threats of rising sea levels.[30] Other Caribbean Islands such as Barbados have dealt with a significant rise in environmental migrants due to climate-related challenges.[31]
There have been efforts by economically advanced countries to help the SIDS through international support mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund and Adaptation Fund.[32] SIDS have also been active participants in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for making progress towards preventing migration issues and pushing for stronger policies.[29] In September 2014, the SIDS met in Apia, Samoa to form the SAMOA Pathway, a ten year plan that addresses climate change faced in the islands.[31] Political figures such as Mia Mottley emphasize the need for a major increase in investment and global support to address the limitations of SIDS and environmental migrants.[31]
Efforts to address the environmental migrants are also being made in other neighboring regions. In the Philippines, legislators are attempting to change the country's immigration policies to accommodate for environmental migrants that are fleeing from SIDS.[30] The proposed House Bill No. 10490 aims to amend the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940 to expand the criteria for refugee status beyond the traditional categories of persecution, religion, and politics to include climate change.[30]
The notion of 'environmental migrant' has been a part of popular culture at least since The Grapes of Wrath, a 1939 novel by John Steinbeck.[33]
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