Uprooted by Climate Change: Responding to the growing risk of displacement (original) (raw)
Related papers
A global research agenda : climate change and displacement
Forced migration review, 2008
In his article on page 47 of this issue, Craig Johnstone, Deputy High Commissioner of UNHCR, says that "Our generation has failed to live up to its obligations to prevent climate change. We need urgently to prepare now for the human consequences of climate change." One of those consequences is the displacement of people from their homes, whether temporarily or permanently. Researchers and politicians may argue about the numbers likely to be forced to move but all concur about the need for preparation, adaptation, mitigation-and collaboration. We hope that all readers will be challenged, inspired and informed by the articles in this FMR.
Climate crisis and displacement -from commitment to action
Forced Migration Review, 2022
Significant progress has been made in focusing international attention on the need to address displacement in the context of disasters and the adverse effects of climate change. Despite a wide range of global policy frameworks, however, actions being taken are not yet having a sufficiently deep and far-reaching impact. Displacements associated with climateand weather-related hazards have reached levels unprecedented in modern times. The intensity and frequency of hazards that can trigger displacement are increasing, eroding fragile livelihoods and ecosystems, aggravating existing vulnerability and undermining resilience. Since 2008, an average of 24.5 million new disaster-related internal displacements per year have been recorded globally, with almost 90% of these associated with weather-related hazards such as floods, storms and droughts. 1 Although the bulk of human mobility in the context of disasters and the adverse effects of climate change occurs within national borders, people may also cross national borders to look for safety abroad. In 2021, for instance, Angolans fleeing drought found refuge in Namibia where, at the request of the government, the Namibia Red Cross Society provided them with assistance. 2 Others moving away from harm, however, may find themselves in a place where their rights are not recognised or protected, potentially trapped in their new location, without assistance and support to return home or to build a new life in a new place.
Forced From Home: Climate-fuelled Displacement
2019
Climate-fuelled disasters were the number one driver of internal displacement over the last decade – forcing an estimated 20 million people a year from their homes. While no one is immune, it is overwhelmingly poor countries that are most at risk. Eighty percent of those displaced in the last decade live in Asia, home to over a third of the world’s poorest people. Small island developing states make up seven of the 10 countries that face the highest risk of internal displacement as a result of extreme weather events. These communities are 150 times more likely to be displaced by extreme weather disasters than communities in Europe. Countries from Somalia to Guatemala are seeing large numbers of people displaced by both conflict and the climate crisis.
Human Rights Implications of Climate Change Induced Displacement
Bond Law Review, 2009
Climate change and migration are two cross-cutting issues demanding immediate and appropriate responses from duty-bearers. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), human-induced climate change will transform the ecological balance of our planet and lead to calamitous consequences for the human rights of millions of people all over the world. The threat of climate change encompasses the livelihoods of peoples in distant corners of the world contributing to the rise of sea levels, altered patterns of desertification, and to the increase in number and intensity of disastrous environmental events. Climate change induced droughts, flooding, wildfires, extreme weather, soil erosion, desertification, deforestation and natural disasters are likely to further intensify pre-existing stresses in vulnerable regions in the world. Consequently, there are apprehensions of problems like food insecurity, scarcity of water, reduced agricultural production, population pressures, unequal access to resources, poverty, break-out of epidemics and spreading of diseases. Each and all of these factors and risks can lead to displacement and migration on an unprecedented scale. In turn, such climate-induced movements can also carry a wide range of implications for the enjoyment of human rights.
Climate change is increasingly challenging the ability of millions of people to sustain livelihoods as the places where they live become uninhabitable. The relocation of populations as individuals, households, and communities within countries and across international borders demonstrates the complexity of climate change impacts. Looking at the literature, some researchers argue that relocation caused by climate change can be an effective strategy to adapt to localized changes, whereas others argue that the movement away from ones' homeland is more neatly captured in the climate change lexicon as 'loss and damage'. We argue here that the relocation of people as a result of the impacts of climate change can be both adaptation and loss and damage. Drawing on examples from Alaska and Kiribati, we show that dividing this issue between the two concepts is unhelpful in resolving key issues around the types of appropriate support for these transitions to sustain and protect livelihoods and to open up possibilities for self-determined futures.
The complex decision-making of climate-induced relocation: adaptation and loss and damage
Climate change is increasingly challenging the ability of millions of people to sustain livelihoods as the places where they live become uninhabitable. The relocation of populations as individuals, households, and communities within countries and across international borders demonstrates the complexity of climate change impacts. Looking at the literature, some researchers argue that relocation caused by climate change can be an effective strategy to adapt to localized changes, whereas others argue that the movement away from ones' homeland is more neatly captured in the climate change lexicon as 'loss and damage'. We argue here that the relocation of people as a result of the impacts of climate change can be both adaptation and loss and damage. Drawing on examples from Alaska and Kiribati, we show that dividing this issue between the two concepts is unhelpful in resolving key issues around the types of appropriate support for these transitions to sustain and protect livelihoods and to open up possibilities for self-determined futures.
How do climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies lead to the displacement of people?
Climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies are increasingly being implemented worldwide to address the impacts of climate change. However, these strategies can also lead to the displacement of people. This research explores how climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies lead to the displacement of people by examining a specific case, the Barbuda Land Grab case. The study will focus on understanding the causes and impacts of displacement and identifying best practices for developing and implementing climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies that minimize displacement. The case study approach will involve qualitative research methods such as literature review, interviews, and surveys. The proposed research and findings will contribute to understanding the complex and multifaceted issue of displacement caused by climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. The study findings will be used to develop recommendations for policymakers and practitioners on how to design and implement these strategies in a way that is sensitive to the needs and rights of local communities and minimizes displacement. The Barbuda Land Grab case occurred in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma in 2017. The government of Antigua and Barbuda passed legislation allowing for the sale of land on Barbuda to foreign investors, leading to the displacement of many of the island's residents. This case provides a unique opportunity to study how climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies, specifically disaster response and recovery efforts, can lead to land grabs and displacement. The study will investigate how the government's response to the disaster, including the sale of land, affected the rights and livelihoods of Barbuda's residents and the impacts of displacement on their social, economic, and cultural well-being.
Climate Change and Displacement
Environmental issues have been part of the discourse on forcibly displaced people and migration for several decades. In the '90s, the international community was primarily concerned with the negative impact that refugees had on the environment of their host countries. It is only in the second decade of this century that the reverse causal relationship has been given more attentionthat slow-onset environmental change may result in human displacement. Now, this has turned into the main topic on the displacement agenda, with a particular focus on the eventual impact of climate change. There is growing commitment by governments to discuss multilaterally the complex theme of migration. This is also the case for migration that is potentially induced by slow-onset natural disasters, or, more specifically, by climate change. Cooperation is increasing among states, with moves toward harmonizationboth at the regional level, by fostering regional migration regimes, and the multilateral level, through, inter alia, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the World Bank, the International Organization on Migration (IOM), and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Moreover, the security sector is also increasingly involved in research on the subject.