ENVIRONMENTAL MIGRANTS ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE FORCED TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES DUE TO BOTH GRADUAL ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE AND EXTREME ENVIRONMENTAL EVENTS. ENVIRONMENTAL MIGRANTS ARE OTHERWISE KNOWN BY THE BROADER PUBLIC, AS “CLIMATE REFUGEES” OR “ENVIRONMENTAL REFUGEES”. WHEN USING THE TERM “ENVIRONMENTAL”, THE TERM FOCUSES ON EVENTS THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH CLIMATE CHANGE WHICH INCLUDE “SLOW-ONSET DISASTERS” SUCH AS RISING SEA LEVELS, DROUGHT, AND DESERTIFICATION.
THE TERM “CLIMATE REFUGEE”, SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WITHIN DISCUSSIONS OF ‘ENVIRONMENTAL REFUGEES’. ALTHOUGH MUCH MORE POPULAR NOW, THIS TERM WAS FIRST USED AS FAR BACK AS THE EIGHTIES, EL-HINNAWI (1985), JACOBSON (1988), AND TICKELL (1989). EL-HINNAWI (1985) WROTE, “[ENVIRONMENTAL REFUGEES] ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN FORCED TO LEAVE THEIR TRADITIONAL HABITAT, TEMPORARILY OR PERMANATELY, BECAUSE OF A MARKED ENVIRONMENTAL DISRUPTION (NATURAL AND/OR TRIGGERED BY PEOPLE) THAT JEOPARDISED THEIR EXISTENCE AND/OR SERIOUSLY AFFECTED THE QUALITY OF THEIR LIFE”.
THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGE (IPCC) HAS SHOWN THAT THE POOREST PEOPLE IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ARE BEARING THE BURDEN OF THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE EVEN THOUGH THEY HAVE CONTRIBUTED LITTLE OR NOTHING TO THE PROBLEM. THE CONSEQUENCES ARE DRASTIC BECAUSE THEY ARE LEAST EQUIPPED TO ADAPT TO IT.
MOST MOVEMENT WILL OCCUR LOCALLY DUE TO LACK OF FUNDS AND SOCIAL SUPPORT. THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WILL MOVE WITHIN THEIR OWN BORDERS, SEEKING NEW LIVELIHOODS AND SAFETY IN NEARBY RURAL AND URBAN AREAS. THIS WILL BE EITHER SHORT-TERM OR LONG-TERM DEPENDING ON THE NATURE OF DISPLACEMENT.
GIVEN THE LESSER SITUATION REGARDING THOSE WHO WILL CROSS BORDERS TO ESCAPE THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE, THE MOVEMENT INTO NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES IS LIKELY. THERE IS A GAP IN INTERNATIONAL PROTECTION AT THIS LEVEL, WHICH NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED. THIS INCLUDES THOSE WHO WILL BE AFFECTED BY SUDDEN-ONSET DISASTERS AND THE CATASTROPHIC POSSIBILITY OF “SINKING” SMALL ISLAND STATES.
DESPITE THE ONGOING PRESSURE BY THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO CREATE A LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR RECOGNIZING, PROTECTING, AND RESETTLING ENVIRONMENTAL MIGRANTS, NO SUCH INSTRUMENT EXISTS. THE OFTEN COMPLEX MIX OF ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, POLITICAL, AND ECONOMIC FACTORS THAT CAUSE PEOPLE TO MIGRATE IS ONE REASON WHY THIS HAS BEEN SLOW IN COMING.
THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT, WHICH IS A UN ENDORSED FRAMEWORK REGARDING THE PROTECTION OF PEOPLE DISPLACED WITHIN THEIR OWN BORDERS, DOES IN FACT COVER THOSE WHO ARE FORCED TO MOVE BY “NATURAL OR HUMAN-MADE DISASTERS”. HOWEVER, THERE IS STILL A SEVERE PROTECTION DEFICIT WITHIN THIS CATEGORY IN THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES. ADDITIONALLY, NOT ALL GOVERNMENTS HAVE SIGNED UP TO THIS FRAMEWORK AND ALTHOUGH THE MAJORITY OF THE MOVEMENT IS LIKELY TO OCCUR WITHIN NATIONAL BORDERS, THE GUIDING PRINCIPLES STILL DO NOT APPLY TO THOSE WHO HAVE CROSSED AN INTERNATIONAL BORDER.
THIS NEW CATEGORY OF MIGRANTS URGENTLY NEEDS TO BE FORMALLY RECOGNIZED IN NEW AND WELL-FORMULATED INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH POLICY, AND BETTER ANTICIPATE SUPPORT AND PROTECTION REQUIREMENTS, SIMILAR TO THOSE PEOPLE FLEEING OTHER THREATENING SITUATIONS. UNLIKE CONVENTIONAL REFUGEES PROTECTED UNDER CURRENT INTERNATIONAL TREATIES, THERE IS LITTLE OR NO AID AVAILABLE TO ENVIRONMENTAL MIGRANTS.
ENVIRONMENTAL MIGRATION IS A REALITY THAT CAN NO LONGER BE OVERLOOKED. MILLIONS OF PEOPLE HAVE ALREADY BEEN DISPLACED BECAUSE OF CLIMATE CHANGE-RELATED DISASTERS. PEOPLE ARE ALSO MOVING FROM PLACES THEY HAVE LONG CALLED HOME BECAUSE THEIR ENVIRONMENT CANNOT SUPPORT THEM ANYMORE. FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, RED CROSS RESEARCH SHOWS MORE PEOPLE ARE NOW DISPLACED BY ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTERS THAN BY WAR. THE UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY PREDICTS THAT 50 MILLION PEOPLE GLOBALLY WILL BE DISPLACED BY ENVIRONMENTAL CRISES BY THE YEAR 2010. ACCORDING TO OTHER EXPERTS IN THE FIELD, THERE COULD BE AS MANY AS 200 MILLION DISPLACED WORLDWIDE BY 2050.
