Climate Change and Refugees

Migration results from various factors of which climate change is often a significant one.Climate change often forces people to leave their place of origin due to harsh climatic condition which hampers their livelihood.  They either migrate to other countries or within their nations in search of proper sustenance.Till now, the response to this challenge has been largely limited and protection for the affected sections remains inadequate. Because of various climatic conditions like floods, hurricanes, storms, drought, rise of sea level, Asia experiences climatic migrations on a large scale. Countries like Pakistan, China, Philippines, SriLanka have been the unfortunate recipients of climate caused migrations. The Asian Tsunami in the year 2004, the Pakistan floods in 2007 and the Sri Lankan floods are some of the instances that affected a large chunk of their population resulting in mass exodus.

In the Asian subcontinent, Bangladesh is the countrymost affected by climate change where mass migration takes place as people bear the burden of climate change. Considering the fact that by the year 2050, climate change will drive up to 200 million people globally, the city of Dhaka brings home a cautionary tale for refuge cities the world over. Bangladesh is home to around 165 million people in an area which is smaller than the American state of Illinois. One-third of the population reside along the southern coast, which is a mélange of island villages, farms and fish ponds linked by protective embankments. A majority of the country’s land area is not higher above sea level than the city of New York, and during the monsoons, one-fifth of the country can be flooded at once.

Globally, the number of international immigrants worldwide has continued to grow in recent years, reaching 258 million in 2017, up from 220 million in 2010 and 173 million in 2000.The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that there could be as many as 200 million refugees by 2050. Despite such significant numbers the term ‘climaterefugees’ remains undefined.Generally,  climate refugee refers to “a person who has been forced to leave their home as aresult of the effects of climate change on their environment”. These refugees do not flee from one place to another due to persecution or conflicts rather they are affected by atmospheric and climatic conditions.According to a report by Tamra El Waylly, around seven million people have been dislocatedduring the first six months of 2019, many of whom were compelled to leave their place of residence and move to other places within their countries due to environmental disasters like hurricane, flood, tornadoes, etc. This movement in search of a new livelihood and adapting to the new surroundings is a difficult proposition for most of the refugees.

It has been reported that over the past years,approximately 80% of the dislodgedlived in Asia, which is home to more than a third of the world’s poor people.Amongst the worst affected areas are small island states like Cuba and Dominica, which are 2 of the 10 countries which are most at risk. The inhabitants of these islands are 150 times more likely to be driven away from their homes by extreme weather than people living in Europe.As these migrants flee from one place to another, they are often subjected to socio-economic problems. They are also vulnerable to greater risks like sexual exploitation, gender-based violence and human trafficking. According to a report by UN, climate change forced migration will pose a challenge in the coming years and an issue in accomplishing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Over thelong term, large-scale climate change migration has the potential to reverse a major chunk of the progress that the world has made so far as education,employment, health services and combating diseases will be severely affected. In order to nullify the unfavorable consequences of climate change migration on the refugees, an extensive policy must be framed to protect these migrants. These policies should cater to the needs of these refugees when they migrate to different places, as they face various problems and are highly prone to health and environmental hazards. Health care camps should be setup and proper vaccinations should be given as there is a risk of spreadinginfectious diseases.

However, there is a major loop hole in the situation as the United Nations has neither provided any official status to these refugees.As the people who are affected are called “environmental migrants”, they are not included within the legal status of those who are designated as “refugees” and do not enjoy rights to asylum. However, the urgent need to define a new category of refugees were referred by some experts from the United Nations University’s Institute of Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS). “When disaster strikes, migrant communities often tend to becomeforgotten, hidden groups that miss out on humanitarian assistance and support”, says Frank Laczko, IOM’s Head of Research. “Andbecause their basic needs are overlooked, they become even more marginalized and vulnerable”.The report details the plight of internal migrants who were affected by tsunami and found it difficult to benefit from post-disaster reimbursements without regular work permits, birth certificates, land and property rights.While refugees who flee conflicts and war receive aids of financial and medical assistance, as provided by international organizations, NGO’s, international communities and government bodies, this is not the case for environmental refugees, as they are not yet recognized by world conventions.

In a nutshell, the issue of climate refugees is of global concern and should be taken into consideration by giving them an official status as refugees. Failing to do so can create problems resulting in grave economic and social implications for the country. Appropriate measures should be taken, and policies adopted by the government to give protection while securing their rights. The number of migrants due to climate change is increasing and it is now important to provide them some protection. There should also be some attempt by the international community toaid those countries where significant numbers of climate refugees migrate. It is almost impossible to control climate change, however, the moral obligation to protect the refugees and safeguard their rights and their identity should become a priority.

AnishaPatiri

Intern AGA