Climate Change Induced Population Displacement

Global warming resulted from human activities is causing tremendous and irreparable impacts on the global climate. The intensifying impact of climate change is destroying not only the natural environment but also humans. Although climate change doesn’t directly displace people, it provokes people at social risk. As a result, the number of environmentally displaced people is increasing.

People who live near the bodies of water and groundwater because of relying on the same water for their subsistence and other activities are the worst affected by climate change. They feel threatened for their livelihood and social security as the sea-level rise, desertification, dried up aquifers, weather-induced flooding is causing an existential crisis for them.

During this crunch time, multi-causal factors such as ecological and socio-economic factors force these people to migrate. Many have relocated within their own home countries, and many have crossed the border in search of more secure life and livelihood. They require and seek stability, security, and protection for their families. So, this distressed population needs absolute attention from national and international bodies to safeguard their rights and well being.

A statistic done by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) shows that since 2008, an average of 26.4 million people around the world has been forcibly displaced due to natural disasters like windstorms, earthquakes, and droughts. But it is a matter of regret that very little discussion, and consensus has taken place for them by the national and international bodies.

Besides, the term ‘Climate Refugees’, is widely used in media and politics but does not exist in international law as it is not covered by the UNHCR’s definition of a refugee,

Unfortunately, there is no universally agreed definition of ‘climate refugee’ till today, it first came into public discourse in 1985 when Essam EI Hinnawi an expert of the UN environmental program defined the term environmental refugees as,

“People who have been forced to leave their traditional habitat, temporarily or permanently because of a market disruption (natural and/or triggered by people) that jeopardized their existence and/or seriously affected the quality of life.”

As we know, climate change causing natural disasters to be more disastrous than before and consequently natural disasters like cyclone, flood, drought, lightning, are also on the rise in terms of intensity and frequency. The scientists have also admitted that these extreme weather events will only rise in the coming future.

For example, the disturbing reality of the Pacific Ocean nations like Tuvalu, Kiribati, Vanuatu, and the Marshall Islands, facing an existential crisis today. Floods and Droughts have forced thousands of people to relocate to Fiji and the Marshal Islands from Kiribati. The coastal homes of Fizi get affected by coastal flooding during high tide. Crops are getting destroyed by saltwater intrusion especially the sugarcane crops the driving force in Fiji’s economy. Even the condition of Marshal Island is not looking any better. Some island nations are facing similar problems which may lead to shifting the entire population in the coming years.

Similar in the case of Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands, a month-long drought had lead to severe crop damage and shortage of water in 2013, a year after another massive high tide swept through the area forcing another six hundred people to relocate. 

In the case of Maldives, freshwater scarcity, lack of housing, overcrowding, inadequate waste management system has become more urgent issues. Livelihoods and food productions get affected severely by the slow onset hazards like sea-level rise, salinity intrusion, and changing rainfall pattern. So, the government and the scientists of Maldives are thinking of adaptive strategies, and if the other adaptation possibilities are exhausted migration might be the only possible adaptation strategy for Maldivians. However, the attitude towards climate change and geographical location have made it pertinent about its future.

Without a doubt, Bangladesh, being a country on the Delta of the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Jamuna river system with numerous tributaries and distributaries, is highly prone to flooding and riverbank erosion. The country also deals with the adverse impacts of climate change such as sea-level rise, floods, drought, cyclone, saline intrusion, riverbank erosion, and water-logging. According to a report of IMDC, nearly 700,000 people have been relocated each year, over the last decade.

Koruna Khatun was forced to relocate with many other villagers due to the erosion of the river. She told the writer that around 200 households were relocated due to erosion last year in 2018. She also added, 

“Two-Third of my land was devoured by the river Brahmaputra and we were homeless”

She had moved her house four times but it all went in vain, she failed to save her last house at last. After losing her lands in the Brahmaputra, she along with her family were hopeless living under uncertainty. Now she lives at Shaheber Chor in Hossainpur Upazila. Many other villagers have lost their houses, lands, cattle, and other belongings in the river. Unfortunately, they didn’t get any prior warning of the erosion. The people of the char have seen their land shrink into the water in front of their eyes. Sometimes they even have to shift their house overnight when a sudden erosion starts to break their house.     

A projection has shown that around twenty to thirty million people will be displaced in the coming years as 17% of the country in the southern delta will be flooded permanently and various impacts of climate change could shift 13.3 million people by 2050 (World Bank, 2018). 

It is a matter of concern that there are not enough international laws to ensure the rights of people who are forced to relocate due to environmental factors. Further, they are classified as migrants implying that they move voluntarily, ignoring the fact why they are doing it. Climate change leaves marginalized communities of the world with no choice but to flee. However, the UNHCR has taken some initiatives for the climate-induced forcibly displaced population and trying to protect many forcibly displaced persons around the world.

It is a matter of concern that there are not enough international laws to ensure the rights of people who are forced to relocate due to environmental factors. Further, they are classified as migrants implying that they move voluntarily, ignoring the fact why they are doing it. Climate change leaves marginalized communities of the world with no choice but to flee. However, the UNHCR has taken some initiatives for the climate-induced forcibly displaced population and trying to protect many forcibly displaced persons around the world.

At this moment, the estimated number of environmentally displaced people is around twenty-five million. We need to focus on to reduce this trend. The UNHCR’s role in addressing climate change-induced displacement includes providing legal advice, promoting policy coherence, research, and community-centric activities to minimize internally and cross border displacements, thus a community-centric climate adaptation approach should be taken by the policymakers.

Similarly, relocation, reconstruction, and resettlement policy on the local level should be taken to make the communities resilient to future disasters. The government and the non-governmental organizations should come forward and work collaboratively in climate adaptation programs in promoting climate funding, awareness building, and climate adaptation policies. A holistic approach considering all the factors of displacement should be taken into consideration. So, strong legislation and planning should be taken by policymakers considering the multi causality of environmental displacement.