Climate Refugees
by Beth Gray
A new phenomenon is sweeping across the globe and affecting millions of individuals and their communities. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) recently announced that some 50 million people have become climate refugees, displaced from their homes due to dramatic climate changes. As droughts, water shortages, and natural disasters increase in direct relation to climate degradation over the next several decades, scholars have estimated that by 2050, the world could have as many as 200 million climate refugees.
The 50 million already facing displacement due to climate changes come predominantly from developing nations where climate changes are coupled with already existing war and poverty to intensify the situation. The map below was originally published on the UNEP website and concisely depicts the areas of the world most prone to climate refugee problems. Though predominantly a problem associated with developing countries, the map draws attention to the fact that no area of the world is immune from issues of climate change and the refugees who may need assistance as a result.
Residents of Papua New Guinea’s Cateret Islands were among the first forced to relocate due to climate changes. Rising sea levels attributed to global warming forced the government of Papua New Guinea to authorize a total evacuation of the islands in 2005. The evacuation is expected to be completed by 2007 and experts predict that the islands will be completely underwater by 2015. Also in 2005, residents of Bhola Island in Bangladesh were forced from their island homes after nearly half of the island became permanently flooded.
Even residents of the United States are being forced to consider relocation due to climate changes in their communities. Residents of Shishmaref, Alaska have had their traditional way of life threatened by climate change. An Inupiat Eskimo village, Shishmaref is contending with coastal erosions that are threatening to force residents from their homes in the near future. Already, many residents have relocated their homes from the coastal shores of the village to areas further inland. An article on CNN.com details the many concerns of residents as they attempt to reconcile their traditional lifestyle with the impending climate disaster predicted for the area. A hunting community with little contact with the outside world, residents have found it more difficult to find food as the animals they once hunted are now migrating away from their homeland as a result of climate changes. Residents also fear that integration into a larger community could lead to the loss of their traditional language.
In many African nations climate change is posing an even greater concern. For example, in Uganda droughts have posed a significant problem for residents with some 14 droughts in the last two and a half decades. The persistent cycle of droughts leaves residents with little potential for raising crops and scarce water for their cattle. In turn, the situation can and has escalated to violence as residents contend with one another for increasingly scare natural resources. In Kenya, the traditional cattle herding people of the Maasai have encountered a similar situation in the face of dramatically increased drought conditions.
At this point, the United Nations (UN) Convention on Refugees does not officially recognize climate refugees but several governments are attempting to change that in light of the growing concern over people of this status. Bangladesh, for example, a country at risk of losing up to one-fifth of its land due to rising sea levels, “called for provisions in the immigration policies of industrial countries to accept ‘climate refugees’” at this summer’s UN climate change talks in Bonn, Germany. During the recent Copenhagen Climate Summit, the representative from Bangladesh again encouraged nations like the England and the United States to accept climate refugees. Some nations are already helping in the relocation of climate refugees from various areas of the world. For example, New Zealand will be accepting migrants from Tuvalu which is expected to be completely underwater by 2050. The Canadian government has agreed to help fund the relocation of residents from areas of Vanuatu.
As the world struggles with issues related to climate change, the fate of climate refugees lies in the balance. There are legitimate concerns for many nations as they struggle with how best to help those who find they must be relocated due to climate change. For example, issues of national security have proven a sticking point for many nations as they are asked to accept climate refugees. On the other hand, many traditional cultures are at risk of being lost forever if forced to integrate themselves into more mainstream societies. Needless to say, the problem of climate refugees is one that will be with us for many years to come – indeed, perhaps forever if dramatic action is not taken to address the worst consequences of climate change.
Tags: Bangladesh, Bhola Island, Cateret Islands, climate refugees, Copenhagen Climate Summit, Inupiat Eskimo, New Zealand, Shishmaref Alaska, Tuvalu, UN Climate Change Talks, United Nations Conventions on Refugees, United Nations Environment Programme
