New breed of refugees estimated to reach 150 million in 2050

Environmental refugees seek relief after climate changes destroy their homes

By Laura Becker

            The Pacific island nation of Tuvalu may soon be completely covered in water due to rises in sea level. The islands’ inhabitants can either risk losing their homes and their lives, or they can flee to a nearby country and become an example of the recently recognized phenomenon of environmental refugees (Hoepper).

            This brand of refugee was not defined until the latter part of the twentieth century, when scientists looked more closely at effects of the environment. Environmental refugees are considered people who have left their homes due to changes in the environment that have lessened their likelihood of survival. Some migrate to another part of their country, while others cross national borders in hopes of finding refuge. According to the Red Cross, environmental disasters have relocated more people than war.

            Population migration due to changes in climate has existed for hundreds of years, since Sumerian farmers left their homes after over-irrigating the land and since the Greeks deforested so much of their country that it caused devastating erosion. In the early 1700’s, intense deforestation on Easter Island caused such problems that the inhabitants didn’t have enough wood to build the ships they needed to escape their ruined home. More recently, the Oklahoma Dustbowl during the American Depression resulted a migration of nearly 3 million people.

            Today, the problem can be seen in countries across the globe. Most are living in Sub-Saharan Africa, China, the Indian subcontinent, Mexico and Central America (Myers). Bodies of Africans that did not reach their destination pollute the shores of Spain, Italy and France, whilst on the other side of the globe Mexicans abandon their overly eroded land and risk their lives traveling across the border to America. Over 200 communities in Alaska are threatened by changes in tide, desertification in Nigeria and Somalia is stifling their people and the shrinking Aral Sea has left parts of Kazakhstan virtually water-less.

            Aristotle and Hippocrates believed that the traits of the environment determined the livability of a region by humans (McLeman), which supports the idea of environmental refugees. If a family or families cannot survive on their land due to problems caused by the environment, they should be able to receive help from either their country or from international organizations. Unfortunately, many countries refuse to regard the refugees and are not willing to spend government money in aid. 

            The statistics concerning environmental refugees are astoundingly high, considering this is a problem that was not widely known until recently. The International Red Cross estimated a worldwide number of 25 million in 1999, and in a 2001 report the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicted that by 2050 the number of refugees will have risen to 150 million due to global warming (Hoepper).

            Though the term ‘environmental refugee’ is now widely known, the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNCHR) as well as the Geneva Convention refuse to give refugee status to those displaced due to environmental issues. The UNCHR’s standpoint is that they do not have the funds to help, and that these individuals can appeal to their home governments for help (Simms). The UN Environment Program has, on the other hand, recognized environmental refugees and is attempting to bring attention to the problem.

            One of the greatest difficulties that international organizations have faced is separating refugees from economic migrants. A person whose city is destroyed by a hurricane may not be able to find a job near their home, which means if they left it would be due to both economical and environmental reasons. The numbers may never go down if countries continue to not take responsibility for their people.

            According to UN Under Secretary Hans Van Ginkel, “This is a highly complex issue, with global organizations already overwhelmed by the demands of conventionally recognized refugees. However, we should prepare now to define, accept and accommodate this new breed of refugee” (Adam).

            Until environmental refugees are globally recognized, a decrease in the statistics is unlikely. International organizations such as the UN Environment Program and the UNCHR have the ability to help those people who are forced to leave their homes due to a disaster they could not predict, if not by financial aid than by increased awareness. Simply recognizing these people as refugees is a step to ensuring them the care they deserve. 

David, Adam. “50M Environmental Refugees by End of Decade, UN Warns.” The Guardian. October 12, 2005.

<http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2005/oct/12/naturaldisasters.climatechange1>

Brown, Lester R. “Troubling New Flows of Environmental Refugees.” Earth Policy Institute. January 28, 2004.

<http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update33.htm>

Climate.org and Myers, Norman. “Environmental Exodus.” (Climate     Institute,1995). “Who are Environmental Refugees?”

            <http://www.climate.org/programs/environmental-refugees.shtml>

Hoepper, Brian. “Journeys of Desperation: Environmental Refugees Across the Ages.” The National Centre for History Education.

<http://www.hyperhistory.org/index.php?option=displaypage&Itemid=725&op=page>

^{McLeman, R. and B. Smit. “Migration as an Adaptation to Climate Change.” Climatic Change. Vol. 76. (2006): 31-53.           <http://www.springerlink.com/content/g754844178474tvk/>}

Myers, N., 2002: Environmental refugees: a growing phenomenon of the 21st century. Philos. T. Roy. Soc. B, 357, 609-613.

Sims, Andrew. “Global warming could create 150 million environmental refugees                  - but the countries responsible are in no hurry to carry their share of the                   costs.” The Guardian. October 15, 2003.             <http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2003/oct/15/guardiananalysispag     e.climatechange>