The concept of environmental refugee has been on the table for nearly 25 years. Yet, it remains poorly defined and without any legally binding mechanisms of protection or support. Recently, the issue of climate change migration has become more prevalent, introducing more challenges and dilemmas for understanding and coping with migration induced by environmental change. This paper examines the debates surrounding the definitions and legal categories associated with environment/migration nexus and their legal and epistemological implications, and then looks at potential alternatives and ways forward. Finally, I argue that environmentally induced migration deserves (...)
Dégradation de l’environnement | Réfugiés |p 2 : « IOM, UNHCR, UNU and NRC therefore compiled this joint submission with the aim of bringing the migration and displacement implications of climate change to the attention of the UNFCCC and requesting that these implications are considered in the 15th Conference of Parties agreement. This submission is based on the assembly document text (FCCC/AWGLCA/2008/16/Rev.1) and contains concrete text proposals in order to indicate the gaps relating to migration and displacement in the previous draft and facilitate the inclusion of these issues in subsequent versions of the draft agreement. Climate-change related migration and displacement is a topic of relevance for (...)
Sciences politiques | Droit | Changement climatique et migration | Adaptation | UNHCR | internally displaced persons | plan d’action de Bali | Vulnérabilité | IDP - Internally displaced person |The present issue of InterSecTions is a special one. It does not only give the odd chance to write a foreword to an essay which is co-authored by myself but it is the first issue which is written by a team, rather than an individual. All of us are staff members of UNU-EHS.
Dégradation de l’environnement | Migration | Migrations environnementale |Four main research challenges are posed by the intersection of climate change, broader environmental hazards and migration : How has the relationship between migration and the environment been conceptualized ? To what extent has it been possible to measure the scale of environmental migration ? What evidence is available regarding the impact of environmental migration ? What research has been conducted on policy responses ? Several factors make it difficult to predict the likely scale of environmental migration or its impacts. First, it is difficult to disaggregate the role of climate change from other economic, political and social factors driving migration. Second, (...)
International | Changement climatique et migration | Adaptation | Changement climatique | GMF |Often, the media and policymakers approach the issue of limate change, migration and displacement by asking questions related to “how many” migrants will come. An equally important but less considered question is how national institutions will adapt to accommodate climate change and human mobility. This paper suggests that the capacity of states to adjust to these changes effectively is contingent upon the particular cultural, social, economic and political contexts in which they function and the structural constraints of government machinery. Rather than proposing prêt-a-porter solutions for nation-states, it is important to help states better understand the (...)
Changement climatique et migration | Gouvernance globale | GMF | Sénégal | Bangladesh | Mexique |