BLOG
SIGN UP
for our blog updates
Blog archive
Contributors
By month
WORLD BRIDGE BLOG
The Global Implications of Climate Migration
March 10, 2010 | Briana Orr | Tagged as: Climate Displacement
When grappling with the complex category of “climate migration,” much can get lost in translation. First, the term itself is difficult to pin down. If a family loses its livelihood as a result of increased drought and desertification and has to relocate to an urban area for work, is this an example of climate displacement, or are they economic migrants whose powerlessness to provide for themselves is simply compounded by environmental factors? If a national of one country is forced to cross international borders as a result of violent conflict over limited natural resources, how are they different from any other refugee protected under the 1951 Refugee Convention?
The push and pull factors of human migration have always been nuanced, and the effects of global climate change only further challenges distinctions between voluntary and forced migration.
On March 1st, a panel of experts gathered at the Center for American Progress to participate in a discussion titled “The Global Implications of Climate Migration.” The panelists included Susan Martin, Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown; David Waskow, the Climate Change Program Director at Oxfam America; and Cynthia Brady, Senior Conflict Advisor at USAID office of Conflict Management and Mitigation. Their varied backgrounds illustrate how this issue reaches across traditional disciplines with different priorities.
For example, Susan Martin discussed the tension between environmentalists and migration experts that arises when environmentalists use displacement as a rallying point for lowering greenhouse gases—a technique that can often seem overly simplistic to people who have spent their careers studying migration and all its complexities. David Waskow spoke about the nuances that migration experts often feel are lacking from the climate change debate. He said that the impacts of climate change, whether in the form of natural disasters or scarcity of resources, are often layered over pre-existing social and economic dynamics. He outlined development strategies for helping communities prepare and adapt to these impacts, such as agro-forestry and improved immigration systems.
With Cynthia Brady, the discussion moved from the development connection to the intersection between climate change and conflict. Increased competition over resources can lead to conflict and political instability that causes displacement. But the nature of conflict itself is usually more complex and involves a number of different causes. Most importantly, people displaced by climate change outside of their country are not granted refugee status under the 1951 Refugee Convention, which legally defines a refugee as someone who has crossed a border to seek asylum from persecution or conflict.
The issue of climate displacement is complicating legal and policy frameworks for dealing with displacement and migration, as well as changing the ways that we think about development and security. But climate change is by definition a global problem that calls for a global response. As Refugees International begins its work on this issue, we’re committed to finding ways to close the gaps for victims of the real impacts of climate change, such as large-scale natural disasters or significant conflicts, and calling for improved responses by the international community to those displaced inside and outside of their countries.
The push and pull factors of human migration have always been nuanced, and the effects of global climate change only further challenges distinctions between voluntary and forced migration.
On March 1st, a panel of experts gathered at the Center for American Progress to participate in a discussion titled “The Global Implications of Climate Migration.” The panelists included Susan Martin, Executive Director of the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown; David Waskow, the Climate Change Program Director at Oxfam America; and Cynthia Brady, Senior Conflict Advisor at USAID office of Conflict Management and Mitigation. Their varied backgrounds illustrate how this issue reaches across traditional disciplines with different priorities.
For example, Susan Martin discussed the tension between environmentalists and migration experts that arises when environmentalists use displacement as a rallying point for lowering greenhouse gases—a technique that can often seem overly simplistic to people who have spent their careers studying migration and all its complexities. David Waskow spoke about the nuances that migration experts often feel are lacking from the climate change debate. He said that the impacts of climate change, whether in the form of natural disasters or scarcity of resources, are often layered over pre-existing social and economic dynamics. He outlined development strategies for helping communities prepare and adapt to these impacts, such as agro-forestry and improved immigration systems.
With Cynthia Brady, the discussion moved from the development connection to the intersection between climate change and conflict. Increased competition over resources can lead to conflict and political instability that causes displacement. But the nature of conflict itself is usually more complex and involves a number of different causes. Most importantly, people displaced by climate change outside of their country are not granted refugee status under the 1951 Refugee Convention, which legally defines a refugee as someone who has crossed a border to seek asylum from persecution or conflict.
The issue of climate displacement is complicating legal and policy frameworks for dealing with displacement and migration, as well as changing the ways that we think about development and security. But climate change is by definition a global problem that calls for a global response. As Refugees International begins its work on this issue, we’re committed to finding ways to close the gaps for victims of the real impacts of climate change, such as large-scale natural disasters or significant conflicts, and calling for improved responses by the international community to those displaced inside and outside of their countries.
