The process of climate change – and the multiple natural disasters it will engender – will in all certainty add to the scale and complexity of human mobility and displacement. The international community has focused thus far on the scientific aspects of climate change, with the aim of understanding the processes at play and mitigating the impact of human activity. Yet climate change is equally a humanitarian problem and challenge. As such it is of direct interest also to humanitarian agencies, including the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (...)
Migration | UNHCR |As the UN Refugee Convention passes its 50th anniversary, the nature and scope of the ‘international refugee regime’ continues to be a matter of debate. The last decade has seen a number of arguments to extend the regime, and/or the Convention. Most recent amongst these is the growing consensus that ‘internally-displaced persons’(IDPs) should be brought under some form of international protection and/or assistance (Holbrooke, 2000). Another strong group of candidates for inclusion has been those displaced by development projects (Cernea and McDowell, (...)
Migration | Approche critique | UNHCR |What distinguishes environmental refugees from other refugees-or other migrants ? Are all environmental refugees alike ? This essay develops a classification to begin to answer these questions and facilitate future policies and research on environmental refugees.
Réfugiés climatique | Migration |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 (...)
Réfugiés |This paper presents IOM’s efforts to support vulnerable and mobile communities affected by environmental hazards through disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation (CCA) activities conducive to sustainable development.
Changement climatique | Politique publique |The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in the 1993 State of the World’s Refugees, identified four root causes of refugee flows. These were political instability, economic tensions, ethnic conflict, and environmental degradation. The claim that environmental degradation was a root cause of refugee flows was inspired by a number of articles suggesting a link between environmental degradation and population movement, and a recognition that the numbers of displaced persons internationally were much larger than indicated by the statistics on refugee (...)
Déplacement de population | UNHCR |The concept of environmental refugees was introduced by Lester Brown of the Worldwatch Institute in the 1970s. It entered into common usage after a 1985 United Nations Environment Programme policy paper entitled ‘Environmental Refugees’. The International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM) describes forced migration as “a general term that refers to the movements of refugees and internally displaced people (those displaced by conflicts) as well as people displaced by natural or environmental disasters, chemical or nuclear disasters, famine, or development projects” (FMO, 2007). We define (...)
Migration | Réfugiés environnementaux |Ce dossier explore les relations concrètes entre divers types de dégradations environnementales et les migrations de populations dans une dizaine de pays dans le monde, grâce aux résultats d’un vaste programme européen de recherche (EACH-FOR) conduit entre 2007 et 2008.
Analyse des institutions | Mozambique | Kirghizistan | Ghana | Mongolie intérieure | Île d’Hispaniola | Maroc | Sénégal |La dégradation de l’environnement et les changements climatiques posent des problèmes importants sur les plans de la sécurité humaine et du développement économique et humain durable. Selon le Groupe d’experts intergouvernemental sur l’évolution du climat (GIEC), le réchauffement climatique accélère la dégradation des terres arides et des autres écosystèmes exposés à la déforestation, à la salinisation [...]
Migration |A l’échelle de la planète près de 25 millions de personnes sont forcées de quitter leurs habitations, leurs régions ou leurs pays en raison d’une « cause écologique ». Les catastrophes naturelles (inondations, tremblements de terre, cyclones, tsunamis, etc.), la désertification, la sécheresse, l’augmentation du niveau de la mer, etc. , entraînent des situations humaines dramatiques notamment le déplacement de nombreuses personnes. La Communauté internationale se doit aujourd’hui d’apporter des réponses à ces nouvelles formes d’exil, d’autant qu’elles risquent de se multiplier avec la dégradation croissante de l’environnement. Les juristes doivent également réfléchir à cette « nouvelle » (...)
International | Droit | Changement climatique | Réfugiés climatique | Réfugiés environnementaux | Catastrophe naturelle |In the 1993 ’State of the World’s Refugees’, UNHCR identified four root causes of refugee flows - political instability ; economic tensions ; ethnic conflict ; and environmental degradation (Lonergan, 1998). More recently, Matlou (1999) suggested the following, in an Africa-specific context - the effects of past struggles for decolonisation, majority rule [...]
International | Migration | UNHCR |The issue of environmental degradation is broad and complex. This Article endeavors to better understand one particular aspect, namely the phenomenon of environmentally-induced migration. Cet article discute des instruments légaux de droit international susceptibles de protéger les déplacés environnementaux. Cet article revient notamment sur la notion controversée de « réfugiés environnementaux. Extrait du document : p 386 : « The 1951 Refugee Convention requires that a refugee be outside his country of origin, and accordingly does not encompass situations of internal displacement.133 In international law, there is a dichotomy between the protection afforded to (...)
International | Droit | Déplacement de population | Réfugiés | Migrations environnementale | Conflits | Catastrophes industrielles |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.
Migration | Migrations environnementale |