The horrible tragedy that struck Haiti a few days ago has shocked the world, due to the immense scale of the damages and human suffering the earthquake caused. Aid efforts are slowly coming into place, but alarming reports of criminal gangs killing and roaming the streets, as well as the lack of water, food and adequate protection is coming through the news wires every minute.

Taking a minute to reflect on this disaster – there is one issue that will emerge soon, if it hasn’t already: where shall all the homeless survivors, estimated to around 3 million people, live in the time to come?

From what I gather, this discussion has begun, as aid organisations and countries around the world have started pouring in money and resources for the immediate disaster relief. This will probably include suplying the basics of human subsistence: medicines, food, water and clothes. Temporary camps will probably also be set up around Haiti and in the neighbouring Dominican Republic. Many countries have temporarily halted the process of extraditing Haitian irregular (‘illegal’) migrants from their country, most notably the US and France. The US granted them temporary protection status for a limited period of up to 12-18 months. But this will probably be far from adequate, as the reconstruction process will take years, if not decades.

When hurricane Mitch struck Honduras and Nicaragua in 1999, millions of people were displaced in the region. Some of those people reached the border of the US and were granted temporary protection, as it was considered too unsafe to send them back home. The US Government used this justification:

Extension is warranted because there continues to be a substantial, but temporary, disruption of living conditions in Honduras resulting from Hurricane Mitch and Honduras remains unable, temporarily, to adequately handle the return of its nationals, as required for TPS designations based on environmental disasters (‘Extension of the designation of Honduras for Temporary Protected Status; Automatic Extension’ from Department of Homeland Security. U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services. (2007))

It could easily be argued that developed countries around the world, especially the US, should evacuate the weakest groups (injured, women and children) from Haiti as soon as possible in order to alleviate them from further suffering. The aid workers will have their hands full taking care of all the other victims of the earthquake. Those evacuated could receive a temporary protection status and would be able to move back to Haiti once there are adequate facilities such as housing, schools and hospitals in place. The EU on its side could activate the dormant Temporary Protection Directive, which establishes temporary protection during ‘mass influxes’ of certain displaced persons.

What do you think?

PS: have a look at this site – for more information on this topic

• The renowned NGO Oxfam released a report on Climate Change in the Pacific this week. It is worth a read, as it highlights the changes that are already taking place in the pacific and for the people living there and what must be done. I can recommend the report itself and a short description at the towardsrecognition.org website.
• The Financial Times also covered the issue summarizing some of the debate the topic of environmental migration/displacement and using illustrative examples in their weekend issue some time back.
• The Economist also dedicated a few pages on the topic in an article in their last June issue, called “A new (under) class of travellers“
• CARE International, UN University  and the Center for International Earth Science Information Network at the Earth Institute of Columbia University launched a report in May called “In Search of Shelter: Mapping the Effects of Climate Change on Human Migration and Displacement“, and is also worth a read:

I do not have time to write summaries of each and every one of these sources, but I hope it can be useful to know about their whereabouts at least.

It has been a while since my last update here and I intend to do something about it now. There have been many interesting things happening around the world on the issue of environmentally displaced persons. A side-event at the climate change conference in Poznan dealt with the issue, so did a conference hosted by the Refugees Studies Centre in Oxford in the beginning of January, the Parliamentary Assembly in the Council of Europe debated the issue and more.

Climate Change and displacement in Poznan

The side event “Climate change, migration and forced displacement: the new humanitarian frontier?” was hosted by the UNHCR and gathered many of the leading experts on the topic. You can find the video from the conference and some of the papers presented on the conference here.

Furthermore, the High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres, seems to have followed up on the issue by including comments related to it in an address the Security Council on 8 January 2009 and stated that:

“Conflict, climate change and extreme deprivation will inter-relate, strengthening each other as a cause of displacement”

Various conferences on the topic

• Conference hosted at the Oxford – The Refugees Studies Centre in Oxford and International Migration Institute hosted a conference around the same topic in the first week of January. I have not found any conference papers yet, but you can read more about the details here.
• Conference on climate change and displacement 20 January in The Hague - This week in the Netherlands, an event on the issue was conducted by the Society for International Development (SID), read more about it here. The author of the report “Climate Change, Migration and Displacement, Vikram Odedra Kolmannskog of the Norwegian Refugee Council and Franck Lazcko (IOM) was two of the key note speakers.  
• Conference in the US in February - The topic is “Global responses to ecomigration and environmental disasters: the role of US and International Policy” hosted by Fordham University School of Law, publishers of the Fordham Environmental Law Review. It seems quite interesting and you can more about here.

Blog on forced migration

I can also recommend you this very good blog. It is more frequently updated than my own, but it covers much broader topics related to forced migration.

Recent news, papers and presentations on the issue

The increasing interest in the subject of environmental displacement has really increased the number of conferences, papers and news related to the topic, just in the past few months. Here are just a few of the things that recently has been published:

• The Council of Europe debated a resolution in the Parliamentary Assembly right before christmas on the topic of Environmentally induced migration and displacement: a 21st century challenge.

• Anthony Oliver-Smith of the United Nations University just put his presentation on Displacements and Diasporas: Human Rights, Global Climate Change and Forced Migration in the 21st Century.

• Asia/Pacific: High tides, floods, storms force islanders to displacement. Much good research on the effects of natural disasters in this region.

• The climate change – displacement nexus, by Walter Kälin, Representative of the Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons and Co-Director, Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement.

Well, this is just some of the recent events that I have found, but if you have information about something else, please feel free to leave a comment on the blog or write directly to me.

The New York Times reported earlier this week that the Government of the Maldives is planning to buy up land through an investment fund in order to pre-empt their population status as climate refugees. This is the first initiative that I have heard of where states are considering to buy up land elsewhere to house their population in the event of rising sea levels and increased extreme weather.

The only similar adaptation measure which aims at permanently relocating a population could be the Asian Pacific Category of New Zealand, as mentioned earlier in this blog, which aims to resettle 75 to 150 persons from some selected pacific islands each year.

Many states are producing and implementing climate change action plans and equivalent, but it seems as the displacement aspects often are ignored, as pointed out in several comments recently made to the `Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan` (BCCSAP ) that the forced migration aspect, or displacement aspect, is ignored.

Can anyone let me know if there are any other resettlement schemes or similar adaptation measures initiated to address the issue of climate refugees or environmentally displaced persons?

Resettlement programme in New Zealand a first step in the right direction

Programmes such as the ‘Pacific Access Category‘ of the Government of New Zealand, which is an immigration/resettlement scheme for the population of pacific islands threatened by rising sea level, offers opportunities for ‘would be’ environmentally forced migrants. Each year a fixed number of people form each of the islands (Kiribati, Tuvalu and Tonga) are granted work and residents permit to permanently resettle at New Zealand. The President of Kiribati, Anote Tong, said earlier this year that: “I’ve applauded New Zealand on the Pacific Access Category scheme. This is wonderful, it’s human, it’s highly human, and we’re hoping that other countries will follow suit”.

The only problem with this scheme is that it would take approximately 140 years for all the population of Tuvalu to move to New Zealand, if the yearly quota of 75 persons is to be upheld and New Zealand remains the only country to welcome these climate refugees. What they need is not necessarily ‘protection’ in the traditional sense, but opportunities to start a new life with dignity. These islands may already be submerged within 2050 if some of the predictions of the IPCC come through.

Best practice for the EU?

The programme is interesting, as it can serve as ‘best practice’ for adaptation policies to climate change. The EU should definitively look closely at their future immigration policies, and see whether they can systematically accommodate those hardest hit by climate change. Such policies must however be carefully tailored, together with the country in question in order to avoid brain-drain and further negative consequences. Integration policies, information and political support in the receiving the state is also of huge importance. For the Europe, facing a huge demographic decline in the next decades, it can serve as one of several solutions to face that challenge and at the same time show solidarity with those forced to move as a result of climate change.

As the president of Kiribati puts it:

“We want to begin that now, and do it over the next twenty, thirty or forty years, rather than merely, in fifty to sixty years time, simply come looking for somewhere to settle our one hundred thousand people because they can no longer live in Kiribati, because they will either be dead or drown. We begin the process now, it’s a win-win for all and very painless, but I think if we come as refugees, in fifty to sixty years time, I think they would become a football to be kicked around.”

Read more:
- About sea level rise at the web site of Greenpeace and the IPCC Working Group on Impacts, Adaptation and vulnerability
-  News article: ‘Paradise lost: climate change forces South Sea islanders to seek sanctuary abroad‘ 
- Visit my overview page on ‘climate refugees’