What are the main consequences of climate migration? Can this process be stopped? | Experts’ Opinions

ByCatalina Russu

What are the main consequences of climate migration? Can this process be stopped? | Experts’ Opinions

As our planet’s climate changes, people living in the more arid zones along the equator are being forced to leave their habitats and migrate. This phenomenon is known as climate migration. This is not new and, because migration itself is a complex issue, it often involves people being displaced due to different factors, be it conflict, poverty, or climate. World Bank data shows that an annual average of 21.5 million people have been forcibly displaced by weather-related events since 2008 and the number is expected to surge in the coming decades as the climate continues to change. We discussed this issue with several climate experts. Check their opinions below.

Key Takeaways:

  • Due to climate changes, an increasing number of people are being forced to flee their homes due to natural disasters, droughts, and other weather events.
  • There are currently 64 million migrants in the world who have been forced to flee wars, hunger, persecution, and a growing cause: climate change.
  • According to experts, the anticipated consequences of climate migration are disruptions to food production and human wellbeing.
  • Some experts believe that amongst decision and policymakers there is no sense of urgency despite living in a burning building. Just like the problem itself, the solution lies beyond exclusively the environmental realm.
  • Climate migration could exacerbate inter-society conflicts between various groups as the fight for scarce resources may become tougher.
  • Stricter control over natural resources will result in less environmental and health impacts on local communities and thus lower climate migration.

What are the main consequences of climate migration? Can this process be stopped?

Jorge Ventocilla, environment, policy and capacity building expert

“Climate change is not a new phenomenon in the life of our planet, but the rapid rate we are currently experiencing presents not only a serious global challenge but also has dire consequences for society as it impacts food and water security, health, our wellbeing and that of the economy. This scenario, in which local ecosystems are no longer able to sustain the local population and cope with the stresses of climate change, is often the main driver of climate migration, which in turn stresses the services provided by ecosystems and infrastructure at the new location. Lack of space, services, poor conditions and the lowering in the quality of life as more people rely on fewer resources often leads to conflict at the new location.

Can this process be stopped? Yes, but to achieve success, cooperation across sectors and countries is crucial. The solution is complex and would take some time to achieve, if we start now. It would involve:

  • Building our cities and other urban centres with sustainability in mind, along with adopting sustainable consumption and production methods. For cities, this means giving consideration to ecosystems, their protection and enhancement but also using nature-based solutions to address challenges such as heat-islands, drought or flood management, for example.
  • Mainstreaming biodiversity across sectors, so that their activities do not harm, but enhance it.
  • Removing incentives and subsidies for environmentally harmful activities and practices that are not sustainable.
  • Supporting climate change mitigation and adaptation, particularly in those countries that are at the frontline, namely SIDSs and LDCs affected by sea-level rise and with large concentrations of the population by the coastline.
  • Reinforcing governance and institutions. Natural resource mismanagement and social collapse are often closely interrelated.
  • De-carbonizing our economies and our societies. This would mean decoupling economic growth from GHG production.
  • Adapting our economic system. We need to move away from measuring success by GDP or wealth accumulation and start to internalize the externalities of our production systems towards a more circular, green, blue and inclusive economy that focuses on our welfare and that of our environment instead of continuing to feed the economy.
  • Reinforcing social justice. As the state of the environment degrades, more often than not it is the poorer sectors of society that suffer the most, as they are often the ones directly dependent on these resources and, more often than not, are voiceless or not heard.”

 

Tafadzwa Roberta Muropa, a Pan African Feminist and Development Consultant

“Climate migration can simply be defined as a situation where communities are forced to migrate to safer locations as a result of increasing environmental crises that would have affected their lives. In other words, climate change stressors, such as droughts or flooding, endanger ecological resilience and affect migration patterns as they thwart agricultural crops, food production systems, water resources and place increasing pressure on urban areas. Women and other marginalized groups such as people with disabilities, children, the elderly and the LGBTQI communities will be negatively impacted by increased waves of climate migration, as they would compete for minute resources in the host communities, thus fueling potential conflict and violence. This would also lead to increased levels of gender-based violence, crime and substance abuse among youths within the host communities. Most rural women, as the key stakeholders in smallholder farming, would be forced to identify alternative livelihood options given the fact that land will not be available for both host communities and climate migrants. Climate migration may force communities to abandon their traditional burial grounds where their ancestors have been buried, thus cutting ties with their traditions, hence forcing them to adapt to new ways of living in the host communities.

However, sometimes, these strong connections prevent climate migration. For example, after the disastrous weather events such as cyclones and tropical storms that affected South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi, the governments in those countries have not been successful in convincing the affected communities to migrate to safer lands in order to save their lives due to their connection to their ancestral traditions.

African countries should converge and reiterate their stance to the Global North to reduce gas emissions as well as to honor their commitments to mitigate climate change by providing the much-needed financing to nations in the Global South.”

Ephraim Daka, Research & Innovation Policy Expert

“Climate is a unique asset as it contributes to livelihoods and is the foundation for the planet’s natural resources. The foreseen consequences of climate migration are disruptions to food production and human wellbeing. Notably, forests are an essential carbon sink for the world and, in developing countries, wood is a source of energy for heating and cooking. Unless we control the unsustainable harvesting of trees, environmental degradation will continue, exacerbating climate migration. Reducing the resulting environmental and health impacts on the global population requires radical sustainable strategies for natural resources. Given that global economies rely heavily on climate-sensitive sectors, such as agriculture, new approaches to adaptability should be scaled up. Studies show that adaption strategies of developed and developing countries work better when there is a synergy between climate change initiatives and socioeconomic policies. Therefore, to stop climate migration, let us consider working on fundamental perspectives such as the demographic elements related to high population growth and promote adaptive capacities in terms of connecting sustainable development objectives with user-friendly, clean solutions.”

Mayuri Wijayasundara, expert in strategy & transformation

“Climate migration has short-term and long-term consequences in a societal context and on the economies. In the short-term, challenges around population density, such as congestion and pressure on existing supplies are some of the main.  Un-even population can create short-term distribution issues that drive up prices, make goods, and supplies scarce. From a community perspective, cultural shock and social tensions might arise between migrants and host communities. In the long-term, when climate migrants are not able to return to their homeland, the risk of falling into poverty and financial uncertainty rises. On top of that, migrants may lose rights to property and land. Also, migrants are more likely to take up low-paid work and suffer to regain the status they once had, leading to further social problems. Waves of climate migrants put pressure on host countries’ economies, increasing the amount of allocations for humanitarian aid needed.”

See also: The impact of climate change on human rights | Experts’ Opinions

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