What exactly are environmental refugees? And what can you do to prevent environmental drift? If you're looking for answers to these questions, you've come to the right place! Many people flee because of wars, Famines or poverty from their home countries. Many people in Western nations such as Germany believe there is little they can do about it. A donation to a human rights organization perhaps? And then the possibilities seem to be limited. But often ecological problems such as water scarcity, the Deforestation of rainforests or climate change are the fundamental triggers of the reasons for flight mentioned above - problems that we ourselves are responsible for with our way of life. More and more often, they are even the decisive factor in people fleeing their homes.
In this article, I would like to give you everything you need to know about environmental and climate refugees. From the definition, facts and figures, causes and examples of consequences, to solutions. Above all, my aim is to give you a better understanding of the situation of environmental refugees. Let's go!
Here is in advance a short Overview about the article:
What exactly is an environmental refugee?
At Environmental refugees (often also Climate refugees called) one understands People who leave their habitat due to environmental changes or natural disastersto escape to a safer environment.
Anyone fleeing environmental change is, according to the refugee definition of the Geneva Refugee Convention but not a refugee in the classic sense. Here it is called:
Article 1, para. 2, Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees: Refugee status shall be granted to persons [...] who, as a result of events occurring before January 1, 1951, and owing to a well-founded fear of persecution for their Race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or because of their political conviction is outside the country of which he or she is a national and is unable or, owing to such fears, is unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country [...].
Facts & figures on environmental refugees
Unfortunately, there are very few statistics on the topic of environmental displacement. This is mainly due to the lack of standardized definitions and the fact that in many cases the main cause of flight (poverty, wars, etc.) was caused in the first instance by ecological or climatic changes. Nevertheless, here are some facts that are known about environmental refugees:
- Afghanistan is the country with the highest number of internally displaced persons due to natural disasters - around 1.2 million in 2019.₁
- In the period 2008-2017, the IDMC (Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre) recorded the displacement of A total of 246.5 million people by geophysical and climate-related disasters.₂
- For the year 1995, the environmental scientist Norman Myers spoke of around 25 million environmental refugees. He expects around 150 million environmental refugees by 2050.₃
- According to the International Red Cross Environmental refugees now account for around 58 percent of the world's refugees off.₄
What are the causes of environmental flight?
Now we know a little more about environmental refugees - but what exactly forces people to flee their homes? Here are some of the typical environmental causes:
- Soil erosion
- climate change (e.g. loss of national territory due to flooding)
- Water shortage
- Natural disasters
- Desertification (Desertification)
- Pollution due to pesticide use or waste
- Social destabilization as a result of environmental degradation
It would be easy to claim that environmental refugees are fleeing from nature. But on closer inspection, nature itself is nothing to be afraid of - it is rather the ecological consequences of our destructive, Western way of life that are driving people to safer countries.
What would you do if you and your family were threatened by natural disasters or climate-related crop failures destroyed your livelihood? We are already doing pretty well. So well, in fact, that our western way of life is one of the main causes of climate change, which is currently hitting other countries even harder than us. But we also know that global warming does not stop at national borders.
Examples of environmental refugees
A few examples can be used to illustrate the consequences of our climate-damaging lifestyle more tangible for other people. I could list thousands of examples here - but I think that the following can create a deeper understanding of the problem:
- Syria war: The civil war in Syria is the result of a period of drought that led to failed harvests and forced people from the countryside into the cities. The ensuing unemployment increased discontent. The waves of protest increased - the civil war began. Since 2011, around 5.7 million people have fled the Syrian war.₆
- Chernobyl: The reactor accident in Chernobyl, Ukraine, on April 26, 1986, forced the inhabitants to flee. About 130,000 people had to leave their homes due to the environmental or nuclear disaster.
- Carteret Atoll: The small islands of Han, Huene, Jangain, Yesila, Iolassa and Piul in Papua New Guinea have no electricity, no cars and certainly no factories. The way of life of the people there contributes only insignificantly to global warming, but the islands will soon be doomed. Around 2,000 people will then inevitably be among the first climate refugees.₇
- Nile River Delta: It is not only rising sea levels and flooding, but also the resulting soil salinization that are having a significant impact on agriculture in the Nile region. Around 35 percent of the grain for the whole of Africa is produced here, but crop yields are falling. Famine - and therefore a major reason for flight - is inevitable.₈
What can we do against environmental flight and for environmental refugees?
We now know some facts, causes and examples for and about the situation of environmental refugees. But the question still remains as to what we can really do in the long term, apart from aid measures on the ground, to prevent people from having to leave their homes due to an uninhabitable or unusable environment.
live more consciously and sustainably
As already mentioned, our way of life is the main driver of environmental problems, which in turn are a frequent cause of flight. However, by adopting a more sustainable, respectful way of life, we can counteract climate change and other environmental challenges of our time in a targeted manner. Above all, it is also about respecting other people - at whose expense we live. Here are some examples and further information on sensible solutions for each individual:
- Do without meat (see also Why vegan? and Vegan for human rights)
- Consume organically, seasonally and regionally (see also seasonal shopping and buy regionally)
- Live more climate friendly (see Tips for climate protection in everyday life)
- Live more sustainably (see Tips for a more sustainable lifestyle)
Making politics responsible
Climate and environmental change have clear causes that can be traced back to us humans in the western world. Politics has the task of forcing the public, but to some extent also the private, (co)life of citizens, actions and efforts to lead the community.₅ The The government's climate and environmental protection measures must therefore be intensified - and this is apparently only possible through pressure from the population.
You can do demonstrations and Launch online petitions or support existing actions to intensify political measures against environmental flight. This could be, for example, increasing VAT on animal-based foods from 7 to 19 percent and reducing VAT on plant-based foods such as soy milk from 19 to 7 percent.
Do you have other ideas in the fight against environmental flight? Then feel free to write me a comment!
Environmental flight - A problem that must not be ignored!
We Germans in particular like to complain about the many refugees who make their way to Germany. It definitely helps to be aware of why these people are fleeing their homeland. Wars, famine and climate change. These are consequences that do not affect us in Germany, or only to a limited extent.
It is important to understand, that with our western, luxurious and resource-intensive way of life, we live at the expense of others. Not only at the expense of people in poorer countries, who are already feeling the consequences of climate change in the most brutal way. But also at the expense of the planet that we share with other living beings. So we are one reason why there are environmental refugees. But we can just as easily become the problem solver.
Do you have questions, suggestions or your own experiences with the topic of environmental escape? Then feel free to write me a comment under this post.
Stay sustainable,
PS: Do you want to know how you can live in a more environmentally friendly way so that fewer people have to flee from environmental problems? Then take a look at my Book "Sustainable living for beginners"The program will answer all your important questions and provide you with a convenient introduction to the future-oriented way of life.
References:
₁ IDMC; Statista GmbH: The ten countries with the highest number of internally displaced persons due to natural disasters (as of December 2019), https://t1p.de/jot7. [16.04.2021].
₂ IDMC: 2018a - Global Report on Internal Displacement 2018, https://www.internal-displacement.org/global-report/grid2018. [16.04.2021].
₃ J. Tangermann: On the forecast of the extent of climate-induced migrations (as of 01.023.2019), https://t1p.de/lw87. [16.04.2021].
₄ International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies: World disaster report 1999 [16.04.2021].
₅ Manfred G. Schmidt: Dictionary of Politics (Kröners Taschenausgabe. Vol. 404). 2nd, completely revised and expanded edition. Kröner, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-520-40402-8, p. 538 f.
₆ L. Neal: Heated Conflicts (22.03.2019), https://t1p.de/2zc0. [16.04.2021].
₇ Mission EineWelt: Climate flight in the Pacific, available at https://t1p.de/h9oj. [16.04.2021].
₈ Environmental refugees: fact or fable? (as of 30.05.2016), https://t1p.de/a4cv. [16.04.2021].
