Objective of this module is to contemplate the impacts of resource crisis, climate change and subsequent forced migration on development of the society. Resource crisis, climate change and forced migration are one of the major concerns of the contemporary development discourse. Forced migration due to resource crisis caused by climate change and environmental degradation is a serious impediment to attaining the basic normative goal of development i.e. a relatively equal society along with capable social actors by the virtue of favourable structural facilities and opportunities. In this module it is particularly intended to examine to what extent the issues of resource crisis, climate change and resultant forced migration are impairing the social equality on the one hand, and to what extent the existing social inequality, particularly in the relationship between the countries of the North and the South, causing the problems of climate change, resource crisis, and forced migration on the other.

It is already accepted that one of the major sources of climate change, environmental degradation, and subsequent resource crisis is our present mode of production and consumption. Global warming and sea level rise caused by anthropogenic climate change are susceptible to displacing millions of people. Given the present pattern of our lifestyle, significant amount of green house gases have concentrated in the atmosphere by increasing the global temperature. Global warming causes the sea level to rise because of primarily thermal expansion and to a lesser degree, the melting of the polar ice caps and mountain glaciers. The rise of the sea level will seriously affect the living conditions of the coastlines, on which over two-thirds of the world’s population resides. Sea level rise will increase the salinity of ground water and soil and cause complete submersion of low-lying islands. While we know that the industrialized countries have been and still remain to be the largest contributors of greenhouse gases, the sufferers of the global warming will be basically the developing countries of the South. The most vulnerable areas to sea level rise are the tropics, most of which are in the developing world. Therefore, the nations and populations that will be most adversely affected seem to have most limited coping capacity because of gross inadequacies in their social security systems, infrastructure and economic resources.

Climate change and resultant resource crisis as direct cause of forced migration is an issue on which there are different views. On the one hand, there is a view that argues that climate change and environmental degradation are increasingly becoming a significant cause of forced migration, and therefore, one should give proper attention to the environmental factors of forced migration by officially recognising these migrated peoples as environmental refugees. On the other hand, there is a view that argues that while environmental degradation and climate change do play a part in forced migration, they are at the same time closely linked to a range of other political and economic factors. Therefore, focusing on the environmental factors in isolation from political and economic factors cannot help to adequately understand the issue of forced migration. On the contrary, identifying these people as merely environmental refugee might divert attention from the complex nature of the relationship between climate change, resource crisis and displacement of the population.

Proponents of the former view, for example Norman Myers[1] argues that environmental pressures lead to fierce competition over land, encroachment on ecologically fragile areas and ultimate impoverishment. These events then can cause political and ethnic conflicts which may eventually become violent. As a result, the sufferers of such resource crisis caused by climate change and other environmental degradation ended up in the urban slums or in the camps for internally displaced people within their own country. Millions of such peoples, however, leave their own country and take refuge in the neighbouring countries, where they may cause further environmental harm and conflicts. Many of them also try to get asylum from countries in Europe and America. While rich countries are shutting down their doors, the neighbouring poor countries are facing tremendous pressure of such refugees. In the absence of proper arrangement for such number of refugees, the refugee camps and shantytowns are becoming breeding grounds of civil disorder, social upheaval and violence. Hence, it is necessary to officially recognize the climatic and environmental causes of displacement of the people and device proper institutional setup to tackle with the problem.

Proponents of the later view, for example, Richard Black[2] rejects such apocalyptic vision and considers it a neo-Malthusian approach based on dubious assumptions. According to him, it constructs refugees and migrants as a threat to security. He also claims that there is no evidence that climate change and environmental degradation lead directly to mass refugee flows, especially flows to developed countries. He sees the emphasis on environmental refugees as a distraction from central issues of development and conflict resolution, which are at the core of the refugee problem in the developing countries. Black does see the problems of rising sea levels, declining water supplies and others as very real. However, he finds little evidence of actual permanent large-scale displacements caused by these factors. He argues that rather than looking at global forecasts it is important to examine the strategies adopted by communities and governments in specific cases. He argues that the key problem is perhaps not climate and environmental change itself but the ability of different communities and countries to cope with it which is closely related with the problems of underdevelopment.

There is no doubt that there is an urgent need to protect and help the people who are forced to migrate due to climate change and environmental degradation. For this purpose one may, however need a comprehensive and multi-dimensional approach. Such an approach should include, but should not be limited to, actors such as the UNHCR and other United Nations agencies, governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations and local community members. Strong co-ordination should be practiced between international, national, regional and local actors to mitigate the problem of forced migration causing by climate change and resource crisis. While through co-ordination and co-operation between different actors the problem of forced migration can be managed to a certain extent, it is however, difficult to resolve the problem without adequately addressing the root causes of climate change and resource crisis.

Root causes of forced migration caused by climate change and resource scarcity are located at different levels: at local level, at national level, at regional level, and at global level. Hence, it is important to device relevant policies for relevant levels. However, it is important to remember that the rich countries of the North are still responsible for the causes of climate and environmental changes that induce population displacement in the poor countries of the South. Hence the policies merely concerning the local or national level cannot arrest the problem of global warming and rise of the sea level. It requires relevant policies that can adequately address also the global structural causes of climate change, environmental degradation and resource crisis. The very first objective of such policy could be to stop Northern practices that make things worse in the poor countries of the South. The second policy objective could be a reform of global rules directed towards sincerely achieving clean development mechanism. Finally, a third set of policy objectives could be to devise a package of aid measures that facilitate environmentally sustainable development in the developing countries, alleviate environmental pressure on the developing countries and made specific initiatives to help developing countries to confront the threats caused by climate change and environmental degradation.
[1] Myers, Norman: ”Environmental Refugees” Population and Environment: A Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies. Volume 19, Number 2, November 1997.
[2] Black, Richard: ”Environmental Refugees: Myth or Reality?” New Issues in Refugee Research Working Paper No. 34, March 2001.