Environment challenges, resource crises and related displacements are some of the major concerns of 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 equity, participation and development. In this module it is particularly intended to examine to what extent the issues of environmental challenges, resource crisis, climate change and resultant displacement are impairing social equality on the one hand, and to what extent existing social inequality, particularly in the relationship between developed and developing countries are causing the problems of resource crisis and displacement on the other.

The basic objective of this module is to contemplate the impacts of environmental challenges, resource crisis, climate change and subsequent displacement on the development of society with three sub-themes providing a framework:

• Development-induced displacement
• Land, forest governance and displacement
• Disaster, climate change-induced displacement

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. Climate change and a 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 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 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 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[i] argues that environmental pressures lead to fierce competition over land, encroachment on ecologically fragile areas and ultimately impoverishment. These events can then 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 end up in urban slums or in 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 in countries in Europe and America. While rich countries are shutting down their doors, neighbouring poor countries are facing tremendous pressure of such refugees. In the absence of proper arrangement for such large number of refugees, refugee camps and shantytowns are becoming breeding grounds of civil disorder, social upheaval and violence. Hence, it is necessary to officially recognise 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,[ii] reject such an apocalyptic vision and consider it a neo-Malthusian approach based on dubious assumptions. According to them, it constructs refugees and migrants as a threat to security. They also claim that there is no evidence that climate change and environmental degradation lead directly to mass refugee flows, especially flows to developed countries. They see 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 supply and others as very real. However, he finds little evidence of large-scale and permanent 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.

Basic Concepts

From an economic point of view, natural resources are usually referred to as land or raw materials, which occur naturally in environments without human intervention. A natural resource is often characterised by biodiversity existent in various ecosystems. Natural resources are derived from the environment. Many of them are essential for our survival while others are used for satisfying our wants. Natural resources may be further classified in different ways. On the basis of origin, resources may be divided into: (a) biotic resources that are obtained from the biosphere, such as forests and their products, animals, birds and their products, fish and other marine organisms. Mineral fuels such as coal and petroleum are also included in this category because they formed from decayed organic matter; and (b) abiotic resources include non-living things. Examples include land, water, air and minerals such as gold, iron, copper, silver, etc. Considering their stage of development, natural resources may be referred to in the following ways:

Potential Resources are those that exist in a region and may be used in the future. For example, petroleum may exist in many parts of India, which have sedimentary rocks but until the time it is actually drilled out and put into use, it remains a potential resource.
Actual Resources are those that have been surveyed, their quantity and quality determined and are being used in present times. The development of an actual resource, such as wood, depends upon the technology available and the cost involved. That part of the actual resource that can be developed profitably with available technology is called a reserve.
With respect to renewability, natural resources can be categorized as follows:

Renewable resources are those that can be replenished or reproduced easily. Some of them, like sunlight, air, wind, etc., are continuously available and their quantity is not affected by human consumption. Many renewable resources can be depleted by human use, but may also be replenished, thus maintaining a flow. Some of these, like agricultural crops, take a short time for renewal; others, like water, take a comparatively longer time, while still others, like forests, take even longer.
Non-renewable resources are formed over very long geological periods. Minerals and fossil fuels are included in this category. Since their rate of formation is extremely slow, they cannot be replenished once they get depleted. Of these, the metallic minerals can be re-used by recycling. But coal and petroleum cannot be recycled.[iii]
Natural Resource Management

Natural resource management is a discipline in the management of natural resources such as land, water, soil, plants and animals, with a particular focus on how management affects the quality of life for both present and future generations. Natural resource management is interrelated with the concept of sustainable development, a principle that forms the basis for land management and environmental governance throughout the world. There can be many examples to show that natural resources are by no means purely economic entities but also have political connotations, therefore, resource politics is an apt category. There is a strong interplay between economic and political issues vis-a-vis resources. Basic natural resources like water and fertile land are about survival of people, where as other natural resources like ore, oil, timber are about revenue; therefore political behaviour/structures are also important.

From an overall South Asia perspective, one can look at resource politics to see how and why resource scarcity and dependence can trigger or have detrimental effects on the processes and structures of democracy, peace, stability, socio-economic development and ethnic balance. At inter-state levels, for example, there have always been water-sharing problems between India and Pakistan or India and Bangladesh. Even taking an intra-state example, in Sri Lanka the ethnic conflict got perpetuated because of strife over social, cultural, economic and political spaces.

It is important to see how one industrial disaster can pollute the air, water and soil, or how natural disasters can affect natural resources, as in the case of tsunamis (agricultural land salination, mangrove) and cyclones (marine resources).

Climate Change

Climate change will inflict damage on every continent, but it will hit the world’s poor disproportionately hard. Whatever hard-fought human development gains have been made may be impeded or reversed by climate change as new threats emerge to water and food security, agricultural production and access, and nutrition and public health.

“Climate Change and Global Poverty: A Billion Lives in the Balance?” draws on expertise from the climate change and development communities to ask how the public and private sectors can help the world’s poor manage the global climate crisis. Increasingly, climate change and development are being seen as two sides of the same coin. Effective climate solutions must empower global development by improving livelihoods, health, and economic prospects, while poverty alleviation itself must become a central strategy for both mitigating emissions and reducing global vulnerability to adverse climate impacts.

Global Warming

Global warming and climate change are interrelated issues. Anthropogenic inputs, mainly through fossil fuel use, deforestation and industrial revolution, which release about six billion metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere each year, have resulted in warming up the earth and have become one of the greatest threats facing the planet. Global surface temperature over the 100 years ending in 2005 has increased by about 0.74 ± 0.18 °C. The atmospheric CO2 concentrations have increased from the pre-industrial level of 280 parts per million to 379 parts per million in 2005.[iv]

Global warming has effected a change in the quantum and patterns of precipitation. The changes in temperature and precipitation patterns have increased the frequency, duration and intensity of extreme weather events like floods, droughts, heat waves and cyclones. Other effects of global warming include higher or lower agricultural yields, further glacial retreat, reduced summer stream flows, species extinctions and disease outbreaks. Deforestation also affects regional carbon reuptake, which can result in increased concentrations of CO2, the dominant greenhouse gas (GHG). Land-clearing methods such as slash and burn compound these effects by burning bio matter, which directly releases greenhouse gases and particulate matter into the air.

The oceans play a vital role in the earth’s life support system through regulating climate and global biogeochemical cycles through their capacity to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). But, the additional input has resulted in the reduction of ocean pH, which will have a subsequent effect on carbonate chemistry through the reduction of carbonate ions, aragonite and calcite, used by many marine organisms to build their external skeletons and shells. Ocean acidification has already increased ocean acidity by 30% and could increase by 150% by 2100. The increase in global temperatures are causing a broad range of changes like sea-level rise due to thermal expansion of the ocean and melting of land ice, leading to inundation of coastal areas and displacement of substantial human populace. CO2 emissions belong to the most important causes of global warming. So, intervention is very essential with the participation of people so as to mitigate the effect of the global warming. Awareness is lacking among the public on the need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, to follow energy-saving methods.

Environment and Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC), aimed at fighting global warming. The UNFCCC is an international environmental treaty with the goal of achieving “stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”.[v]

The Protocol was adopted on 11 December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan and entered into force on 16 February 2005. As of November 2009, 187 states had signed and ratified the protocol.[vi] Under the Protocol, 37 industrialised countries (called “Annex I countries”) committed themselves to the reduction of four GHGs (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride) and two groups of gases (hydrofluorocarbons and per fluorocarbons) produced by them, and all member countries gave general commitments. Annex I countries agreed to reduce their collective greenhouse gas emissions by 5.2% from the 1990 level. Emission limits do not include emissions by international aviation and shipping, but are in addition to the industrial gases, chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, which are dealt with under the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

The benchmark 1990 emission levels were accepted by the Conference of the Parties of UNFCCC (decision 2/CP.3) as the values of “global warming potential” calculated for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Second Assessment Report.[vii] These figures are used for converting the various greenhouse gas emissions into comparable CO2 equivalents (CO2-eq) when computing overall sources and sinks.

The objective is the “stabilization and reconstruction of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”. The objective of the Kyoto climate change conference was to establish a legally binding international agreement through which all the participating nations would commit themselves to tackling the issue of global warming and greenhouse gas emissions. The target agreed upon was an average reduction of 5.2% from 1990 levels by the year 2012. According to the treaty, in 2012, Annex I countries must have fulfilled their obligations of reduction of greenhouse gases emissions established for the first commitment period (2008–2012).[viii]

The five principal concepts of the Kyoto Protocol are:

Commitments: The heart of the Protocol lies in establishing commitments for the reduction of greenhouse gases that are legally binding for Annex I countries, as well as general commitments for all member countries.
Implementation: In order to meet the objectives of the Protocol, Annex I countries are required to prepare policies and measures for the reduction of greenhouse gases in their respective countries. In addition, they are required to increase the absorption of these gases and utilise all mechanisms available, such as joint implementation, the clean development mechanism and emissions trading, in order to be rewarded with credits that would allow more greenhouse gas emissions at home.
Minimising Impacts on Developing Countries by establishing an adaptation fund for climate change.
Accounting, Reporting and Review in order to ensure the integrity of the Protocol.
Compliance. Establishing a Compliance Committee to enforce compliance with the commitments under the Protocol.
Case Study I: Biodiversity, Katghora Forest Reserve, Chhattisgarh[ix]

Fifty-year-old Bhuvan Pal Singh can barely read or write but for thousands of inhabitants of the Katghora forest reserve in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh he holds a revered position as a traditional healer.

Bhuvan treats his patients with medicinal plants free of charge. He believes he cannot charge for knowledge that has been passed down for generations and for something that is after all from nature. Many of his patients travel miles for treatment and his register reveals the diversity of ailments he diagnoses, everything from backaches to cancer. His wrinkly face lights up as he explains the medicinal treasures that the forests hide. “There are many things doctors can cure but so too can the forest,” he says. Home to 8,000 medicinal plants, India’s natural forests form the primary source of healthcare for 60-80% of the population and are often the only succour for the 320 million that live on less than Rs. 50 a day.

Changes in the last few years however have begun to worry him. “Five years ago it used to take me barely a day to find dhatu (an orchid commonly used to cure rheumatism), today it takes me double the time,” he worries. Bhuvan is not alone in his concern about his forest’s diminishing wealth. An estimated 10% of India’s flora and fauna are on the list of threatened species, and many more are on the verge of extinction.

Rapid economic growth and limitations in integrating environmental concerns into development planning have put increasing pressure on biodiversity across India, which is one of the globally recognised mega diverse countries rich in biodiversity. With only 2.4% of the earth’s land area, India accounts for 7-8% of the world’s recorded species.

Home to 89,000 species of animals, 46,000 species of plants and nearly half the world’s aquatic plants, India’s management of its natural resources has regional and global significance. However, with half of country’s land already under cultivation, rising population and the threat of climate change, protection of diverse habitats poses a formidable challenge.

Recognising this, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is supporting several initiatives to conserve the country’s rich and diverse ecosystems and demonstrate strategies to reduce poverty. The importance of such initiatives cannot be underscored too heavily in a country where 47.2 % of those living below the national poverty line are members of scheduled tribes, the overwhelming inhabitants of India’s forest areas. UNDP’s conservation activities cover several states, including Bhuvan’s state of Chhattisgarh where the project focuses on several key elements – conserving and enhancing floral and faunal diversity through the active involvement of joint forest management committees and sustainable livelihood support to communities. Here is hoping that the efforts are in time to save Bhuvan’s magical plants.

The links between the consequences of neoliberal globalisation and climate change, groups have come together to organise a Social and Climate Justice.

Case Study II: Sunderbans, West Bengal

Taking the Sunderbans, West Bengal, in to account, Independent experts like Dr.Dipankar Das Gupta have argued that it is one of the most vulnerable and threatened ecosystems in this country due to the impact of climate change, human intervention, and faulty developmental policies and priorities. Excerpts of Solution Exchange, UNDP based on the key findings are:

Firstly, it is an extremely fragile ecosystem affected by sea level rise @ 3.14 mm/year and in some places as much as 5.22 mm/year which is much higher than the global average. This has led to massive soil erosion and submergence of a few islands creating a few thousands of climate/environmental refugees;

Secondly, 86-90 sq. km of land has been lost in the last 30 years and scientific data and field observation shows that the rate of loss is increasing;

Thirdly, according to an article published by the Indian Meteorological Department in the journal Mausam, there has been a 26% increase in severe cyclones during the last 120 years in the Bay of Bengal and the Sunderbans, both in West Bengal and Bangladesh, which have experienced four supercyclones between 2006-09, including the Aila in 2009;

Fourthly, increasing salinity over the years has reduced crop productivity and fish catch, the main livelihoods of the people, as well as posing an increasing threat to biodiversity. In various scientific reports, loss of various flora, fauna and aquatic species has also been reported. There are also documented evidence that the Sunderbans is becoming increasing hostile for even migratory birds;

Fifthly, in the May 2009 Cyclone Aila in which more than 2.5 million persons and 194,000 families were affected, embankments were breached and the tidal surge made most of the cultivable land saline and destroyed most assets, all livelihoods equipment, fish and prawn farms, livestock, boats and most personal belongings. Most of the land continues to be unfit for agriculture, especially paddy. Even till this date, there are very few livelihoods options, except for some manual labour work being provided by the government, civil society organisations for reconstruction and recovery work and by contractors in the brick kilns;

Sixthly, even before Aila, the Sunderbans was becoming increasingly prone to indebtedness, migration, child labour, women and child trafficking, very poor nutritional status especially amongst children and women, high incidence of TB, malaria and other diseases as a result of poor nutrition and sanitary conditions. These problems have exacerbated manifold after Aila and have brought to the fore the increasing risks, vulnerability and poverty of the communities at risk;

And seventhly, most of the affected blocks were already selected under the UNDP-GoI and Government of West Bengal’s Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Programme. However, no early warning, preparedness or organised response by the ‘Task Forces’ was reported by any stakeholder. Some agencies are still involved in recovery activities. Some have DRR components but a systematic approach to institutionalise DRR from family to community to local institutional levels is yet to be observed, except in rare instances. There are a few groups and the Forest Department who are working on forest protection and especially on mangrove plantation. It is seen that there is no agency which is trying to integrate DRR as well as development work with Climate Change Adaptation (CCA). Apart from adaptation, mitigation has also to be urgently incorporated, especially in threatened ecosystems like the Sunderbans.

During the recent Copenhagen Climate Change Summit, the voices of marginalised like Tuvalu’s delegate, Ian Fry, calling for a binding agreement, not the mere “political agreement” that was widely and asking for a new protocol that would limit climate change to 1.5 degrees Celsius, not 2, the target of most negotiators, was never heard outside. Mr. Fry’s speech got an unusually hearty round of applause, including from NGO delegates, but governments including India and China’s did not take it seriously, or neglected it. This was ironical, when developing countries trying to represent the smaller countries were not able to get their views heard.

Disaster Management

Disaster is defined as “the impact of an event or phenomenon which is caused by nature or human induced, which result in number of deaths and destruction of property where by affecting normalcy of life, causing damage to society, economy and environment, which by and large is beyond the coping mechanism of the community or society concerned”[x]. In recent years there has been a series of disasters globally. Notably, in India the Orissa supercyclone in 1999, Gujarat (Bhuj) earthquake in 2001, Indian Ocean Tsunami of 2004, etc., have brought about a shift in government policies. Based on the experiences gathered on the impact of disasters, the Government of India has evolved a holistic and integrated approach to disaster management. There are some positive developments at the national level in the disaster management context such as the enactment of the Disaster Management Act of 2005, and creation of other institutional structures such as the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), State Disaster Management Authorities (SDMAs), District Disaster Management Authorities (DDMAs) down to the panchayati raj level. The national policy framework has been prepared after due deliberations and keeping in view the national vision “to build a safe and disaster-resilient India by developing a holistic, proactive, multi-disaster and technology-driven strategy for disaster management. This will be achieved through a culture of prevention, mitigation and preparedness to generate a prompt and efficient response at the time of disasters. The entire process will centre-stage the community and will be provided momentum and sustenance through the collective efforts of all government agencies and Non-Governmental Organisations.”[xi] This policy framework is also in conformity with the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, the Rio Declaration, the Millennium Development Goals and the Hyogo Framework 2005-2015. NDMA’s objectives, guidelines and policy formulations have evolved to include efficient response and relief with proper preparedness and mitigation and a caring and humane approach towards the vulnerable sections of the society.

In India, while the institutional mechanism is geared up at the national level, many States are yet to create disaster-management structures. It is yet to be seen whether the paradigm shift from reactive responses to proactive preparedness and mitigation is going to be a reality. There is a long way to go. Particularly there is a need to strengthen community resilience through community-based disaster management.

Now linking climate change adaptation with disaster risk reduction is another major challenge because it needs a fundamental change in the government’s approach which has been using only the GDP prism to appraise development. It needs to make community participatory and locally specific approaches to succeed in tackling the issues of climate change, environmental degradation, disaster and displacements.

There are several interrelated issues like coastal zone management, special economic zones formation, rehabilitation policy, etc., which affect weak and marginalised sections. It is important to see the interrelationship between resource politics, environmental degradation, global warming, climate change, and natural disasters. Now we need to see the link between DRR and CCA. India had agreed to adopt regional DRR measures under the Delhi Declaration (August 2006) and incorporate DRR into national development schemes under the 10th Five-Year Plan (2002-07). Moreover, in June 2008, the Prime Minister of India released the “National Action Plan on Climate Change” (NAPCC), which laid out principles to protect the poor through inclusive sustainable development and stressed inclusion of civil society.

Similarly, we need to look at the linkage between environmental challenges, climate change and natural disasters with a holistic and integrated approach all over South Asia.

To conclude: Mahatma Gandhi’s talisman is very useful to be contextualised here: “Earth has the natural resources to meet the needs of human race but not its greed.”

End Notes
[i] Myers, Norman, ”Environmental Refugees” Population and Environment: A Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies. Volume 19, Number 2, November 1997.

[ii] Black, Richard: ”Environmental Refugees: Myth or Reality?” New Issues in Refugee Research Working Paper No. 34, March 2001.

[iii] Wikipedia on Natural resources, www.wikopedia.org

[iv] Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change Report (IPCC), 2007.

[v] United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, November, 2005.

[vi] Kyoto Protocol Status of Ratification as per UNFCCC.

[vii] Methodological issues relating Kyoto Protocol, UNFCC 1998.

[viii] see Annex B of the Protocol

[ix] UNDP’s Good Practices Report on Biodiversity, www.undp.org.in

[x] As per Indian National Disaster Management Act, 2005

[xi] NDMA Policy note, www.ndma.gov.in