THIS IS NOT MY PLANET
Let's get down to it.
What is a climate migrant?
A person who is forced to leave their home due to sudden or long term changes to their local environment known as climate stressors. These people can be situated anywhere in the world. Media and advocacy groups often refer to climate migrants as climate refugees, however these people are not legally considered refugees. Although many climate migrants cross international borders, the majority of the movement happens within a country. (5 facts on climate migrants - United Nations University, 2015)
(Image via climate.diplomacy.edu)
(Image via Thought Factory)
(Image via Simon Kneebone)
What are the causes of climate migration?
There are many causes for climate migration such as increased droughts, desertification, sea level rise, disruption of seasonal weather patterns and natural disasters. The major share of displacement is due to climate and weather-related disasters, with an average of 21.5 million people being displaced per year. (friends of the earth,2017) The Key concerns in LDCs include serious threats to food security and health, considerable economic decline, inundation of coastal areas, and degradation of land and freshwater resources which are forcing people to leave there homes (Reuveny, 2007)
Is there any support for climate migrants?
There are two types of climate migrants, internal and external. Internal climate migrants move to another place within the same country and external climate migrants move to another country. Internal migrants seem to get a lot more support than external migrants. The UNHCR has developed a 'planned relocation guidance' for internal climate migrants. A lot of NGOs help internal migrants as well as the state. Whereas for external climate migrants, the lack of an accepted definition of an environmental refugee means that, unless they’re relocated by extreme weather events, their displacement does not trigger any access to financial grants, food aid, tools, shelter, schools or clinics. (IOM, 2008)