Hopefully the last post gave you a brief insight into how climate change forces many people living in developing countries to leave their homes and livelihoods for reasons they cannot control.
The video, which features Dina Ionesco of the International Organisation for Migration, looks at climate change and how in recent years, people are becoming more mindful that it leads to involuntary migration. Although there has been augmented consciousness on the topic, she points out that it is still difficult to say how many people are relocating as a result of climate change, thus there needs to be amplified concern towards the issue. She briefly touches on the idea that migration due to climate change could be a form of adaptation, however this is the very last stage and other adaptation and mitigation measures should be put into place to avoid this. Internal migration has been on the rise according to Dina. She states that last year (this would be 2011, as the video was taken at the 2012 Doha Climate Change Conference) close to 700 million people left their homes and relocated within the border, with most of the moves going from rural to urban, adding that although climate change was not the only and perhaps not the main factor in creating this figure, it did play a part. In terms of developing nations, she mentions that in 2011 around 15 million people moved because of natural disasters as a result of climate change, with 89% of the people that moved from Asia. Asia is the largest and most populated continent in the world, and is home to some of the poorest countries with over 15 countries with a GDP per capita less than $5000, so it is no surprise that it has been greatly impacted as thoughs living in the developing nations unable to avoid impacts the others for example in Europe can.
To watch the video, click this link and scroll to the bottom of the page.
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ReplyDeleteVery great points raised by Lord Sturn! Attributing migration to climate change is always debatable but I think one of the major issue that brings about such doubts is lack of data especially on losses and damages resulting from extreme climate events that eventually force people to move. There are so many dimensions to the issue that need to be backed with reliable climate science.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment Asha. That is very true indeed, many people living in developing countries are not made aware of the risks they may face as a result of climate change, maybe due to that particular government's inability to afford the equipment needed to provide data/information.
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