This is a general term that refers to people who move outside of their normal place of residence due to environmental deterioration. This might be a temporary or permanent move.
This concept is based on the generic term migrant established by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which is not defined in international law. Environmental causes include desertification, increase in sea levels, environmental pollution, melting of glaciers, water scarcity, flooding, increase in monsoons and hurricanes, and high levels of rainfall (Altamirano Rua, 2014).
The following distinctions are based on the specific circumstances that lead people to migrate for environmental reasons:
The words environmental refugee, climate refugee, or environmental migrant are used to refer to people temporarily or permanently flee their country and place of residence because of environmental deterioration. This deterioration can be due to natural or human causes, and it risks the lives of the people living there or it adversely affects their quality of life. Lester Brown, founder of Worldwatch Institute, coined the term environmental refugee. It was popularized in 1985 in international fora (Solá Pardell, 2012:47).
These expressions are widely used in the press, in civil society organizations, in academia, and society demands its recognition. However, international law does not yet include this phenomenon. The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees—adopted in 1951 by the United Nations Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Status of Refugees and Stateless Persons—includes a definition of refugee. This definition includes persecution based on race, religion, nationality,and belonging to specific groups or holding certain political opinions.
Another concept exists as well: environmentally displaced persons. This refers to people who are forced to abandon their homes due to environmental deterioration, but they do so within the same country. In contrast, a refugee crosses international borders.
The use of environmental encompasses all environmental causes, while the adjective climate refers exclusively to reasons related to climate change. The IOM indicates that migration due to climate reasons is a subcategory of environmental-related migration.
This concept is based on the generic term migrant established by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which is not defined in international law. Environmental causes include desertification, increase in sea levels, environmental pollution, melting of glaciers, water scarcity, flooding, increase in monsoons and hurricanes, and high levels of rainfall (Altamirano Rua, 2014).
The following distinctions are based on the specific circumstances that lead people to migrate for environmental reasons:
The words environmental refugee, climate refugee, or environmental migrant are used to refer to people temporarily or permanently flee their country and place of residence because of environmental deterioration. This deterioration can be due to natural or human causes, and it risks the lives of the people living there or it adversely affects their quality of life. Lester Brown, founder of Worldwatch Institute, coined the term environmental refugee. It was popularized in 1985 in international fora (Solá Pardell, 2012:47).
These expressions are widely used in the press, in civil society organizations, in academia, and society demands its recognition. However, international law does not yet include this phenomenon. The Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees—adopted in 1951 by the United Nations Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Status of Refugees and Stateless Persons—includes a definition of refugee. This definition includes persecution based on race, religion, nationality,and belonging to specific groups or holding certain political opinions.
Another concept exists as well: environmentally displaced persons. This refers to people who are forced to abandon their homes due to environmental deterioration, but they do so within the same country. In contrast, a refugee crosses international borders.
The use of environmental encompasses all environmental causes, while the adjective climate refers exclusively to reasons related to climate change. The IOM indicates that migration due to climate reasons is a subcategory of environmental-related migration.
References:
Refugiados ambientales: El nuevo desafío del derecho internacional del medio ambiente
Convención sobre el estatuto de los refugiados
SOLÁ PARDELL, Oriol, Desplazados medioambientales. Una nueva realidad, Universidad de Deusto, Cuadernos Deusto de Derechos Humanos nº 66, Bilbao, 2012.
Teófilo Altamirano Rua (2014), Refugiados ambientales: cambio climático y migración forzada, Fondo Editorial de la Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, Lima, Perú.
Diccionario de Acción Humanitaria y Cooperación al Desarrollo (25.6.2009)
Organización Internacional para las Migraciones, Términos fundamentales sobre migración.
Photo credit: Glenn R. Specht-grs photo