The Atlas of Environmental Migration

169 Pages·2016·89.592 MB·English

by  Dina Ionesco, Daria Mokhnacheva, François Gemenne

People have always migrated in search of better climatic conditions or in response to
environmental change. Today, this phenomenon takes on a whole new dimension, as climate
change progressively threatens traditional landscapes and livelihoods of entire communities.
Increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events, such as floods, hurricanes and
droughts, lead to significant population displacement every year on every continent. Every day
we hear and read about ‘environmental’ or ‘climate migrants’.
The Atlas of Environmental Migration is the first illustrated publication mapping environmental
migration, clarifying terminology and concepts, drawing a typology of migration related
to environment and climate change, describing the multiple factors at play, explaining the
challenges, and highlighting the opportunities related to this phenomenon. Through elaborate
maps, diagrams, illustrations and case studies from all over the world based on the most
updated international research findings, the Atlas guides the reader through this complex
phenomenon from the roots of environmental migration to governance.
Dina Ionesco is Head of the Migration, Environment and Climate Change Division at the
International Organization for Migration.
Daria Mokhnacheva works as a thematic specialist at the Migration, Environment and
Climate Change Division at the International Organization for Migration.
François Gemenne is the Executive Director of the Politics of the Earth Programme
at Sciences Po/USPC, and Senior Research Associate at the FNRS, University of Liège
(Hugo Observatory).
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“The numbers, maps and fine-grained detail of this work illuminate and
delineate the intersection of key challenges of globalization. It brings much
needed explanation and perspective to this contested area. This Atlas really
does try to balance the sky on its shoulders.”
Neil Adger, University of Exeter, UK
“There is a tragic connection between the incapacity of nation states to
respond to migration and to climate change. In both cases, it is the very
notion of sovereignty that seems questioned. One solution is to try to
maintain the status quo, the other to map how inefficient the notion of
sovereignty has become. This is one of the major achievements of this Atlas.”
Bruno Latour, Sciences Po, France
“The fates of individuals and communities most vulnerable to climate change
are often forgotten in political debates. Climate justice, which links human
rights and development to achieve a human-centred approach, requires us to
safeguard the rights of the most vulnerable people and share the burdens and
benefits of climate change and its impacts equitably and fairly. The Atlas of
Environmental Migration deserves much praise for bringing people and their
rights into the heart of the issue of environmental displacement.”
Mary Robinson, President, Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice, Ireland
“Climate stresses and the degradation of resources and agriculture are major
drivers of migration in Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world. This Atlas
provides a balanced picture of how the mismanagement of the environment
can directly impact people’s lives. It highlights the importance of protecting
our environment thus reducing the risk of forced migration and how coherent
migration-based strategies can provide a lifeline to millions of people.”
Thomas L. Friedman, author and columnist, USA
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The Atlas
OF ENVIRONMENTAL
MIGRATION
Dina Ionesco
Daria Mokhnacheva
François Gemenne
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First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2017 Dina Ionesco and Daria Mokhnacheva (IOM), and François Gemenne
The right of Dina Ionesco, Daria Mokhnacheva and François Gemenne to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by them in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
The maps produced for the Atlas of Environmental Migration are based on the maps of the United Nations
Geospatial Information Section (2012). The designations employed and the presentation of material on
these maps are not warranted to be error free and do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on
the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations or of the International Organization for Migration concerning
the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its
frontiers or boundaries.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any
electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used
only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Publisher’s note: This book has been prepared from camera-ready copy provided by the authors.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record has been requested for this book
Maps and graphics created by Atelier de Cartographie de Sciences Po, Aurélie Boissière,
Philippe Rekacewicz, Agnès Stienne, Zoï Environment Network
Research and map production coordinated by Daria Mokhnacheva
Typeset in Akzidenz Grotesk Next and Chaparral Pro by Alain Chevallier
Translated and edited by Alexander Bramble
Cover image: © Marie Velardi, ‘Terre-Mer (Oostende)’, 2014, pencil and watercolour on paper, 75 x 109 cm.
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Contents
Forewords Challenges
and opportunities
VI Supporting environmental migrants:
A new imperative
70 Introduction
VIII Climate change: The ultimate injustice
72 Disruption of traditional migration strategies
IX A myriad of opportunities
74 Circular migration
X Acknowledgements
76 Development, adaptation and risk management
XI The authors
78 Demographic pressure in at-risk areas
XII List of experts consulted
80 Urbanization
XIV List of abbreviations and acronyms
82 Security and conflict
84 Managing mass displacement
86 Protecting human rights
Current migration and 88 Individual coping strategies
environmental migration 90 Gender and migration
2 Introduction
4 A long history
Governance and policy
6 A political issue
8 A world in motion responses
10 Geography of research
94 Introduction
12 Quantifying and forecasting
98 The cost of environmental migration
16 Disasters and displacement
102 Funding action
18 Forced or voluntary?
106 International law
20 Trajectories
108 Building a new legal framework
22 Time frames
110 Regional legal frameworks
24 Return migration
112 At the crossroads of international agendas
26 Relocation
114 Regional policy processes
28 Immobility
116 International organizations
30 Amenity migration
118 Migration and national adaptation policies
120 Linking mobility and disaster management
122 Linking migration, adaptation and development
Factors of environmental
migration
124 Glossary
34 Introduction 128 Bibliography and sources
38 Geophysical disasters 148 Photo credits
40 Floods, storms and landslides 149 Index
42 Droughts, extreme temperatures and wildfires
46 Ecosystem degradation
50 Sea-level rise and coastal risks
54 Industrial accidents
56 Infrastructure and land grabbing
58 The regional impacts of climate change
64 A multi-causal phenomenon
66 Individual factors
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Supporting environmental
migrants: A new imperative
Our era is experiencing an unprec- In 2014, some 220,000 migrants with All too often still, we forget that on
edented level of human mobility. irregular status crossed the Mediterra- a personal level, numerous factors
Of our planet’s 7 billion people, nean heading for Europe and in 2015, combine to influence the strategy of
more than 1 billion have moved either more than 1 million people followed this each individual, and that migration is all
within or outside of their country of same route – a record number compared but a mechanical response.
origin; namely one person in seven. to previous years. Sadly, the year 2015 And finally, all too often, we are unaware
This mobility is the result of a multi- also witnessed another record: that of the of migrants’ positive contributions to the
plicity of interrelated factors: poverty, number of lives lost – 3,772 in the Medi- economy of their departure or destina-
the search for a better life, the dispari- terranean and 5,393 worldwide. It should tion regions and countries, as well as of
ties between North and South, conflicts, not be forgotten that the phenomenon of the benefits of migration and the role that
labour needs, demographic explosion, migratory flows is global: they can occur migrants could play in climate change
and the digital revolution. But also – in the Gulf of Aden, in the Caribbean adaptation efforts.
which brings me to the goal of the Atlas of between Haiti and the south of Florida, My vision is of a world in which the poten-
Environmental Migration – environmental across the US–Mexican border, or in tial of migration is recognized and valued,
factors, particularly natural disasters and South Asia, to name but a few. but also of a world where those who do
climate change. Faced with this reality, it is no longer time not wish to migrate have the option
In 2015, more than 19 million people for sadness and regret; it is time to act. of staying in their regions and in their
were newly displaced within their coun- To do so, we must first better under- countries. Migration can be managed,
tries due to natural disasters, a figure that stand the complex links between human planned, facilitated and organized in an
does not even take slow environmental mobility, environment, and climate effective and respectful fashion. Poli-
degradation or drought into account. change. Then, we must debunk a certain cies to protect affected populations are
Human migration has always been number of misperceptions. as much a matter of prevention as of
linked to the environment, but polit- All too often, forced displacement is the ability to effectively manage migra-
ical awareness of the importance of this only mentioned when it arises because tion arising from environmental change.
factor is recent. We now know that the of natural disasters. Its human cost of We can, for instance, multiply legal
causes of the migratory crisis that the course remains shocking and much too migration channels; improve the flow of
world is currently experiencing include high, but it leads us to ignore all of the mobility via return or seasonal migration
phenomena such as climate change and other forms of mobility linked to slow programmes; and put in place temporary
its impact on soil degradation, the multi- degradation, and the lot of those who protection measures. IOM does not only
plication and intensification of sudden do not have sufficient means to resort to believe that migration is inevitable in light
events, desertification, water stress, and migration as a survival strategy. of demographic, social, economic and
recurrent drought. All too often, we neglect the internal political realities, but also that it is neces-
We also know that in the future, a signif- or inter-regional reality as well as the sary, and even desirable, for nations
icant number of people will be affected South–South dimension of this envi- to prosper, providing that it is carefully
by sea-level rise, coastal erosion, ocean ronmental migration and put forward managed and respects human rights.
acidification, and soil salinization, and that alarmist scenarios, which are barely Yet, environmental migration does not
migration will be one possible response. consistent with the reality of the situation. solely concern migration policies. It also
All of this adversity and the despera- Or indeed, conversely, we totally ignore has an impact on a large number of
tion that accompanies it lead individuals, the environmental dimension, which is other spheres, particularly development,
most often victims of criminal smug- extremely difficult to isolate due to the humanitarian action, disaster risk reduc-
gling networks, to migrate in dangerous fact that it is entangled with other causes, tion, urban and rural management poli-
conditions by crossing seas and deserts. for instance economic. cies, and, of course, climate policies, upon
VI The Atlas of Environmental Migration
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which this work places particular impor- than 20 years on environmental migra- encouraging organized and effective
tance. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable tion, in collaboration with researchers responses to the challenges posed by
Development and the Sendai Frame- and university professors, which reflects this kind of migration, at both policy level
work for Disaster Risk Reduction, both current thinking in this domain. It also and for the public at large.
adopted in 2015, formally recognize portrays a vision that places migrants Finally, it is the reflection of our commit-
migrants as a key group, underlining and their communities at the heart of ment to partnership. On the one
not only their vulnerability, but also their concerns. When, destitute and hit by hand with the academic community:
specific strengths. disasters, be they sudden or progressive, researchers, cartographers and students
Since 2010, the importance of human migrants abandon their homes and loved have widely contributed to it; on the
mobility has been recognized by States ones, we must protect them and support other hand, with a broad range of actors
in several decisions adopted during them. When they are engaged in devel- involved in its conception and realiza-
climate negotiations. The reference to opment strategies and involved in adap- tion, either by providing information and
the rights of migrants in the Paris Agree- tation efforts as responsible actors, we expertise or through financial support:
ment negotiated at COP21 in December must assist them. foundations, non-governmental organi-
2015 constitutes an historic step forward With commendable honesty, the authors zations, international organizations, the
in this regard. We must now continue of the Atlas have chosen to not only public and private sectors, and particu-
efforts to integrate mobility-related demonstrate what we know about envi- larly the publishing sphere. I am espe-
issues in the framework of collective ronmental migration but also what we still cially grateful to all of them for accepting
action on climate change and its funding do not know, in order to identify the gaps to take part in this adventure.
in order to be able to address their root that need to be filled. In bringing together I very much hope that this Atlas will serve
causes and to allow migrants to assert in one vision the issues of migratory real- to share and disseminate knowledge and
themselves as responsible, conscien- ities and climatic and environmental real- information and will prove useful to all.
tious, and engaged actors in efforts ities, the authors have helped to shed
against climate change. IOM’s action in more light on the multiple links between William Lacy Swing
this regard has also made progress since these fields. Director General of the International
its Member States approved the creation The choice of an atlas – the kind of work Organization for Migration
of a division devoted to migration, envi- that demands rigour and creativity –
ronment and climate change, which has is courageous as it means having to be
been operational since the beginning able to simplify highly complex equations
of 2015. These are unmistakable signs and to represent them graphically. I am
of the recognition of the link between delighted to have been able to support
environmental and migratory issues. We this endeavour and I would like to pay
can no longer afford to ignore human tribute to the joint efforts of the three
mobility – constitutive of our time – in authors, who bring together academic
collective efforts to protect the future of and international experience.
our planet. The Atlas of Environmental Migration is
The publication of the Atlas of Environ- thus, in my opinion, much more than a
mental Migration forms part of our efforts book.
to spread an informed and balanced It is the reflection of our commitment to
message about contemporary migration. contribute to raising awareness of the
The Atlas is the fruit of specific work importance of the impacts of climate
that IOM has been undertaking for more change on human mobility; and also to
The Atlas of Environmental Migration VII
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Climate change:
The ultimate injustice
Iw ould first like to congratulate the brutally dried, meaning that herds can become human again. The solutions to
authors of this Atlas of Environmental no longer feed, and milk is increasingly fight and adapt to climate change exist:
Migration. This contribution will help us less abundant. When it becomes impos- replace fossil fuels with eternally renew-
collectively to look differently at the situ- sible to feed their family, to live in secu- able energy from the sun, the wind, or
ation of those who have no other choice rity on the land of their ancestors, what water; restore degraded land by recul-
but to leave the land where they were other alternative do people have than to tivating it; preserve biodiversity in order
born. seek refuge elsewhere, in already over- to strengthen the resilience of places
A universal agreement, legally binding crowded capitals, or farther afield, most inhabited by human beings for so long;
the 195 States parties to the United often in the North, where you only have and facilitate migration to better adapt
Nations Framework Convention on to turn on a tap to get drinking water? and to reduce the pressure on fragile
Climate Change, is absolutely essential The social, economic, financial and ecosystems. All of this is within our grasp.
in order to limit temperature rise to no ecological crises that we are experi- It is today simply a matter of wanting and
more than 2oC by the end of the century. encing today are due to our genius, not having the courage to act. The year 2015
It is up to decision makers, and it is up to our powerlessness. Climate change is was a crucial one: it constituted a key
us all to make history if we do not want to very much the fruit of our way of life, of step in the process of two major series
have to suffer it. the economic model that arose from the of international negotiations: on devel-
Climate change is the ultimate injustice. Industrial Revolution at the end of the opment and on climate change. These
Its initial effects are already being felt and nineteenth century. Einstein said that issues must be addressed together. The
do not spare any region or continent in ‘perfection of means and confusion of challenge lying ahead is to allow a popu-
the world … But the consequences of ends seem to characterize our age’. As lation that has never been so large to
episodes of violent rainfall or prolonged the Pope highlighted in the ‘Laudato Si’ attain a quality of life without precedent.
drought, the dramatic effects of storms, Encyclical, it is up to us, believers or not,
hurricanes and typhoons, are not the to take care of our shared home. Both Nicolas Hulot
same for those living in the North and the Encyclical and the Islamic Declara- Special Envoy of the French President for the
South. And it is those who cannot take tion on Global Climate Change, adopted Protection of the Planet (2013–2016)
advantage of any of the progress that during the International Islamic Climate
has been made who are the powerless Change Symposium in August 2015 in
victims. Istanbul, stress the necessary abstemi-
Along with President Hollande, I visited ousness that we should adopt. Ever more
the Philippines where I discovered that religious leaders, scientists and intel-
after each new extreme climate episode lectuals are inviting us to build a world
– as we modestly describe them – the based on protection rather than preda-
population is always a little more desti- tion, on cooperation rather than compe-
tute, sinking each time into ever greater tition, on fair trade rather than free trade,
precariousness. Nor is Africa spared: on sharing rather than on accumulation.
throughout the continent the rainfall cycle For the Mediterranean to once again
is being disrupted. In areas where several become the symbol of freedom and of
harvests per year had always ensured civilization that it represented for centu-
populations’ subsistence, drought means ries, for it to cease to be a graveyard
only one is now possible. Cattle are also where millions of people’s hopes for
affected: pastures are flooded and then a better life are smashed, let’s simply
VIII The Atlas of Environmental Migration
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A myriad of opportunities
Long ignored, migration and envi- provide alternatives, build social cohe- policies and programmes to attract those
ronmental degradation are both, sion and remove at least some of the trig- investments towards land opportunities.
out of necessity, forcing their way gers for radicalization and conflict. The government and its technical agen-
up political agendas. The fact that this Slow-onset events, such as desertifi- cies are creating the enabling environ-
is happening, at the same time, is not a cation, land degradation and drought, ment to attract migrant entrepreneurs by
surprise. in particular, allow us to plan and inter- offering low-rate credit and land conces-
As climate change and environmental vene. Avoiding environmentally induced sions. So far, demand for land-related
degradation occur, the world’s rural poor displacement and mass migration investment opportunities by the diaspora
are hit first and hit hardest. Three out of involves simultaneously creating resil- has been impressive.
four rural people are poor and 86 per cent ient communities and strengthening By replicating these successes and
depend on the land for survival. Glob- the resources they depend on. Climate- thinking outside of the box on the rela-
ally, at least 1.5 billion people rely on proofing the land can be simple and cost- tionship between migration and envi-
degrading land buffeted by forces seem- effective. Planning a timely intervention ronmental issues, we could harness the
ingly beyond their control. In a time of also means building on the strengths of massive potential of migrants to support
dramatic climate change, as the land dries migrants themselves. Migrants have and the resilience of their home communities.
up and sea levels surge, competition for have acquired a hugely valuable array The Atlas of Environmental Migration
vital natural resources will accelerate and of skills and experience. Given the right is a step forward in raising awareness
communities crumble. The instances of incentives, they have the capacity to of how migration and environmental
seasonal migration that can already be invest and stabilize degraded ecosystems trends are converging. Understanding
observed in response to poor harvests and whole communities. Remittances these dynamics and addressing them
may become cases of permanent migra- into and within sub-Saharan Africa by before too many lives and resources are
tion in the event of crop destruction or migrants annually amount to roughly 40 irreversibly lost is vital for the common
extreme droughts. billion dollars. A huge amount can be future of every single one of us.
Solutions to these challenges based achieved if these funds are well invested.
only on the idea of containment lead to Take Ethiopia for example. The country Monique Barbut
record-breaking poverty, human rights has set a target to restore 15 million Monique Barbut, Executive Secretary of
violations and even more forced migra- hectares of degraded and deforested the United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification
tion. We are seeing the consequences land into productivity by 2025 — that is
of our lack of holistic action in terms one-sixth of the total land area. House-
of a soaring number of migrant deaths hold remittances of on average about
and increased suffering at sea, in the 500 dollars per year have tradition-
deserts and along international frontiers. ally been used for short-term consump-
Unless both are properly considered and tion needs like food. In the rural areas,
addressed in a timely way, social unrest however, remittances are now increas-
and more violence will inevitably follow. ingly invested in repaying debt and in
Yet, through proactive policies addressing the resilience of the land in the face of
the relationship between people and their climate change. Returning migrants
lands, we can safeguard everyone. We can are introducing new, climate-resilient
support vulnerable communities, before farming methods. This is creating jobs
they are trapped, to rehabilitate their land; for rural youth who might have otherwise
help governments to secure land tenure migrated themselves.
rights and create new jobs for seasonal Well aware of the inter-linkages between
migrants as well as increase opportu- land degradation and migration as well as
nities for land-based investments. By of the development potential of diaspora
turning around degradation trends, we investments, Senegal is also promoting
The Atlas of Environmental Migration IX
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