While there is a fair amount of discourse around climate migrants, climate refugees & where they should go, there is not enough discourse around how to reduce the amount of people who are displaced due to climate. Whether it is ‘forced’ or slower factors of climate change have made situations for people increasingly difficult until they ‘decide’ to move.
The vast majority of climate migration is currently internal, and is predominantly rural to urban. Therefore many of the resilience factors will be around helping urban areas cope better with influxes of people, and helping people in rural areas to retain comfortable lives through the changing climate, providing them the opportunity to stay should they want to. While there are strategies to do both of these things, they are not often integrated as they should be to be more effective. There are also few strategies which look not only at the direct impacts of climate migration, while it is of course imperative we feed and house those displaced, it is also important to provide communities they have left with support so that they are not left behind, leading to more forced displacement.
Current strategies to provide short term, and controversial policies to deal with immigrants such as the UK’s decision to send migrants to Rwanda do not look at the whole scope of forced displacement. Or towards the comming far high rate of immigration than we have seen in the past. Policies need to be re-desiging urban areas to better cope with influxes of people, and desiging interventions to increase resilience to the effects of climate change on rural areas.
Rapid Forced, Slow Forced & Slow Planned Climate Displacement
The diagram to the right helps to outline some of the complexities arounds Climate Migration. While it shows the key drivers of Climate Migration of as Climate Change Itself, and Resiliency to the Effects of Climate Change, there are many other things at play within into these two factors, both shown on the diagram and not.
Climate Migration comes in many forms, which is partially why it is difficult to define, in turn making it more difficult to prevent or protect. Generally climatic changes result in either Slow or Rapid Forced Climate Migration, however Slow climatic effects can also result in Planned Climate Re-Location. These all result in Climate Displacement. Slow Forced Migration predominantly will result in permanent displacement, (for example forcing farmers to abandon fields which have seen too much crop failure). Rapid Forced Climate Migration can often result in Cyclical (where weather patterns make previous life impossible all year round, people often move away and return to work seasonally) or temporary displacement (where people move away from immediate disaster such as a flash flood, but end up returning home). Slow and planned re-location is usually a permament form of displacement (such as the Maldivan government re-locating the population due to rising sea levels).
More data on Inequality around Climate Migration
Visualised using Python by myself
Find out more about Climate Migration from these free & reputable sources, there are even more in the Resources Section
UNHCR _ Cliamte Change, displacement and human rights
Climate & Migration Coalition
International Organization for Migration (IOM) _ Environmental Migration Portal
Migration Data Portal _ Environmental Migration
UNICEF _ Clidren & Forced Climate Migration
Earth Refuge _ Chilren & Climate Migration
Education & Climate Migration
Foresight _ Environmental Migrants
https://www.unhcr.org/media/climate-change-displacement-and-human-rights
https://climatemigration.org.uk/climate-migration-and-sea-level-rise/
https://environmentalmigration.iom.int/environmental-migration
https://www.migrationdataportal.org/themes/environmental_migration_and_statistics
https://www.unicef.org/environment-and-climate-change/migration
https://earthrefuge.org/children-displaced-due-to-climate-change-unicef
https://www.unicef.org.uk/policy/climate-migration-and-education/
https://www.climateforesight.eu/articles/environmental-migrants-up-to-1-billion-by-2050/
About this Project
Even if we keep to 1.5 degrees of pre-industral warming, there will be immense pressures which forcibly displace millions of people. This project looks to bring more attention & understanding of the present & coming issue as well as provide solutions to effectively mitigate the effects of Climate Migration.
This project is for people looking to find out more, and discover the complexity of Climate Migration. For people who have been affected by climate migration, will be affected by climate migration, or wish to mitigate or reduce climate migration.
The tool is designed to communicate the complexity within climate migration, to democratise discourse around the subject and to reduce or mitigate climate migration. It does this through helping people discover solutions and develop strategies to effectively tackle the system of and leading to climate migration.
Clearly and carefully Communicating Climate Migration as a highly complex system, while retaining clarity was an integral part of the project. This allows for the argument of Recognition & Reparations, via Post-colonialism & World systems theory. It also makes clear that the issue requires a holistic approach to see meaningful difference.
The project also aims to help Actors take that holistic approach, that they can and should be combining Solutions to create holistic strategies, which create more effective outcomes which work in the short, medium and longer terms. Ensuring they tackle the Root Cause, Drivers & Effects of Climate Migration.
The Problems & Solutions sections provide relevant information surrounding Climate Migration. They provide an open source space for people to provide information that they might have. Despite not necessarily being proven or peer reviewed processes, the format allows more contribution from areas with less academic infrastructure. Other users can add links or comment and the project will rely upon this peer network to weed out non-useful content.
The Strategy section aims to help a range of Actors use current knowledge effectively. This is achieved through providing a framework to creatively combine information presented in the Problems & Solutions archives. To effectively tackle Climate Migration you need to address the wider problem, not one driver or effect. This is why the strategy section helps Actors to both see & impact the Root Causes, The Key Drivers & The Effects as one system.
The Strategy section aims to reduce the negative effects on areas of high Climate Emigration, Climate Immigration and on those who are forcibly displaced themselves. While also helping reduce overall amount of forced climate displacement in a more holistic and meaningful way than most current systems. To do this the section created a framework to make tailored holistic strategies using decentralised data collected on the website.
Finally there is also a Network page where you can find and connect with relevant people with experience or expertise of Climate migration.
Actors _ Someone who is looking to positively impact the space, they could be a local government, community hub or any other concerned body, from individuals looking to cope better with extreme heat to international bodies looking to introduce policy on informal housing.
Root Causes _ Something which leads to a Driver, these are usually climatic changes, such as sea-level rise, or global warming, or factors which cause inequality or reduced resilience to the effects of climate migration. Many of these factors come under Post-Colonialism such as Westernised agricultural practices.
Drivers _ Something which causes Climate Migration, such as a flood or water scarcity
Effects _ A problem which results from Climate Migration, such as over-urbanisation or resource strain
Project Outline
What is this Project Doing?
Click on the circles to go to pages which are associated with that Stage.
STAGE
ONE
STAGE
TWO
STAGE
THREE
STAGE
FOUR
STAGE
FIVE
STAGE
ONE
Communicating the Importance of Climate Migration
Issues for areas of both High Climate Emigration & High Climate Immigration
Issues for those who are Forcibly Displaced
STAGE
TWO
Communicating the Importance of Complexity in Understanding Climate Migration
Allowing us to see how Climate Migration links to Post-Colonialism
Allows us to see the case for Reparations as Post-Colonialism has led to Climate Migration
Allows us to see Climate Migration can lead to it’s own Root Causes, arguing addressed holistically (Can lead to reduced resilience & to more anthropogenic climate change)
Allows us to see links to world systems theory, enabling the foresight that the problem will affect the whole world
STAGE
THREE
Communicating the Importance of Complexity in Tackling Climate Migration
Importance of Complexity when suggeting interventions
STAGE
FOUR
Designing a Framework to Tackle Climate Migration more Hollistically
Providing a space to Democratize information on Problems
Providing a space to Democratize information on Solutions
Suggesting an area to provide customized & tailored techniques to tackle Climate Migration
STAGE
FIVE
Providing an Example of A Holistic Strategy, Using the Framework
Tackling Root Causes of Climate Migration
Tackling Drivers of Climate Migration
Tackling Effects of Climate Migration
Who, What, Where, When, Why & How
Other information on this project
Who
- Who are the other actors doing similar work? There is a plethora of independent and local community groups working on projects which directly relate to increasing urban resilience to the joint stressors of mass urbanisation and climate change. There are also bodies which work very well with disaster relief. However this project differs as it ties these projects together, to give a holistic strategy to reduce the amount, and adverse effects of Climate Migration.
- Who will benefit from this project? Used properly a wide range of actors could benefit from the project, the UNHCR could utilise it to create longer term strategies in areas they have been providing immediate diaster relief. Or indiviuals could find useful information on how to reduce the effects of the urban heat island effects without electricity. There are two examples of implimented strategies in the Strategy section.
What
- What is the point of the project? To reduce the amount of forced Climate Migration, and reduce the adverse impacts that Climate Migration has, on areas of Emigration & Immigration, as well as for the Migrants themselves.
- What scale of information do you need before it's useful? The tool can begin being useful with under 100 entries, but the more it has the better it will get at specifing resoloutions to different requirements & settings.
- What are some Drawbacks? It also would be not as effective as more immidiate actors who operate at a huge scale such as the UNHCR at coping with large immediate instances of Forced Climate Migration, such as immediate flood relief. This tool works better as longer term strategies and solutions, not immediate disaster relief.
Where
- Where can this project be implimented? This project can be implimented or used globally, the more data that is gathered on it, the more applicable its strategies to a broader audience.
- Where will this project be based? Due to the tool being online there is no real base for the base, currently the website is only in English, once that changes it will be global.
- Where will the project be most effective? The project will be most effective where there are large risks from Climate Migration, there are multiple actors willing to work on the problem together, and where the strategy is implimented before the worst effects begin setting in, as many of the resolutions resolve around prevention.
When
- When would this be useful? This tool would be useful for anyone looking to find out more information on Climate Migration, as well as for any of the Actors listed in the Solutions section to begin formulating a strategy to tackle Climate Migration and its most adverse effects.
- When would this not be useful? This tool has downsides, it currently is only in English, it has no way of discerning which information listed into the open source pools are more useful than others, and currently the limited dataset in the open source pool means that strategies developed with them may not be the best. However as the dataset of open source problems and solutions grows many of these problems will be solved.
Why
- Why use a website? A website is a great way to allow instant and global access to the tool, it becomes no easier for someone next door to use the tool than someone across the globe.
- Why use a digital archive? A digital archive can be constantly updated, and therefore is less likely to show outdated information, it is also easier to have it open source, allowing whoever wants to contribute to be able to.
- Why democratize information on Climate Resilience? There is a wealth of information on climate resilience, however it is often not distributed well, many indegenous, or traditional practices stay within communities, but are infrequently spread widely. To combat this mammoth problem, we need access to all the localised knowledge we can get.
- Why do we need separate sections for Problems & Solutions? Understanding Problems and Solutions together, requires a strong grasp of each individually. Both Are essential to mitigating the worst affects of Climate Migration. Separating the data also makes it easier for an actor using the tool to find the most relevant information more quickly.
How
- How could this be integrated with other schemes? This project looks to link together many projects would would work in conjuction and synergy together. Enabling all schemes to become more effective. Using it as a pool of data which stores information on which projects would be mutually benefical for multiple parties.
- How will this project mitigate Climate Migration? This project would ideally enable wider strategies to link together efforts from many different bodies to provide a holistic approach to the reduction of climate migration and the mitigation of its worst effects. It will stop indiviual bodies from working on one part of the problem while doing little about the others, it will also ensure that when ‘solving’ a problem you consider all time scales and the root causes, the drivers and the effects.
This project looks at
How post-colonialism has led to current global inequalities, however it does not look to resolve post-colonialism directly.
How looking at the world and information which we hold precedent to in a non-colonial way may reduce this inequality, and increase our collective capacity to cope with Climate Change and Climate Migration.
How Climate Change & Climate Migration are highly complex systems made up of many factors. Some of the factors which create this complexity, and some of the results of this complexity.
A method to de-colonialise information & research in regards to helping to increase resilience to Climate Migration.
A method to tackle climate migration from source to effect, via tailored strategies, however this section is still a proto-type.
How climate migration can affects the entire world, and how the Global North, has been at least partially to blame for the effects of Climate Migration.
- THIS WEBSITE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION - IT IS TO BE CONSIDERED AS A PROTOTYPE
REFERENCES
DEFINITIONS
Share Your Knowledge on Problems
Share Your Knowledge on Solutions
Get Climate Displacement Help
Help Climate Refugees
Improve Areas Affected
Increase Rural Resilience