The United Nations defines
environmental refugee as those persons who have been forced to leave their traditional habitat
because of marked
environmental degradation. Besides natural disasters, (unplanned) development and environmental degradation –mainly due to deforestation and desertification - are also forcing millions of people to leave their homes because the land can no longer sustain them. In recent years, the pressures of a growing population and erratic climatic conditions have only accelerated this trend.
The people living in developing countries are the worse affected, as the links to their land, pastures and forests are critical for sustaining their communities. The (geographical) areas most affected are:
• The sub-Saharan region of Africa, where drought turned good cropland into cracked and barren earth, rendering agriculture next to impossible.
• The Aral Sea, where rising salt concentrations have affected agriculture; and its toxic waters has ruined the fishing industry.
• The Gobi Desert in China, where the desert is spreading and traditional herdsmen are moving into cities.
• The Narmada Dam (in India) and Three Gorges Dam (in China) will also cause a large number of persons to be displaced, it is feared.
In fact, the zeal for building gigantic dams in India and China has caused a large number of mostly indigenous peoples to be displaced. But dams are not the only culprits – other infrastructural projects (such as building roads and factories) are also responsible. As always, the administration claims that these displaced persons will be honorably rehabilitated or resettled; but this is easier said as done. More often than not, these displaced persons end up as slum dwellers.
As the economy has grown, the need for industrial and infrastructural projects has grown along with it. Perhaps the root cause of the problem is that modern industry is unable to support such a large number of (displaced) persons, whose former livelihood depended upon agriculture. This displacement caused by the shift in livelihood from agriculture to industry is a slow but irreversible process. And invariably, most of the industrial jobs go to “outsiders”, and not to the indigenous people.
Global warming – and the consequent rise in sea levels – has created a disturbing situation from India, as large parts of the neighboring state of Bangladesh are threatened with inundation. India is creating a fence along its border with Bangladesh to stem the tide of refugees. But, that is at best only a national solution to what is essentially an international problem…
But the rural populace is not the only ones who are affected by environmental degradation. Another class of environmental refugees is the inhabitants of dead (or dying) cities who have exhausted their natural resources such as soil and water. Water tables are falling worldwide, and little has been done to address this problem.