Island and Coastal Population Impacts: Inundations May Create Environmental Refugees
Global warming could force hundreds of millions of people to migrate from areas facing sea level rise, severe drought, or other
severe climate impacts (Leggett, 1990, p. 128). Coupled with the existing problem of rapid population growth, regional and
international migration due to the loss of "productive" land would exacerbate the hardship and stress for refugees and the
communities to which they migrate. A recent study by Norman Myers for the Climate Institute indicates that environmental
problems such as desertification, deforestation, and drought, have already driven at least 25 million people from their
homelands worldwide (Myers, June 1995, p. 1). These "environmental refugees" comprise 44 percent of all refugees, and their
numbers could dramatically increase as environmental problems continue to grow.
Worldwide, it is predicted that hundreds of millions of people will be displaced by the effects of climate change (Leggett,
1990, p. 128). The economic costs of migration depend on a number of factors, such as how far refugees must travel and
whether the areas to which they travel are willing or able to accommodate them. Host countries must incur direct maintenance
and resettlement costs for refugees, as well as indirect costs such as outlays to counter diseases. Migration to cities due to
reductions in agricultural productivity and other problems in rural areas could lead to increased unemployment and other
stresses associated with rapid urbanization.
In addition to the economic costs, there are a number of social costs associated with population migration. For example,
increased migration could expose the hosts and/or refugees to new infectious diseases against which they have no natural
immunity. As they leave their homelands, refugees may leave behind places of cultural, religious or historic significance. Without
ancestral burial grounds or holy sites their culture may change or disappear, causing enormous anxiety and adversity.
sierraclub.org
|
