tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/human-displacement-28116/articleshuman displacement – The Conversation2023-04-04T12:16:34Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1973882023-04-04T12:16:34Z2023-04-04T12:16:34ZFood forests are bringing shade and sustenance to US cities, one parcel of land at a time<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518800/original/file-20230331-28-ayzg5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=6%2C12%2C4019%2C2939&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Uphams Corner Food Forest in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood was built on a vacant lot.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Boston Food Forest Coalition</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than half of all people on Earth live in cities, and that share <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/urbandevelopment/overview">could reach 70% by 2050</a>. But except for public parks, there aren’t many models for nature conservation that focus on caring for nature in urban areas. </p>
<p>One new idea that’s gaining attention is the concept of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/08/its-like-a-place-of-healing-the-growth-of-americas-food-forests">food forests</a> – essentially, edible parks. These projects, often sited on vacant lots, grow <a href="https://www.gardencityharvest.org/the-real-dirt-garden-city-harvest-blog/2020/12/26/what-is-a-food-forest">large and small trees, vines, shrubs and plants</a> that produce fruits, nuts and other edible products. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Atlanta’s Urban Food Forest at Browns Mill is the nation’s largest such project, covering more than 7 acres.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Unlike community gardens or urban farms, food forests are designed to mimic ecosystems found in nature, with many vertical layers. They shade and cool the land, protecting soil from erosion and providing habitat for insects, animals, birds and bees. Many community gardens and urban farms have limited membership, but <a href="https://www.brightvibes.com/atlanta-creates-first-free-food-forest-to-fight-food-insecurity/">most food forests are open to the community</a> from sunup to sundown. </p>
<p>As scholars who focus on <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=SRC3hyMAAAAJ&hl=en">conservation, social justice</a> and <a href="http://otheringandbelonging.org/equity-common-cause-sustainable-food-system-network-cultivating-commitment-racial-justice/">sustainable food systems</a>, we see food forests as an exciting new way to protect nature without displacing people. Food forests don’t just conserve biodiversity – they also promote community well-being and offer deep insights about fostering urban nature in the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-irony-of-the-anthropocene-people-dominate-a-planet-beyond-our-control-64948">Anthropocene</a>, as environmentally destructive forms of economic development and consumption alter Earth’s climate and ecosystems. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519106/original/file-20230403-18-ierb3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Two adults and a young girl plant a tree seedling in an urban park." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519106/original/file-20230403-18-ierb3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519106/original/file-20230403-18-ierb3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519106/original/file-20230403-18-ierb3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519106/original/file-20230403-18-ierb3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519106/original/file-20230403-18-ierb3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519106/original/file-20230403-18-ierb3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/519106/original/file-20230403-18-ierb3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Community stewards planting a tree at Boston’s Edgewater Food Forest at River Street, July 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Boston Food Forest Coalition/Hope Kelley</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<h2>Protecting nature without pushing people away</h2>
<p>Many scientists and world leaders agree that to <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-solve-climate-change-and-biodiversity-loss-we-need-a-global-deal-for-nature-115557">slow climate change and reduce losses of wild species</a>, it’s critical to protect a large share of Earth’s lands and waters for nature. Under the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, 188 nations have <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/cop15-ends-landmark-biodiversity-agreement">agreed on a target</a> of conserving at least 30% of land and sea areas globally by 2030 – an agenda known popularly as 30x30. </p>
<p>But there’s fierce debate over how to achieve that goal. In many cases, creating protected areas has <a href="https://theconversation.com/american-environmentalisms-racist-roots-have-shaped-global-thinking-about-conservation-143783">displaced Indigenous peoples</a> from their homelands. What’s more, protected areas are disproportionately located in countries with high levels of economic inequality and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2016.08.018">poorly functioning political institutions</a> that don’t effectively protect the rights of poor and marginalized citizens in most cases.</p>
<p>In contrast, food forests promote civic engagement. At <a href="https://beaconfoodforest.org/">Beacon Food Forest</a> in Seattle, volunteers worked with professional landscape architects and organized public meetings to seek community input on the project’s design and development. The city of Atlanta’s Urban Agriculture Team partners with neighborhood residents, volunteers, community groups and nonprofit partners to manage the <a href="https://www.aglanta.org/2021-uffbm-partnership-applications">Urban Food Forest at Browns Mill</a>.</p>
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<h2>Block by block in Boston</h2>
<p>Boston is famous for its <a href="https://www.boston.gov/parks-and-playgrounds">parks and green spaces</a>, including some designed by renowned landscape architect <a href="https://www.olmsted.org/the-olmsted-legacy/frederick-law-olmsted-sr">Frederick Law Olmsted</a>. But it also has a history of systemic racism and segregation that created <a href="https://www.boston.gov/environment-and-energy/heat-resilience-solutions-boston">drastic inequities in access to green spaces</a>.</p>
<p>And those gaps still exist. In 2021, the city reported that communities of color that had been subjected to redlining in the past had <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1W7EPNw7hL-Ct7SkKXEaTUjmVJmoZuOe6/view">16% less parkland and 7% less tree cover</a> than the citywide median. These neighborhoods were 3.3 degrees Fahrenheit (1.8 degrees Celsius) hotter during the day and 1.9 F (1 C) hotter at night, making residents more vulnerable to <a href="https://theconversation.com/dangerous-urban-heat-exposure-has-tripled-since-the-1980s-with-the-poor-most-at-risk-169153">urban heat waves</a> that are becoming increasingly common with climate change. </p>
<p>Encouragingly, Boston has been at the forefront of the national expansion of food forests. The unique approach here places ownership of these parcels in a community trust. Neighborhood stewards manage the sites’ routine care and maintenance.</p>
<p>The nonprofit <a href="https://www.bostonfoodforest.org/">Boston Food Forest Coalition</a>, which launched in 2015, is working to develop 30 community-driven food forests by 2030. The <a href="https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1PDQqrbIDZJ9qyGjYCoU5vYuo5hOhTYQx&ll=42.282422051643174%2C-71.07159202632803&z=12">existing nine projects</a> are helping to conserve over 60,000 square feet (5,600 square meters) of formerly vacant urban land – an area slightly larger than a football field.</p>
<p>Neighborhood volunteers choose what to grow, plan events and share harvested crops with food banks, nonprofit and faith-based meal programs and neighbors. Local collective action is central to repurposing open spaces, including lawns, yards and vacant lots, into food forests that are linked together into a citywide network. The coalition, a community land trust that partners with the city government, holds Boston food forests as permanently protected lands. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518814/original/file-20230331-24-h4s7ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Aerial view of a city lot planted with fruit trees, vines and raised flower beds." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518814/original/file-20230331-24-h4s7ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/518814/original/file-20230331-24-h4s7ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518814/original/file-20230331-24-h4s7ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518814/original/file-20230331-24-h4s7ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518814/original/file-20230331-24-h4s7ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518814/original/file-20230331-24-h4s7ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/518814/original/file-20230331-24-h4s7ff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=976&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Aerial view of the Ellington Community Food Forest in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Boston Food Forest Coalition</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>Boston’s food forests are small in size: They average 7,000 square feet (650 square meters) of reclaimed land, about <a href="https://www.hoopsaddict.com/how-many-square-feet-is-a-basketball-court/">50% larger than an NBA basketball court</a>. But they produce a wide range of vegetables, fruit and herbs, including Roxbury Russet apples, native blueberries and pawpaws, a nutritious fruit native to North America. The forests also serve as gathering spaces, contribute to rainwater harvesting and help beautify neighborhoods.</p>
<p>The Boston Food Forest Coalition provides technical assistance and fundraising support. It also hires experts for tasks such as soil remediation, removing invasive plants and installing accessible pathways, benches and fences. </p>
<p>Hundreds of volunteers take part in community work days and educational workshops on topics such as <a href="https://www.bostonfoodforest.org/workshops/winter-pruning-bnc-march12">pruning fruit trees in winter</a>. Gardening classes and cultural events connect neighbors across urban divides of class, race, language and culture. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Boston residents explain what the city’s food forests mean to them.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>A growing movement</h2>
<p>According to a crowd-sourced repository, the U.S. has <a href="https://communityfoodforests.com/community-food-forests-map/">more than 85 community food forests</a> in public spaces from the Pacific Northwest to the Deep South. Currently, most of these sites are in larger cities. In a 2021 survey, mayors from 176 small cities (with populations under 25,000) reported that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/uar2.20011">long-term maintenance</a> was the biggest challenge of sustaining food forests in their communities. </p>
<p>From our experience observing Boston’s approach close up, we believe its model of community-driven food forests is promising. The city sold land to the Boston Food Forest Coalition’s community land trust for $100 per parcel in 2015 and also funded initial construction and planting operations. Since then, the city has made food forests an important part of the city’s open spaces program as it continues to sell parcels to the community land trust at the same price. </p>
<p>Smaller cities with much lower tax bases may not be able to make the same sort of investments. But Boston’s community-driven model offers a viable approach for maintaining these projects without burdening city governments. The city has adopted <a href="https://www.cityofboston.gov/images_documents/FINAL_Boston%20Urban%20Agriculture%20Guide_Ground-Level%20Less%20than%20One%20Acre_March%202014_Complete%20Final_tcm3-43849.pdf">innovative zoning and permitting ordinances</a> to support small-scale urban agriculture. </p>
<p>Building a food forest brings together neighbors, neighborhood associations, community-based organizations and city agencies. It represents a grassroots response to the interconnected crises of climate change, environmental degradation and social and racial inequity. We believe food forests show how to build a just and sustainable future, one person, seedling and neighborhood at a time.</p>
<p><em>Orion Kriegman, the founding executive director of the Boston Food Forest Coalition, contributed to this article.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/197388/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Karen is Principal of KAS Consulting, which works with health and equity-focused initiatives. She serves on the Steering Committee and as Massachusetts Ambassador for the Food Solutions New England network and on the boards of the Boston Food Forest Coalition, the Sustainable Business Network of Massachusetts, the Northeast Organic Farmers Association: Massachusetts Chapter. Also serves on the Advisory Council of Global Council of Science and the Environment; founding member of Southern New England Farmers of Color Collaborative; committee work with Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education and member of Agriculture, Food & Human Values Society.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Prakash Kashwan does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Food forests are urban oases that pack a lot into small spaces, including food production, local cooling and social connections.Karen A. Spiller, Thomas W. Haas Professor in Sustainable Food Systems, University of New HampshirePrakash Kashwan, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, Brandeis UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1580082021-05-27T12:06:56Z2021-05-27T12:06:56ZColombian city beset by crime declares ‘Black Lives Matter’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402694/original/file-20210525-19-16h5jn7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5568%2C3700&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A demonstration for peace in Buenaventura, Colombia, where a cartel turf war has left at least 30 people dead since the beginning of this year.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/people-demonstrate-against-armed-groups-that-have-left-this-year-31-picture-id1230988457?k=6&m=1230988457&s=612x612&w=0&h=T125h4MNCaPx0YOo2PwqwzHb8EE6xXU-RpaVFdEuNOg=">Luis Robayo/AFP via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/urgente-grave-situacion-en-buenaventura-reportan-saqueos-en-el-area-del-puerto/202130/">Chaotic and deadly protests</a> have for weeks rocked the Colombian port city of Buenaventura. <a href="https://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/autoridades-investigan-tres-muertes-en-protestas-de-este-miercoles-en-buenaventura/202126/">In mid-May</a> some demonstrators stormed the airport, and riot police responded with force, killing three.</p>
<p>Buenaventura’s demonstrations are a part of the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/5/11/cali-emerges-as-epicentre-of-colombias-ongoing-unrest">massive, violent national wave of protests</a> over increasing poverty and incessant violence in Colombia. But they actually began well before Colombia’s broader upheaval. </p>
<p>Since early 2021, people in this <a href="https://geoportal.dane.gov.co/geovisores/territorio/servicios-web-geograficos/?cod=049">majority-Black coastal city</a> have been rising up peacefully but insistently against rampant drug trafficking, political violence and cartel infiltration. </p>
<p>Organized crime and illicit economies are both national problems in Colombia. But in Buenaventura, a history of state neglect has allowed both to flourish unchecked, according to <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=WvO0RgIAAAAJ&hl=en&authuser=1&gmla=AJsN-F6H25YEpEpLDoeSyz3HJMMO7N6Ww_gzpTquP-RTH1MG-525I5paRUsnNF5eC7lcqiIImFrojBmRGOOv6Bc6BzJ_S7aTgc-cDe3wVElDu-J_rfOwrqk&sciund=5776971038694750573">my academic research in the city</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://pares.com.co/2020/06/03/racismo-y-covid-19-en-colombia-las-vidas-negras-importan/">For many Colombian</a> and <a href="https://www.wola.org/2021/02/colombian-government-us-policymakers-must-protect-black-lives-buenaventura/">international observers</a>, the government’s apparent lack of interest in saving Buenaventura has a clear source: structural racism resulting from <a href="https://nacla.org/news/2021/03/11/afro-colombians-buenaventura-ports-violence">state policies that have long marginalized Black Colombians</a>. </p>
<iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?height=476&href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fsoydebuenaventura%2Fvideos%2F2683404115319100%2F&show_text=false&width=476" width="100%" height="476" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe>
<figure><figcaption><span class="caption">After a young Black man named Anderson Arboleda was beaten to death by Colombian police in May 2020, a Buenaventura digital news site posted this explainer on racism in Colombia.</span></figcaption></figure>
<h2>Abandoned city</h2>
<p>Black people, or Afro-Colombians, make up approximately 10% of Colombia’s 50 million people and 85% of Buenaventura’s population. </p>
<p>Many residents originally came to Buenaventura – located approximately 300 miles from Colombia’s Andean capital, Bogota – as war refugees from different parts of Colombia’s Pacific region to escape armed conflict. </p>
<p>Colombia is home to a <a href="https://theconversation.com/violence-and-killings-havent-stopped-in-colombia-despite-landmark-peace-deal-111232">half-century long battle among guerrillas, the government and paramilitary groups</a>. The war technically ended with a 2016 peace accord, but Colombia’s ever-changing and complex armed conflict continues to kill and displace scores each year. <a href="https://www.hrw.org/reports/1994/colombia/gener1.htm">Most violent crimes in the country go unsolved</a>.</p>
<p>Activists and <a href="https://www.wola.org/2021/02/colombian-government-us-policymakers-must-protect-black-lives-buenaventura/">human rights groups say Buenaventura’s dismal and dangerous living conditions</a> reflect long-standing disparities between Black and white Colombians. For example, approximately <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/page/file/1277501/download">41% of Afro-Colombians live in poverty, compared with 27% of white Colombians</a>.</p>
<p>All Buenaventura is in desperate need of investment to upgrade its dilapidated or nonexistent infrastructure. Many neighborhoods <a href="https://www.abcolombia.org.uk/emblematic-case-buenaventura/">lack drinkable water, trash pickup and functioning sewers</a>. Sewage runs underneath houses near the port and <a href="https://www.coha.org/colombias-next-pertinent-deal-buenaventura/#_edn10">flows untreated into the Pacific Ocean</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402692/original/file-20210525-13-w1kf1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Soldier in fatigue holds a weapon while a young girl covers her head" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402692/original/file-20210525-13-w1kf1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402692/original/file-20210525-13-w1kf1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402692/original/file-20210525-13-w1kf1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402692/original/file-20210525-13-w1kf1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402692/original/file-20210525-13-w1kf1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402692/original/file-20210525-13-w1kf1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402692/original/file-20210525-13-w1kf1b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A Colombian marine on patrol in Buenaventura on Feb. 10, 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/colombian-marine-infantry-soldiers-patrol-the-streets-of-buenaventura-picture-id1231092379?k=6&m=1231092379&s=612x612&w=0&h=l4ZKcDEHFoZ3PX3VNbiOU_qGlM864yn0IbgDHGQwSFE=">Luis Robayo/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
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<p>Medical care is also poor in Buenaventura. Local clinics often do not have the supplies or capacity to treat many patients, so sick Buenaventura residents are referred to hospitals in Cali, three hours away. Last June, Buenaventura had <a href="https://colombiacheck.com/chequeos/si-buenaventura-tiene-la-tasa-de-letalidad-mas-alta-del-pais-por-covid-19">Colombia’s highest COVID-19 mortality rate</a>.</p>
<p>A chronic <a href="https://colombiareports.com/colombias-failing-state-part-2-who-is-the-boss-in-buenaventura/">75% unemployment rate</a> and <a href="https://www.dane.gov.co/files/investigaciones/planes-desarrollo-territorial/100320-Info-Alcaldia-Buenaventura.pdf">64% poverty rate</a> – twice the national average – make local youth easy recruits for armed groups. The lack of state presence also allows these groups to <a href="https://www.dane.gov.co/files/investigaciones/planes-desarrollo-territorial/100320-Info-Alcaldia-Buenaventura.pdf">threaten and attack locals</a> without accountability. Many residents <a href="https://insightcrime.org/news/violence-buenaventura-local-rift/">do not even report such incidents</a> to police for fear of retaliation. </p>
<p>Although the Colombian national government normally has little presence in Buenaventura, it flexed its muscle when protests broke out. In February, amid the outburst of cartel violence, marines were sent to patrol city streets. And in May, when some protests turned to riots, security forces quelled the uprising with deadly violence.</p>
<p>Cries of “Black Lives Matter” – or “las vidas negras importan” – became a <a href="https://www.huckmag.com/perspectives/activism-2/colombia-black-lives-matter-trend-racism/">theme in the city’s protests</a>, as residents in this oppressed city connect their struggles with those of Black people in the U.S. and worldwide.</p>
<h2>Cartel violence</h2>
<p>Despite these troubles, Buenaventura is home to Colombia’s most vital port. Over 50% of all Colombian <a href="https://www.ccbun.org/articulos/ventajas-competitivas">imports and exports move through the city</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402900/original/file-20210526-17-1aog9od.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Large ships with stacked containers lined up in the water" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402900/original/file-20210526-17-1aog9od.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402900/original/file-20210526-17-1aog9od.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402900/original/file-20210526-17-1aog9od.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402900/original/file-20210526-17-1aog9od.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402900/original/file-20210526-17-1aog9od.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402900/original/file-20210526-17-1aog9od.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402900/original/file-20210526-17-1aog9od.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Container ships at the port of Buenaventura, Colombia’s most important port.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0d/Puerto_de_buenaventura.jpg">Jimysantandef via Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>That includes legal goods such as coffee and mined minerals as well as illegal products such as marijuana and <a href="https://wtop.com/world/2020/03/us-report-colombia-coca-production-still-at-record-high/">cocaine</a>, which is processed in <a href="http://thecitypaperbogota.com/news/colombian-cocaine-exports-increased-during-pandemic-claims-dea/26915">hidden laboratories throughout the country</a>. Cocaine is shipped from Buenaventura to partner cartels in Central America and on to the U.S. or directly to Europe – the world’s biggest cocaine markets. </p>
<p>Each kilo of cocaine that makes it to Europe earns <a href="https://insightcrime.org/news/analysis/buenaventura-cocaine-path-least-resistance/">approximately US$30,000</a>. Controlling Buenaventura and connecting waterways is a profitable enterprise for Colombia’s many <a href="https://www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/andes/colombia/076-calming-restless-pacific-violence-and-crime-colombias-coast">criminal operations</a>. </p>
<p>For years, a local narco-trafficking group called La Local held a comfortable monopoly on illegal imports and exports, allowing for relative peace. But in late 2020, the group split into factions. </p>
<p>The resulting turf war <a href="https://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/la-increible-guerra-urbana-que-tiene-a-buenaventura-sumida-en-zozobra-y-dolor/202154/">led to at least 30 murders and 40 disappearances</a> by February 2021. Another 6,000 people in Buenaventura were forced to flee their homes to escape crossfire. Some fled <a href="https://nacla.org/news/2021/03/11/afro-colombians-buenaventura-ports-violence">besieged portside neighborhoods after death threats</a>. </p>
<p>“There’s collective panic, a generalized sense of insecurity where we can’t feel at ease even in our own neighborhoods or houses or in public spaces,” local activist Danelly Estupiñán told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/23/colombias-capital-of-horror-despairs-amid-renewed-gang-violence-buenaventura">The Guardian newspaper in February</a>. That newspaper has called Buenaventura “Colombia’s Capital of Horror.” </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402693/original/file-20210525-19-10gtsr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Warehouse with rows of plastic packages lined up and a caution tape running across foreground" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402693/original/file-20210525-19-10gtsr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/402693/original/file-20210525-19-10gtsr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402693/original/file-20210525-19-10gtsr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402693/original/file-20210525-19-10gtsr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402693/original/file-20210525-19-10gtsr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402693/original/file-20210525-19-10gtsr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/402693/original/file-20210525-19-10gtsr0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Packages of marijuana seized near Buenaventura on March 27, 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/colombian-soldiers-organize-seized-marijuana-packages-in-buenaventura-picture-id1231972895?k=6&m=1231972895&s=612x612&w=0&h=P3NKwuJAolJYQ1q9LxPFPKKBMbUtCKlZ89ya_ts9Vq8=">Luis Robayo/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Desperate to <a href="https://www.wola.org/2021/02/colombia-begins-2021-alarming-records-violence-urgent-action/">stop spiking violence</a>, which Estupiñán called a “humanitarian crisis,” residents in this city of 450,000 staged large-scale protests early this year. </p>
<p>At one point in February, they formed a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/23/colombias-capital-of-horror-despairs-amid-renewed-gang-violence-buenaventura">13-mile human “chain for peace.”</a></p>
<p>Buenaventura’s fight for government investment, inclusion in national policymaking and better social welfare programs has had limited success so far. </p>
<p>But locals say something has to change – and they won’t stop marching until it does. </p>
<p>[<em>Get the best of The Conversation, every weekend.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters/weekly-highlights-61?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=weeklybest">Sign up for our weekly newsletter</a>.]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/158008/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shauna N Gillooly receives funding from the Fulbright Commission.</span></em></p>A lethal turf war between drug traffickers has terrorized Buenaventura, Colombia for months. Now protesters are demanding the government’s help to protect people in this mostly Black city.Shauna N Gillooly, PhD Candidate, Political Science, University of California, IrvineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1186982019-06-20T19:02:02Z2019-06-20T19:02:02ZShould we tax arms manufacturers to finance refugee resettlement?<p>Today <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/figures-at-a-glance.html">68.5 million people</a> are forcefully displaced worldwide. In 2018 alone, this number increased by 16.2 million: 11.8 million displaced within their national borders and 4.4 million seeking asylum outside. We are going through an unprecedented refugee crisis.</p>
<p>Wars in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/16979186">Syria</a>, <a href="https://www.cfr.org/interactive/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/war-yemen">Yemen</a>, <a href="https://www.cfr.org/interactive/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/civil-war-south-sudan">South Sudan</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/30/magazine/afghan-war-casualty-report-may-24-30.html">Afghanistan</a> have been the most significant contributors to the surge in the number of both internally displaced and asylum seekers.</p>
<p>These conflicts have led to an unprecedented level of destruction, of whole cities and communities, due in part to the increased volume and sophistication of weapons available to all warring parties. Technologies such as remotely activated explosives, drones, mines and projectile launchers are now available not only to national armies but also to militias.</p>
<p>An overall increase of 87% in arms purchases in the Middle East in the last three years, compared to the preceding one, increases the chances of further tension and mass destruction in the region. Countries such as Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey and Qatar have been <a href="https://www.sipri.org/publications/2019/sipri-fact-sheets/trends-international-arms-transfers-2018">stockpiling a vast arsenal of weapons</a>. There is a similar arms build-up in Asia led by China, India and Japan, but also Australia, which has massively increased its arms purchases <a href="https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2019-03/fs_1903_at_2018.pdf">in the past three years</a>.</p>
<p>Drawing upon tax schemes developed for tobacco and climate change, I propose a transnational tax scheme levied on all international weapons sales, the “destruction tax”, that would finance a “reconstruction fund”. Such a scheme would put a downward pressure on international arms sales, and also can make funds available for refugee resettlement and post-war reconstruction.</p>
<h2>Arms’ business: a highly skewed distribution of costs and benefits</h2>
<p>Civilians and the environment withstand the worst of the destructive forces in military conflicts. Meanwhile, the warring parties absorb very little of this cost. Similarly, the arms and military companies – whose sales totalled <a href="https://www.sipri.org/publications/2019/sipri-fact-sheets/trends-international-arms-transfers-2018">398.2 billion US dollars</a> in 2017 – are key beneficiaries from warfare. But they play no role in addressing the social and environmental costs from the use of their products.</p>
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<p> <br></p>
<p>The companies, mostly from the United States, Russia, Germany, France, China and the UK, are at the forefront of the global arms sales, which has been <a href="https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2019-03/fs_1903_at_2018.pdf">growing steadily</a>.</p>
<h2>Arms as the new cigarettes?</h2>
<p>The economics and social effects of arms have a lot in common with cigarettes and other products with destructive effects.</p>
<p>During the past few years we have made significant progress in using fiscal solutions to decrease the consumption of dangerous products and to cover the social cost of their use. The idea of such tax schemes was first introduced by the British economist Alain Pigou in 1920s and it is hence called the Pigouvian tax. Such a tax would aim to make markets absorb the cost of the “negative externalities” that products cause the society and environment. Since, this proposal has led to <a href="https://www.economist.com/economics-brief/2017/08/19/pigouvian-taxes">extensive academic debates and policy experimentations</a>.</p>
<p>Increased cigarette taxes throughout the Western world have decreased use and also made it possible to cover partly the public health costs of smoking. Such taxes became common in 1990s, with rates around 20% of the sales price, and by 2018, they have increased to around <a href="https://www.who.int/tobacco/global_report/2017/technical_note_III.pdf">80% of the sales price in many OECD countries</a>.</p>
<p>There are similar initiatives for integrating the environmental cost of products’ use in their cost structure and pricing. A good example is the inclusion of carbon emissions and pollution in the cost structure of fuel, which governments ranging from China, Singapore and Japan to South Africa, Canada, the European Union and several US states <a href="https://www.cbo.gov/publication/44223">have experimented with</a>.</p>
<h2>The “destruction tax”</h2>
<p>The “destruction tax” is essentially a proposal to introduce a transnational tax on arms sales to deal with some of the destructive effects of warfare. So, it has similarities with the Pigouvian tax. </p>
<p>However, obviously for weapons, the idea of measuring the “externalities” seems impossible and absurd. The loss of life, disabilities, damage to communities, cultures, and the environment, and forced displacement of populations cannot be measured or remediated through any intervention.</p>
<p>The destruction tax only has the limited aim of attributing responsibility to arms manufacturers, to start playing a role in assisting those affected by their products. As with tobacco taxation schemes, such a tax would be part of (and a trigger for) a broader set of accountability and regulatory schemes/pressures and would not be a replacement for them. Nor would it exonerate companies from their responsibility for the proliferation of military conflicts & warfare and the resulting destruction.</p>
<p>A hypothetical “destruction tax” of 10% on international arms transactions would yield annually a maximum of around 40 billion US dollars in revenue (depending on where and how the scheme is executed). The jurisdictional power and territory of the body that will manage the tax scheme will be a major defining factor. For example, a UN-based scheme can cover a much larger portion of the global arms sales compared to one organised by the European Union, but it would have less enforcement power. The funds from such a tax scheme would then be transferred to a transnational “reconstruction fund” to finance post-war reconstruction.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279209/original/file-20190612-32356-1jdtk3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279209/original/file-20190612-32356-1jdtk3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279209/original/file-20190612-32356-1jdtk3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279209/original/file-20190612-32356-1jdtk3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=382&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279209/original/file-20190612-32356-1jdtk3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279209/original/file-20190612-32356-1jdtk3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279209/original/file-20190612-32356-1jdtk3t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A 10% tax on arms’ transaction. A way to cover the wars’ destructive effects?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">dxl/Unsplash</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The funds from such a transnational tax can provide a lifeline to a vast number of individuals and communities affected by war. Individuals affected by war can submit applications to the “reconstruction fund” so that money can be disbursed to help them with the reconstruction of their habitat, environmental remediation and/or resettlement.</p>
<p>The level of such as a tax, whether it is a flat rate or a progressive one proportionate to the destructive effects of weapons, and how it would be disbursed and to whom, are issues that need to be debated and decided through a political process. Similarly, it would need to be debated whether such a tax would be applied only to the final products or also to the arms production supply chain. The benefits of such an initiative that I detail below would bring more political appetite to increase the tax rate afterwards and to implement it in other arenas and jurisdictions (as has been the case with tobacco, alcohol and environmental emissions).</p>
<h2>Four reasons to welcome the “destruction tax”</h2>
<p>A “destruction tax” would have four crucial benefits:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>A global arms sales decrease</strong>. As with cigarettes, the price increase resulting from such a tax can have an effect on the demand for arms, from all types of buyers ranging from governments to private security firms and militias. This can be one possible factor to help slow down the spiral of arms stockpiling, even though – obviously – it is not sufficient and effective as a sole measure. The resulting price increase would affect demand not only from the parties to the international transactions but it would flow through to the local resellers and smuggling & distribution networks, all the way down to the warring parties.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Re-balancing the distribution of costs of warfare</strong>. Currently the cost and benefits of war are unfairly distributed. Exporters such as the US, Europe and Russia yield the economic benefits of arms sales. The buyers or the warring parties on battlegrounds deploy the military technologies to attempt to get political and economic benefits through use of the arms, while the local populations, mostly in the Middle East and Africa, absorb the bulk of the costs. Such a scheme will rebalance the distribution of costs and benefits along the chain. It can transfer part or all of the cost of destruction back to the sellers and the buyers while partly covering the costs to the local populations.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>Helps restore refugees’ dignity</strong>. Currently, innocent civilian refugees affected by war have to rely on charity and generosity of the receiving countries, international organisations and NGOs. This puts them in a passive and humiliating position and deprives them of choice. However, such a destruction tax would change the discourse about refugees from helpless receivers of charity to those rightfully claiming funds to cover their war related losses. The money financed through such a tax can provide them more choice in their life trajectories, and also the possibility to recover more quickly from their war traumas. Of course, the human aspects of war traumas and losses cannot be addressed through any such financial incentive.</p></li>
<li><p><strong>A different attitude of receiving countries toward refugees</strong>. Currently refugees are frequently <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/12/no-mr-salvini-migrants-and-refugees-are-not-a-burden-a-photo-essay">framed as a burden and a cost</a> by many (Western) country politicians and media. Considering that the funds from the reconstruction fund can help cover part or all of their immediate resettlement expenses, it can motivate the receiving countries to be more receptive to refugees. This can also help tame the increasingly polarising and dehumanising discourses about refugees and their effects in the receiving countries.</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279323/original/file-20190613-32356-ys9iu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279323/original/file-20190613-32356-ys9iu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279323/original/file-20190613-32356-ys9iu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279323/original/file-20190613-32356-ys9iu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279323/original/file-20190613-32356-ys9iu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279323/original/file-20190613-32356-ys9iu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/279323/original/file-20190613-32356-ys9iu5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Somali refugee stands inside a tent with her baby in Dollo Ado, Ethiopia. Fleeing drought and famine in their home country, thousands of Somalis have taken up residence across the border in Dollo Ado where a complex of camps is assisted by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/un_photo/6096782449/in/photolist-ahKB1M-7PEbEg-87iDuy-9sV6cL-86qe33-9ttHq5-fGC61-87iDxw-4Li8FF-7PEawP-86r5r3-7FCeMZ-9sVaej-87iDes-4Q1WY3-7FG9J5-9sS4rn-9sV5TC-8D5CbF-4E1Pdw-7FCeQD-86nU7P-87iDfq-87iDtA-87frDe-o56VxK-WyvDhy-9sS9Sr-86nLtM-87frsx-7FGaej-8zsRZd-4RzC2V-8vwTuF-4kTKbr-aiA3ft-4RDMEw-amzq6M-a7gwzE-U7sJv-6VmFjq-akancs-nvBrqh-abQ5Vy-eYLw87-a4aLzY-nKQ6Gi-o7QadM-9sEifr-jrdAZ7">Eskinder Debebe/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Is it feasible?</h2>
<p>Considering the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/22/business/economy/military-industrial-complex.html">deep ties</a> of the US administration and the legislative bodies with the country’s military industry, such option seems far-fetched at present. Similarly, governments of European countries such as France and the UK have been <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20160823-arms-trade-france-yemen-saudi-arabia-att-treaty-human-rights">mostly unconditionally supportive</a> of their respective military firms and their international dealings. However, other European countries less involved in the arms markets who are dealing with the brunt of the costs of the refugee crisis in Europe such as Greece but also many Eastern European countries should be more supportive of such a tax.</p>
<p>Considering the increased number of progressive voices both in the European Union in the form of <a href="https://www.gruene-bundestag.de/internationale-politik/humanitaere-katastrophe-lindern.html">green parties</a>, and US legislative bodies – the highly active and vocal <a href="https://cpc-grijalva.house.gov/caucus-members/">Congressional Progressive Caucus</a> is a good example – there is a political momentum to start the debate and to produce detailed proposals for such a transnational tax. This would prepare the grounds and help build momentum for its eventual enactment.</p>
<p>In the longer term, countries neighbouring major wars and conflicts such as Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, Uganda, Iran and Jordan – that have been hosting <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/figures-at-a-glance.html">about 85% of refugees</a> from wars in Syria, Palestine, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Iraq, Libya and Somalia over the past several decades – can mobilise to initiate such debates and to trigger action at the United Nations.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118698/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Afshin Mehrpouya ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Wars play a central role in increasing numbers of refugees worldwide. Is it time to think about a “destruction tax”?Afshin Mehrpouya, Associate Professor, HEC Paris Business SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/981652018-06-21T18:48:07Z2018-06-21T18:48:07ZHow a photo research project gives refugee women a voice in resettlement policy<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224148/original/file-20180621-137720-1g4r3bk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Research that explores resettlement issues from refugee women's perspectives are needed to inform settlement policy and programs effectively.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Between 2000 and 2017, <a href="http://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/publications/populationfacts/docs/MigrationPopFacts20175.pdf">the number of refugees and asylum seekers</a> globally increased from 16 to 26 million. In 2016, women made up <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/5943e8a34.pdf">49% of global refugees</a>. Dominant representations of refugee women are that of <a href="https://unstats.un.org/unsd/gender/downloads/worldswomen2015_report.pdf">vulnerable and helpless victims</a>. This disregards women’s agency, voice, and deep desire for education and social enterprise. </p>
<p>Australia’s refugee intake is expected to increase to <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/discussion-papers/discussion-paper-humanitarian-programme_2017-18.pdf">18,750</a> in 2018-19, the largest intake <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09557571.2010.523820">in 30 years</a>. In 1989, Australia established a “<a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/discussion-papers/discussion-paper-humanitarian-programme_2017-18.pdf">Woman at Risk</a>” visa subclass for women and their dependants living outside their home country who have been subject to persecution because of their gender. Over 1,600 visas were granted in <a href="https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/ReportsandPublications/Documents/statistics/australia-offshore-humanitarian-program-2016-17.pdf">2016-17</a> to vulnerable women and children.</p>
<p>Upon resettlement, women may face <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26976004">challenges</a> such as language difficulties, isolation, health issues, loss of family and support networks, violence and discrimination. These women’s voices can be excluded in forming policies, with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/26/a-tougher-language-test-would-punish-women-like-my-mother-who-have-lost-everything">significant impacts</a>. Research approaches which explore issues related to settlement from their perspective are needed to effectively inform settlement policy and programs.</p>
<h2>The research</h2>
<p>Our research explored refugee women’s perspectives on settlement in Australia. We conducted the research in partnership with <a href="http://www.ishar.org.au/">Ishar Multicultural Women’s Health Centre</a> in Western Australia. </p>
<p>We used the participatory education research method of photovoice, which has become increasingly <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19797541">popular</a> in health research with marginalised groups <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1609406918757631">globally</a>. It’s used as a tool for empowering participants in <a href="http://www.facultadeducacion.ucr.ac.cr/recursos/docs/Contenidos/Empowering_Women.photovoice.pdf">Costa Rica</a>, enhancing their self-perception in <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1757975914528960">Canada</a>, building their networks in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5879794/">Spain</a>, and supporting cultural resilience and <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.94.6.911">influencing policy</a> in the <a href="https://www.springerprofessional.de/en/keystone-characteristics-that-support-cultural-resilience-in-kar/5831026">US</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/allwomencount-art-and-culture-at-the-forefront-of-world-refugee-day-98326">#AllWomenCount: art and culture at the forefront of World Refugee Day</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Participants were provided with cameras and asked to photograph situations that represented their settlement experiences. Some 43 women participated in six small group sessions with a professional photographer. Training included the ethics of taking photographs, selecting topics, and photography practice. </p>
<p>Discussions of their images used the “<a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1609406918757631#">SHOWeD</a>” technique, a form of critical questioning which explored the stories behind their photos. This led to reflective recommendations for supporting successful settlement. We also conducted in-depth interviews with 11 women to explore their experiences of settlement issues and the photovoice method.</p>
<h2>The power of photographs and narratives</h2>
<p>Our participants selected photographs and wrote accompanying narratives for an exhibition which has been travelling across public libraries. This project highlights the challenges of their lives in Australia, the importance of family and social support, the need for education and employment and drawing on personal strength during resettlement. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224149/original/file-20180621-137714-iqs2s6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224149/original/file-20180621-137714-iqs2s6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224149/original/file-20180621-137714-iqs2s6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224149/original/file-20180621-137714-iqs2s6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=482&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224149/original/file-20180621-137714-iqs2s6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224149/original/file-20180621-137714-iqs2s6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224149/original/file-20180621-137714-iqs2s6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=606&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p><strong>Light and warmth in war</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Light makes me feel safe. War took all the light from our lives. We used this light to survive and hold us together. </p>
<p>–<strong>Alma</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224150/original/file-20180621-137717-1acf94v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224150/original/file-20180621-137717-1acf94v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224150/original/file-20180621-137717-1acf94v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224150/original/file-20180621-137717-1acf94v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224150/original/file-20180621-137717-1acf94v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224150/original/file-20180621-137717-1acf94v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224150/original/file-20180621-137717-1acf94v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Road to life: leaving weary worlds behind</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>The road represents the difficulties of life before coming to Australia. The turning point in my life came and I was able to overcome the difficulties of life with help from support organisations. </p>
<p>–<strong>Annie</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224151/original/file-20180621-137750-8k3m6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/224151/original/file-20180621-137750-8k3m6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224151/original/file-20180621-137750-8k3m6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224151/original/file-20180621-137750-8k3m6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224151/original/file-20180621-137750-8k3m6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224151/original/file-20180621-137750-8k3m6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/224151/original/file-20180621-137750-8k3m6x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author provided</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Happy times</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>My son is going to the library. It is important to me because in my country it was not possible for children to go safely to the library or school. In Australia, my children can have the opportunity to be educated, which is something I did not have. I enjoy being part of my son’s school. </p>
<p>–<strong>Gabriella</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Sustained English language education</h2>
<p>Settlement is a long, non-linear process and is shaped by intersecting factors including gender, age, ethnicity and education. English language proficiency is a key facilitator to successful settlement. But many women face competing priorities in accessing English language education when they resettle in Australia, including child care responsibilities and attending to the health needs of family members. </p>
<p>Refugee women need sustained access to English language tuition which takes into account their circumstances and immediate needs. Education and language programs <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/sites/default/files/publication-documents/rr38-empowering_migrant_women_report.pdf">need to be flexible</a>, through access to home tutoring or childcare. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/universities-need-to-do-more-to-support-refugee-students-97185">Universities need to do more to support refugee students</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>This recommendation was also made in a recent <a href="http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024098/toc_pdf/NooneteachesyoutobecomeanAustralian.pdf;fileType=application%2Fpdf">parliamentary inquiry</a> into migrant settlement outcomes. It was also discussed in <a href="https://aifs.gov.au/sites/default/files/publication-documents/rr38-empowering_migrant_women_report.pdf">research</a> on empowering migrant and refugee women.</p>
<p>Our participants reported personal benefits from taking part in the photovoice project. They enjoyed learning in small group settings and their confidence increased after talking in a group. They felt a sense of well-being sharing their successes and challenges, learned new skills and knowledge, and felt empowered sharing their resettlement journeys.</p>
<h2>Five recommendations to support settlement</h2>
<p>Our recommendations are drawn from the refugee women themselves and grounded in research. We propose:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>promoting strength-based approaches to support service delivery, that are sensitive to cultural differences</p></li>
<li><p>English language programs for refugees need to be responsive to the gendered circumstances of women</p></li>
<li><p>we support changes <a href="https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/fairgo/">proposed</a> by the Refugee Council of Australia to make family reunion accessible to women and their families</p></li>
<li><p>refugee women should be supported to gain education and employment through training, peer mentoring, learning entrepreneurial skills and building networks</p></li>
<li><p>approaches to building social cohesion and combating racism and discrimination from the <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/race-discrimination/publications/building-social-cohesion-our-communities">local</a> to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/dec/05/denounce-racism-in-your-parties-un-rapporteur-urges-australian-leaders">Federal political levels</a> need to be formalised.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Our research has highlighted barriers to successful settlement by locating refugee women’s experiences in a broader Australian social and political context. Women’s resilience and agency should be considered in the development of policy, programs and service delivery.</p>
<p>Refugee women are often left out of the conversations around resettlement, and not enough is known about their specific needs. Our research and the international photovoice research highlights that community-based participatory education methods (such as photovoice) are an effective way to meaningfully add the voices of refugee women to the wider discourse on migration and settlement.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98165/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jaya A R Dantas received funding from Healthways (The Health Promotion Foundation of Australia) for a project titled: 'Empowerment and mental health promotion of refugee women through photovoice'. Jaya has also received funding from Healthways to undertake intervention projects with refugee and migrant women. She is the International Health SIG convenor of the Public Health Association of Australia, a Board member of Centacare Employment and Training in WA, the Vice-Chair: Management Committee of Ishar Multicultural Women's Health Centre and a National Council Member of the Australian Federation of Graduate Women.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anita Lumbus is a PhD candidate and was the Project Manager of the Photovoice Project. Anita is a recipient of a Department of Education and Training Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship and a Curtin Research Top-Up Scholarship. She has also previously received a Curtin University Postgraduate Scholarship. Anita is an individual member of the Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shelley Gower has received funding from Healthways to undertake separate intervention projects with refugee women. She is a Lecturer in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Paramedicine, a PhD candidate and was Research Officer on the Photovoice project.</span></em></p>Refugee women’s voices are often left out of resettlement policy. A participatory research method called photovoice helps uncover resettlement issues from their perspectives.Jaya Dantas, Dean International, Faculty of Health Sciences and Professor of International Health, Curtin UniversityAnita Lumbus, Researcher and PhD Candidate, Curtin UniversityShelley Gower, Lecturer in Research Methods, Research Officer in International Health, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/892742017-12-19T01:41:00Z2017-12-19T01:41:00ZClimate change will displace millions in coming decades. Nations should prepare now to help them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199828/original/file-20171219-27541-hhomr5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Pakistani commuters travel on a flooded street following a heavy rainfall in Karachi, Aug. 31, 2017.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/South-Asia-Rain/5a3692fcbe6a4042b3cace8e14c553ba/14/0">AP Photo/Shakil Adil</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Wildfires tearing across Southern California have forced thousands of residents to evacuate from their homes. Even more people fled ahead of the hurricanes that slammed into Texas and Florida earlier this year, jamming highways and filling hotels. A viral <a href="https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/09/08/us/irma-flights-florida.html">social media post</a> showed a flight-radar picture of people trying to escape Florida and posed a provocative question: What if the adjoining states were countries and didn’t grant escaping migrants refuge?</p>
<p>By the middle of this century, experts estimate that climate change is likely to displace between <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2011.09.005">150 and 300 million people</a>. If this group formed a country, it would be the fourth-largest in the world, with a population nearly as large as that of the United States. </p>
<p>Yet neither individual countries nor the global community are completely prepared to support a whole new class of “climate migrants.” As a physician and public health researcher in India, I learned the value of surveillance and early warning systems for managing infectious disease outbreaks. Based on my current research on health impacts of heat waves in developing countries, I believe much needs to be done at the national, regional and global level to deal with climate migrants.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ycRszM8ATsI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">The U.S. government is spending US$48 million to relocate residents of Isle de Jean Charles, Louisiana, because their land is sinking.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Millions displaced yearly</h2>
<p>Climate migration is already happening. Every year <a href="http://www.unccd.int/en/resources/Library/Pages/FAQ.aspx">desertification</a> in Mexico’s drylands forces 700,000 people to relocate. Cyclones have displaced thousands from <a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/28/the-making-of-a-climate-refugee-kiribati-tarawa-teitiota/">Tuvalu</a> in the South Pacific and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-is-where-this-family-now-lives-but-puerto-rico-will-always-be-home/2017/11/14/e843439e-c3e0-11e7-b763-d40fd5af517a_story.html?utm_term=.d6c8a68925fd">Puerto Rico</a> in the Caribbean. Experts agree that a prolonged drought may have <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1421533112">catalyzed</a> Syria’s civil war and resulting migration.</p>
<p>Between 2008 and 2015, an average of <a href="http://www.fao.org/world-food-day/2017/theme/en/">26.4 million people per year</a> were displaced by climate- or weather-related disasters, according to the United Nations. And the science of climate change indicates that these trends are likely to get worse. With each one-degree increase in temperature, the air’s moisture-carrying capacity increases by 7 percent, fueling increasingly severe storms. Sea levels may rise by as much as <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/wg1/WG1AR5_SPM_FINAL.pdf">three feet</a> by the year 2100, submerging coastal areas and inhabited islands.</p>
<p>The Pacific islands are extremely vulnerable, as are more than 410 U.S. cities and others around the globe, including Amsterdam, Hamburg, Lisbon and Mumbai. Rising temperatures could make parts of west Asia <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.1603322">inhospitable to human life</a>. On the same day that Hurricane Irma roared over Florida in September, heavy rains on the other side of the world <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/01/asia/bangladesh-south-asia-floods/index.html">submerged one-third of Bangladesh</a> and eastern parts of India, killing thousands. </p>
<p>Climate change will affect most everyone on the planet to some degree, but <a href="https://www.technologyreview.com/s/538586/climate-change-why-the-tropical-poor-will-suffer-most/">poor people in developing nations</a> will be affected most severely. Extreme weather events and tropical diseases wreak the heaviest damage in these regions. Undernourished people who have few resources and inadequate housing are especially at risk and likely to be displaced.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199764/original/file-20171218-27541-1j4895l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199764/original/file-20171218-27541-1j4895l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199764/original/file-20171218-27541-1j4895l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199764/original/file-20171218-27541-1j4895l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199764/original/file-20171218-27541-1j4895l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199764/original/file-20171218-27541-1j4895l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199764/original/file-20171218-27541-1j4895l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199764/original/file-20171218-27541-1j4895l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People displaced by drought in Somalia queue to register at a refugee camp in neighboring Ethiopia, July 26, 2011.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/a7dDxz">UK-DFID</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Recognize and plan for climate migrants now</h2>
<p>Today the global community has not universally acknowledged the existence of climate migrants, much less agreed on how to define them. According to international refugee law, climate migrants are <a href="https://ehs.unu.edu/blog/5-facts/5-facts-on-climate-migrants.html">not legally considered refugees</a>. Therefore, they have none of the protections officially accorded to refugees, who are technically defined as people fleeing persecution. No global agreements exist to help millions of people who are displaced by natural disasters every year.</p>
<p>Refugees’ rights, and nations’ legal obligation to defend them, were first defined under the <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/1951-refugee-convention.html">1951 Refugee Convention</a>, which was <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/about-us/background/4ec262df9/1951-convention-relating-status-refugees-its-1967-protocol.html">expanded in 1967</a>. This work took place well before it was apparent that climate change would become a major force driving migrations and creating refugee crises. </p>
<p>Under the convention, a refugee is defined as someone “unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.” The convention legally binds nations to provide access to courts, identity papers and travel documents, and to offer possible naturalization. It also bars discriminating against refugees, penalizing them, expelling them or forcibly returning them to their countries of origin. Refugees are entitled to practice their religions, attain education and access public assistance. </p>
<p>In my view, governments and organizations such as the United Nations should consider modifying international law to provide legal status to environmental refugees and establish protections and rights for them. Reforms could factor in the concept of “<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ethics-of-climate-change-what-we-owe-people-and-the-rest-of-the-planet-51785">climate justice</a>,” the notion that climate change is an ethical and social concern. After all, richer countries have contributed the most to cause warming, while poor countries will bear the most disastrous consequences. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199770/original/file-20171218-27607-wa8g2f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199770/original/file-20171218-27607-wa8g2f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/199770/original/file-20171218-27607-wa8g2f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199770/original/file-20171218-27607-wa8g2f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199770/original/file-20171218-27607-wa8g2f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199770/original/file-20171218-27607-wa8g2f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199770/original/file-20171218-27607-wa8g2f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/199770/original/file-20171218-27607-wa8g2f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The low-lying Pacific island nation of Kiribati is extremely vulnerable to climate-driven sea level rise and storm surges.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://flic.kr/p/jW5vry">DFAT</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some observers have suggested that countries that bear major responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21550085.2014.885173">should take in more refugees</a>. Alternatively, the world’s largest carbon polluters could contribute to a <a href="http://www.greenclimate.fund/who-we-are/about-the-fund">fund</a> that would pay for refugee care and resettlement for those temporarily and permanently displaced. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://unfccc.int/files/essential_background/convention/application/pdf/english_paris_agreement.pdf">Paris climate agreement</a> does not mention climate refugees. However, there have been some <a href="https://www.nanseninitiative.org/">consultations</a> and <a href="http://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Pages/kiribati-australia-nursing-initiative-independent-review.aspx">initiatives</a> by various organizations and governments. They include efforts to create <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/oct/07/un-drops-plan-to-create-group-to-relocate-climate-change-affected-people">a climate change displacement coordination facility</a> and a <a href="https://ejfoundation.org/resources/downloads/BeyondBorders-2.pdf">U.N. Special Rapporteur</a> on Human Rights and Climate Change.</p>
<p>It is <a href="https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2007/07/a-word-of-caution-on-climate-change-and-refugees/">tough to define</a> a climate refugee or migrant. This could be one of the biggest challenges in developing policies. </p>
<p>As <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/komagata-maru-backgrounder-apology-1.3584372">history has shown,</a> destination countries respond to waves of migration in various ways, ranging from welcoming immigrants to placing them in detention camps or denying them assistance. Some countries may be selective in whom they allow in, favoring only the young and productive while leaving children, the elderly and infirm behind. A guiding global policy could help prevent confusion and outline some minimum standards.</p>
<h2>Short-term actions</h2>
<p>Negotiating international agreements on these issues could take many years. For now, major G20 powers such as the United States, the European Union, China, Russia, India, Canada, Australia and Brazil should consider intermediate steps. The United States could offer temporary protected status to climate migrants who are already on its soil. Government aid programs and nongovernment organizations should ramp up support to refugee relief organizations and ensure that aid reaches refugees from climate disasters. </p>
<p>In addition, all countries that have not <a href="http://www.unhcr.org/protection/basic/3b73b0d63/states-parties-1951-convention-its-1967-protocol.html">signed</a> the United Nations refugee conventions could consider joining them. This includes many developing countries in South Asia and the Middle East that are highly vulnerable to climate change and that already have large refugee populations. Since most of the affected people in these countries will likely move to neighboring nations, it is crucial that all countries in these regions abide by a common set of policies for handling and assisting refugees.</p>
<p>The scale of this challenge is unlike anything humanity has ever faced. By midcentury, climate change is likely to uproot far more people than World War II, which displaced some <a href="http://graphics.wsj.com/migrant-crisis-a-history-of-displacement/">60 million across Europe</a>, or the Partition of India, which affected approximately <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/29/the-great-divide-books-dalrymple">15 million</a>. The migration crisis that has gripped Europe since 2015 has involved something <a href="http://publications.europa.eu/webpub/com/factsheets/migration-crisis/en/">over one million refugees and migrants</a>. It is daunting to envision much larger flows of people, but that is why the global community should start doing so now.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/89274/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gulrez Shah Azhar does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>By 2050, climate change impacts such as storms and drought could displace up to 300 million people worldwide. Nations should recognize ‘climate migrants’ and make plans for aiding and resettling them.Gulrez Shah Azhar, Ph.D. Candidate, Pardee RAND Graduate SchoolLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/696142016-11-30T19:19:36Z2016-11-30T19:19:36ZHow do we deal with the prospect of increased climate migration?<p>On average, one person is displaced each second by a disaster-related hazard. In global terms, that’s about <a href="http://www.internal-displacement.org/publications/2015/global-estimates-2015-people-displaced-by-disasters/">26 million</a> people a year. </p>
<p>Most move within their own countries, but some are forced across international borders. As climate change continues, more frequent and extreme weather events are expected to put more people in harm’s way. </p>
<p>In the Pacific region alone, this year’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/winston-strikes-fiji-your-guide-to-cyclone-science-55134">Cyclone Winston</a> was the strongest ever to hit Fiji, destroying whole villages. Last year, <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/cyclone-pam-15513">Cyclone Pam</a> displaced thousands of people in Vanuatu and Tuvalu – more than 70% of Vanuatu’s population were left seeking shelter in the storm’s immediate aftermath.</p>
<p>However, future human catastrophes are not inevitable. The action – or inaction – of governments today will determine whether we see even greater suffering, or whether people movements can be effectively managed.</p>
<h2>Human impact</h2>
<p>International law does not generally regard people displaced by disasters as refugees, and national responses are ad hoc and unpredictable, resulting in protection gaps.</p>
<p>However, on July 1, a landmark new intergovernmental initiative kicked off: the <a href="http://disasterdisplacement.org/">Platform on Disaster Displacement</a>. Led by the governments of Germany and Bangladesh, and with Australia as a founding member, it addresses how to protect and help people displaced by the impacts of disasters and climate change, one of the biggest humanitarian challenges of the 21st century. </p>
<p>The Platform does not merely envisage responses after disasters strike, but also policy options that governments can implement now to prevent future displacements.</p>
<p>For instance, if effective building codes are put in place and enforced, then people will be safer. If disaster warning systems are installed, then people will have time to get themselves out of harm’s way. </p>
<p>The provision of prompt and adequate assistance after a disaster can also reduce longer-term, secondary migration. In a <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/3451541?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">study</a> of displacement following severe floods in Bangladesh, it was found that people who felt adequately assisted and compensated were less likely to move on. </p>
<p>The Platform on Disaster Displacement succeeds the <a href="https://www.nanseninitiative.org/">Nansen Initiative on Disaster-Induced Cross-Border Displacement</a>, led by Switzerland and Norway from 2012–15. Through its groundbreaking work, there have been huge leaps and bounds in global understandings about how people move in anticipation of, or in response to, disasters, and what kinds of proactive interventions can help to avoid displacement – or at least avert some of its negative consequences.</p>
<p>The Nansen Initiative’s chief outcome was the <a href="https://nanseninitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/PROTECTION-AGENDA-VOLUME-1.pdf">Protection Agenda</a>, which provided a toolkit of concrete policy options and effective practices that governments can implement now, both to avert displacement where possible, and to protect and assist those who are displaced.</p>
<p>Strategies such as disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation can help to mitigate against displacement if disaster strikes. Temporary, planned evacuation can provide a pathway to safety and emergency support. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148018/original/image-20161129-17056-11by61l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148018/original/image-20161129-17056-11by61l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/148018/original/image-20161129-17056-11by61l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148018/original/image-20161129-17056-11by61l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148018/original/image-20161129-17056-11by61l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148018/original/image-20161129-17056-11by61l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148018/original/image-20161129-17056-11by61l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/148018/original/image-20161129-17056-11by61l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In 2015, Northern Australia was battered by two potent tropical cyclones within six hours on the same day, Cyclone Lam and Cyclone Marcia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">NASA</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Implementing long-term, sustainable development projects can enhance community resilience over time, creating new labour opportunities and technologies, and building capacity for self-help.</p>
<p>Governments also need to develop more predictable humanitarian and temporary stay arrangements to assist those displaced across a border after a disaster. They also need to ensure that those displaced internally have their needs addressed and rights respected. </p>
<p>Facilitating migration away from at-risk areas can open up opportunities for new livelihoods, skills, knowledge and remittances, at the same time as relieving demographic and resource pressures.</p>
<h2>Planned response</h2>
<p>Indeed, in this context, the Australian government has acknowledged that the promotion of safe and well-managed migration schemes is a key part of building resilience. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://dfat.gov.au/about-us/publications/Pages/kiribati-australia-nursing-initiative-independent-review.aspx">Kiribati–Australia Nursing Initiative</a> is a good example. Kiribati is a Pacific Island nation that is very vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and which lacks extensive educational and employment opportunities. </p>
<p>The Initiative enabled around 90 young people from Kiribati to train in Australia as nurses, providing them with an opportunity to secure a job in the healthcare sector either in Australia, overseas or back home.</p>
<p>On a larger scale, planned relocations can also help people to move out of harm’s way before disaster strikes, or to relocate to safer locations in the aftermath of a disaster if it’s not safe for them to go home. This requires careful consultation with those affected, ensuring that their rights and interests are safeguarded.</p>
<p>The Platform on Disaster Displacement will implement the Nansen Initiative’s Protection Agenda by building strong partnerships between policymakers, practitioners and experts. </p>
<p>While it does not intend to create new legal standards at the global level, it will encourage governments to build more predictable legal responses at the national and regional levels, including through bilateral/regional agreements relating to the admission, stay and non-return of displaced people.</p>
<p>The Platform is a significant opportunity. Governments that act now can make a major contribution to reducing future displacement and its high economic and human costs.</p>
<p>The UN Secretary-General <a href="http://refugeesmigrants.un.org/sites/default/files/in_safety_and_dignity_-_addressing_large_movements_of_refugees_and_migrants.pdf">recently highlighted</a> the displacement risk posed by disasters and climate change, and emphasised the need for strengthened international cooperation and protection. </p>
<p>It is essential that the new Platform on Disaster Displacement continues this forward-looking agenda, placing the needs, rights and entitlements of individuals and communities at the forefront of its activities.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Scientia Professor Jane McAdam is Director of the <a href="http://www.kaldorcentre.unsw.edu.au/">Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law</a> and head of the Grand Challenge on Refugees & Migrants at UNSW. She is speaking tonight about climate change and refugees at <a href="http://www.unsomnia.unsw.edu.au/">UNSOMNIA: What keeps you up at night?</a>, the launch event for the University of New South Wales Grand Challenges Program.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/69614/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jane McAdam receives funding from the Australian Research Council. She is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Platform on Disaster Displacement, and was a member of its predecessor, the Consultative Committee of the Nansen Initiative on Disaster-Induced Cross-Border Displacement. </span></em></p>Natural disasters are on the rise due to climate change, displacing millions of people each year. A new international initiative is aiming to improve the way governments respond to such crises.Jane McAdam, Scientia Professor and Director of the Kaldor Centre for International Refugee Law, UNSW SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/618172016-08-07T15:21:29Z2016-08-07T15:21:29ZWhen development becomes a curse: displacements and destroyed livelihoods<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/133069/original/image-20160804-466-1tns42i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Juda Ngwenya</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/bitstream/handle/10535/8833/Bogumil%20Terminski,%20development-Induced%20Displacement%20and%20Resettlement.%20Theoretical%20frameworks%20and%20current%20challenges.pdf?sequence=1">Development-induced displacement</a> of people is a common feature in discussions about big development projects around the world.</p>
<p>Attempts by governments to promote development often entail <a href="http://ndii-gh.blogspot.co.za/2010/07/so-why-development-induced.html">varying degrees of risk</a> for some sections of society. People are displaced and livelihoods disrupted. Often the victims are already impoverished, thus worsening their plight.</p>
<p>The impact is often harsher for people who live primarily off subsistence farming. Furthermore, destroyed livelihoods are often more difficult to restore. Other problems include disruption of children’s education and environmental destruction.</p>
<p>In the past two decades, a considerable number of projects were funded by different development organisations. Between 2004 and 2013, the World Bank and International Finance Corporation committed about <a href="http://projects.huffingtonpost.com/worldbank-evicted-abandoned">US$455 billion</a> to support some 7,200 projects. These were mostly in developing countries and focused on efforts to meet the <a href="http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/">Millennium Development Goals</a>. These were <a href="http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sdgoverview/mdg_goals.html">globally agreed</a> development and poverty goals by United Nations (UN) member countries in 2000 to be attained by 2015.</p>
<p>Beyond 2015, UN member countries have agreed on a new set of goals – the <a href="https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/?menu=1300">Sustainable Development Goals</a>. Like their predecessors, these focus on development and promise to end global poverty and promote shared prosperity by 2030. Investments are expected to <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/mdgs/documents/FfD-MDB-Contributions-July-10-2015.pdf">increase</a> to support the attainment of these new goals. This means that the risk to people and their livelihoods could potentially become higher.</p>
<p>Many projects have had a positive impact on people. Nonetheless, they have also presented risks. About <a href="http://projects.huffingtonpost.com/worldbank-evicted-abandoned">3.4 million people</a> were “physically and economically displaced” between 2004 and 2013 by World Bank projects alone. This is according to estimates by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. </p>
<p>Consequently, the international development community’s commitment to ending poverty should be measured by how these risks are mitigated. </p>
<h2>Displacement and development goals</h2>
<p>Efforts to mitigate the negative effects of people being displaced should include providing a comprehensive resettlement package. A variety of interventions such as <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/up-front/posts/2014/11/24-safeguards-displacement-ferris">safeguard policies</a> have emerged. These call on governments to design comprehensive compensation schemes for those affected. Yet big development projects still expose people to a range of risks.</p>
<p>These are due to <a href="http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTSAFANDSUS/Resources/Safeguards_eval.pdf">implementation challenges</a>. Typically, the implementation of many compensation programmes has been shambolic. And those affected by development projects are often not involved before their implementation. Compensation is therefore often <a href="https://www.internationalrivers.org/blogs/337-6">inadequate</a>.</p>
<p>Prior to the 1990s, governments’ responses to people displaced by the construction of dams in developing countries were particularly brutal. The <a href="https://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/chixoy-dam-legacy-issues-overview-4050">Chixoy Hydroelectric Dam project</a> in Guatamala is an example. The government forcibly attempted to resettle people without any well-planned compensation scheme.</p>
<p>Broadly, compensation schemes have improved over the years. But in Africa, management of the negative effects of a number of projects show that more needs to be done. Examples include the <a href="http://web.archive.org/web/20070819071657/http:/www.irn.org/programs/lesotho/pdf/pipedreams.pdf">Highland Water Project</a> in Lesotho and the <a href="https://www.internationalrivers.org/campaigns/bujagali-dam-uganda">Bujagali Hydropower Dam</a> in Uganda. Others are the <a href="https://www.internationalrivers.org/campaigns/the-inga-3-hydropower-project">Inga 3 Dam project</a> in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and the <a href="https://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/bui-dam-ghana-3608">Bui Dam</a> and <a href="http://ghanagas.com.gh/the-project/background/">Gas Infrastructure Project</a> in Ghana. The point is especially true when it comes to delivering on compensation schemes.</p>
<p>In the <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07900627.2015.1022892?journalCode=cijw20">Bui Dam project</a>, some 1,200 people were displaced. Those negatively affected continue to express dissatisfaction about <a href="https://www.internationalrivers.org/blogs/337-6">government’s failure</a> to keep its promise of support for their destroyed livelihoods. Some families who had portions of their farmlands inundated by the Bui Reservoir are <a href="http://www.internationalrivers.org/blogs/337-6">yet to be compensated</a>.</p>
<p>Some communities affected by Ghana’s Gas Infrastructure Project have also lamented about hardships resulting from the <a href="http://www.graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/oil-and-gas-production-threatens-livelihoods-in-coastal-communities.html">destruction of their livelihoods</a>. Chiefs and residents of Anokyi and Abuesi, host communities of the project, complained about poor participation, negotiations, and <a href="http://www.graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/oil-and-gas-production-threatens-livelihoods-in-coastal-communities.html">compensation schemes</a>.</p>
<p>In the DRC, there are concerns about government’s attempt to rush the implementation of the <a href="http://www.pri.org/stories/2016-07-03/congo-pushes-mega-dam-project-no-environmental-impact-studies">Inga 3 Dam project</a>. The project is expected to displace some 10,000 to 25,000 people. But the government wants to begin implementation without an environmental and social impact assessment.</p>
<h2>Forward planning</h2>
<p>To meet the promises of the Sustainable Development Goals, governments and donors must make significant investments in critical infrastructural projects. For example, investment related to infrastructure such as dams and roads would become critical in developing countries.</p>
<p>Also needed will be investment in irrigation projects, population redistribution schemes, expansion of agriculture and mining. All are known to have <a href="https://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/bitstream/handle/10535/8833/Bogumil%20Terminski,%20development-Induced%20Displacement%20and%20Resettlement.%20Theoretical%20frameworks%20and%20current%20challenges.pdf?sequence=1">caused major displacement</a> of people.</p>
<p>Governments, multilateral development banks and other development partners therefore need to rethink how they respond to problems resulting from displacement. Such rethinking should focus especially on the impact of projects on peoples’ livelihoods.</p>
<p>All these make forward planning imperative to anticipate the potential displacements of people and their negative implications. This demands development actors to rethink how they capture and confront displacement issues in their investments.</p>
<p>The World Bank has taken a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/world-bank-finally-boosting-oversight-of-projects-that-displace-millions_us_567976d2e4b06fa6887eb473">second look</a> at its safeguard policies. Also, the <a href="https://www.internationalrivers.org/resources/about-international-rivers-3679">International Rivers</a> persistent campaigns on dam-related cases provide some impetus for moving forward. But, more needs to be done.</p>
<p>Priority areas that need to be considered include:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>enforcing donor guidelines on development-induced displacements and initiating independent research to track and disseminate the enforcement of these guidelines;</p></li>
<li><p>the adoption of national guidelines that require all development projects to undergo impact assessments for potential displacements before implementation;</p></li>
<li><p>strengthening advocacy and the monitoring of displacement issues across Africa and their impact at the regional, national and local levels; and</p></li>
<li><p>promoting collaborative cross-country research on the impact of displacements to provide best practice, lessons and awareness.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>To shape the processes and new avenues, we must start early. Multilateral development banks, governments, civil society organisations, nongovernmental organisations and the private sector all have a critical role to play. This is to make sure that the “leave no-one behind” mantra of the Sustainable Development Goals is made a reality.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/61817/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Clement Mensah is a guest blogger on Network on Development-Induced Impoverishment.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stephen Kofi Diko is affiliated with Network on Development-Induced Impoverishment. He created the blog and writes about issues related to development-induced displacements and resettlement.</span></em></p>Mega development projects can have a positive impact. But there are risks. Between 2004 and 2013, some 3.4 million people were ‘physically and economically displaced’ by World Bank projects alone.Clement Mensah, PhD Candidate in Development Studies, Institute for Social Development, University of the Western CapeStephen Kofi Diko, Graduate Assistant (Institute for Policy Research) and PhD student in Regional Development Planning, University of Cincinnati Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/604662016-06-07T14:16:56Z2016-06-07T14:16:56ZHow climate change could affect African migration patterns<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125356/original/image-20160606-25972-gv4v47.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">There are indications that climate change in Malawi will make the country poorer and its people more static.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/meaduva/3507246636/">Meaduva/Flickr</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>People are migrating on a scale unseen before. In <a href="http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SM.POP.NETM">Africa</a>, countries like Somalia and Libya are losing hundreds of thousands of people. People are making the perilous crossing to Europe or heading to South Africa in droves. </p>
<p>It is easy to forget that it was migrations from Africa that populated the world. First, <em>Homo erectus</em> left about two million years ago. Then, about 100,000 years ago, <em>Homo sapiens</em> spread from Africa to Asia, eventually populating the most remote corners of the earth. </p>
<p>It is believed that many of these early mass migrations were caused by <a href="https://genographic.nationalgeographic.com/human-journey/">changes to climate</a> and <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.472.3638&rep=rep1&type=pdf">food supply</a>. Could future climate change drive a similar mass migration?</p>
<p>There is strong evidence linking climate change to more heatwaves, heavier rainfall events, and increasing drought intensity and duration. This is clear in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change <a href="http://www.ipcc-wg2.gov/AR5/">report</a>. The report also details how these changes affect crops and food supply. Cereal crops are particularly vulnerable to heatwaves, meaning that areas suitable for production will decrease across much of <a href="http://www.climatechange-foodsecurity.org/africa.html">Africa</a>.</p>
<p>Tropical climates do not typically vary much in time and are generally quite predictable, so even today’s modest climate change is enough to break temperature, drought and rainfall records. Therefore climate change poses a real threat to food security of the region, and poorer countries are generally the most vulnerable. The world is also seeing more migration than ever before. It is therefore tempting, at least in part, to blame climate change for the massive displacement of people we see today. But does it?</p>
<h2>Climate change and migration</h2>
<p><a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/112/11/3241">Research</a> by Colin Kelley and his colleagues implicated climate change in the Syrian conflict. This led to something of a <a href="https://climatemigration.atavist.com/syria-and-climate-change">media frenzy</a>, with speculation rife that global refugee crises driven by climate change would become the new norm.</p>
<p>But the research literature has not made firm conclusions about the impact of climate change on migration. </p>
<p>Migration takes many forms and can have many social and economic drivers. Nevertheless, it is expected that climate change will have some effect on human movement. As such the <a href="http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09r01.pdf">Paris agreement</a> on climate change requested that a <a href="http://theconversation.com/climate-migration-proved-too-political-for-the-paris-agreement-and-rightly-so-52133">task force</a> be established to tackle human displacement.</p>
<p>What is clear is that it is difficult to generalise when it comes to migration. So we need to dig deeper if we want to make progress in understanding these links.</p>
<h2>What’s happened in Malawi</h2>
<p>A Malawian case study finds a connection between migration and climate change – but it is the opposite of what we had anticipated. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125358/original/image-20160606-17691-18drwhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125358/original/image-20160606-17691-18drwhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/125358/original/image-20160606-17691-18drwhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125358/original/image-20160606-17691-18drwhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125358/original/image-20160606-17691-18drwhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125358/original/image-20160606-17691-18drwhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125358/original/image-20160606-17691-18drwhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/125358/original/image-20160606-17691-18drwhd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">A long-term decline in harvests would undermine livelihoods and decrease people’s ability to migrate.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/swathi-icrisat-esa/5726171200/in/photolist-9J18cE-6kVyo3-9Ec9nE-83nG5S-9Per83-9Per7b-833aAF-9Per7y-ajKZXy-89uTTf-9Per7U-bUWmMx-bUWmTB-81NEdP-89uUb9-48YC44-aQRFZx-833SvX-6kRnAk-5VJcB2-8Kbkh2-jAaxuc-crEcdE-aQRDAk-9qPVn7-8Jo2wP-8J5WWn-8JUD4P-aQRArP-b936r-aQRy5x-hfsqqn-6kRmDg-cqqD2Q-jAaZwn-5ZaUdY-aQRDWZ-7Ltts3-85BTxt-aETC3G-822s69-5UnHWf-dNhmQe-6kVuqj-73GTMZ-86wVB6-9xV5BH-zWkJQb-86K8SX-mnog8E">Swathi Sridharan/Flickr</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Our latest <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17565529.2016.1149441">paper</a> is based on 255 in-depth interviews with rural and urban focus groups in Malawi in which we tried to understand how Malawians might react to climate change. We explored rural-to-urban movements and return movements within the country. </p>
<p>Generally, our findings confirmed those found in previous work: individuals within populations move, rather than whole populations; and these individuals move for many <a href="http://climatemigration.org.uk/myth-buster-new-briefing-picks-apart-the-myth-and-reality-of-migration-and-displacement-linked-to-climate-change/">complex reasons</a>.</p>
<p>We tested two types of climate-driven impact: a long-term decline in harvests and a sudden acute shock to the system. Rather than climate changes forcing people into urban areas, as is believed to be the case in Syria, we found that in both cases climate change would make people less able to move. </p>
<p>A long-term decline in harvests would undermine livelihoods and thus decrease people’s ability to move because of a lack of resources to do so. Also, in a country like Malawi many people move to the city to sell agricultural products, firewood gathered in the forest or handicrafts. If climate change undermines the productivity of the rural environment, the rationale that currently drives some urban migration could be eroded. </p>
<p>Our data also noted that people’s aspirations to migrate would not generally be affected by climate change – only younger, more affluent farmers would in the event of climate change aspire to move to the city. With a climate shock, both aspiration and capability for moving would be reduced. Aspiration is reduced as urban prospects are reduced by a climate shock due to Malawi’s agriculture-based economy.</p>
<p>Our findings for Malawi indicate that climate change will make the country poorer and its people more static. This represents a demonstrable effect of climate on population flows, even though it is contrary to our original hypothesis. More affluent populations in other countries would have more capability to move in response to climate change, so it will be interesting to conduct interviews elsewhere too.</p>
<p>So poverty and poor harvests caused by climate change may actually reduce migration flows. </p>
<p>But the bigger question we should ask ourselves is whether migration is necessarily <a href="http://climatemigration.org.uk/migration-as-adaptation-new-briefing-paper/">a bad thing</a>. It may increase resilience of populations. In the long run we may even contemplate employing resources to encourage and plan migrations as part of an adaptation policy to limit the impact of future climate change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60466/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Piers Forster receives funding from Research Councils UK. He is affiliated with a UK based charity, the United Bank of Carbon. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Evan Fraser receives funding from all sorts of groups including philanthropic organisations and research councils. He is also a member of the Green party of Ontario.</span></em></p>There is belief among some that climate change drives human displacement, but research in Malawi suggests otherwise.Piers Forster, Professor of Physical Climate Change; Royal Society Wolfson Merit Award holder; Director of the Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of LeedsEvan Fraser, Professor; Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security, University of GuelphLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.