Climate and Conflict in the South Pacific

By Rex Alex

There are a plethora of motivations behind why someone may decide to become an Environmental Refugee. These include push factors, for example, climate change can cause a reduction in land, livelihood or habitat security for some Pacific communities. Similarly, low-lying coastal areas and river deltas may become unsuitable for physical settlement, or they remain habitable but income and food security options become marginal. As well as reduced precipitation or increased disease vectors causing the deterioration of habitability. However there are also some pull factors including, labor market opportunities that come with better education, health care or the ability to send remittances to families. In regards to community relocation, communities may prefer to relocate to sites that are as close to the original settlement. This would enable communities to sustain most of their livelihoods, although those based on the coastal sector may become less viable. Evaluating these push and pull factors allows for better understanding of the conflicts Environmental Refugees face.

ampbell, John, and Olivia Warrick. Climate Change and Migration Issues in the Pacific CLIMATE CHANGE and MIGRATION ISSUES in the PACIFIC. Aug. 2014. https://www.ilo.org/dyn/migpractice/docs/261/Pacific.pdf

By Rex Alex

Environmental refugees face similar experiences as other refugees however they are held to different standards. The first step in evaluating these differences is to accurately define an Environmental Refugee. The best definition is presented by the International Organization for Migration which states that an Environmental Refugee is, “persons or groups of persons who, for compelling reasons of sudden or progressive change in the environment that adversely affect their lives or living conditions, are obliged to leave their conditional homes, or choose to do so, either temporarily or permanently, and who move either within their country or abroad.” 

Although this definition is accurate it is not sufficient under international law for the principle of non-refoulement, which prevents refugees from being sent back to a country where they face danger, to be extended to Environmental Refugees. This privilege is denied for Environmental Refugees as per the 1951 refugee convention from the UNHCR which effectively limits this protection to refugees facing dangers from a government or organization based on their identity.