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Environmentally-Related International Displacement: Following in Graeme Hugo’s Footsteps

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Demography of Refugee and Forced Migration

Part of the book series: International Studies in Population ((ISIP,volume 13))

Abstract

Since Graeme Hugo published his seminal paper on “Environmental concerns and international migration” in 1996, interest on the topic has been on the rise, accelerating sharply in the last decade amidst renewed concerns about the consequences of global environmental change for human well-being and population mobility, and the idea that environmental displacement has the potential for triggering governance and security challenges and conflicts. Using three of Hugo’s works for guidance, this chapter examines international environmentally-related displacement from a population perspective, addressing definitional issues, briefly reviewing recent trends and developments in conceptual frameworks and research, and offering selected examples of the inclusion of this highly conflictive topic in different policy forums.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Hugo (1996, p. 108) had already proposed the term “environmental migrants” to group migrants forced to leave their homes due to natural disaster, those displaced by external compulsions such as physical dangers and economic insufficiency, and those victims of the ‘silent violence’ (drought, famine and severe food shortage associated with the deterioration of the environment)

  2. 2.

    The Nansen Initiative’ Agenda for the protection of Cross-border displaced persons in the Context of disasters and climate change-volume II, Annex 1, includes regional examples of environment-related cross-border displacement https://nanseninitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/PROTECTION-AGENDA-VOLUME-2.pdf

  3. 3.

    The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the international body for assessing the science related to climate change. The IPCC was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to provide policymakers with regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation (IPCC Factsheet: What is the IPCC? http://www.ipcc.ch/news_and_events/docs/factsheets/FS_what_ipcc.pdf)

  4. 4.

    For a more in-depth analysis of migration, immobility and displacement related to extreme events see Black et al. (2013)

  5. 5.

    As an example of this, Henry et al. (2004, pp. 446–47) found that the effect of environmental variables (rainfall conditions) only became significant when the type of destination (rural, urban or abroad) was added to the model.

  6. 6.

    A non-European example of the proximity factor could be the trans-border displacement of Bangladeshi to India due to the catastrophic 2011 floods (Quencez 2012).

  7. 7.

    Another example could be the 2010–2011 floods in Colombia and the temporary circular labor migration program organized with Spain (Rinke 2012).

  8. 8.

    See also Bardsley and Hugo (2010) and Adamo and de Sherbinin (2011).

  9. 9.

    Oliver-Smith calls it the “redirection of research toward clarifying conceptual approaches and answering basic questions” (Oliver-Smith 2008, p. 102)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), The Earth Institute, Columbia University, Palisades, 10964, NY, USA

    Susana B. Adamo

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  1. Susana B. Adamo
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Correspondence to Susana B. Adamo .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Australian Population & Migration Research Centre Campus North Terrace, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

    Graeme Hugo

  2. Department of Demography, University of Tehran and National Institute of Population Research, Tehran, Iran

    Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi

  3. Geography and Environmental Studies, Colgate University, Hamilton, New York, USA

    Ellen Percy Kraly

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Adamo, S.B. (2018). Environmentally-Related International Displacement: Following in Graeme Hugo’s Footsteps. In: Hugo, G., Abbasi-Shavazi, M., Kraly, E. (eds) Demography of Refugee and Forced Migration. International Studies in Population, vol 13. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67147-5_10

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-67147-5_10

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