Environmental Refugees: A Stark Reminder

Abstract

It is noted that the number of more or less permanently displaced persons throughout the world (now of the order of 1 % of the total human population) continues to increase at a rate of approximately 3 million per year; the situation in Africa is especially grave, with the number of displaced persons there (now of the order of 3 % of the African population), continuing to increase at a rate of approximately 1.5 million per year. Human displacement—which can be seen to originate largely in rural areas—results primarily from one or more of three factors, namely escape from persecution, escape from military activities, or escape from inadequate means of subsistence. A number of examples from Africa are provided of the social and political consequences of human displacement, with emphasis on conflict situations at the sites of relocation. It is further noted that the numbers of displaced persons continue to grow relentlessly despite there being no discernible rise in persecution or in military activities, and despite the long-sustained ameliorative efforts and financial assistance by intergovernmental agencies and others. It is accordingly suggested that the major cause of the continuing increase in the numbers of displaced persons is an ever-growing imbalance between population numbers and the human carrying capacity of the land. Population increases lead to smaller per caput natural resource bases, a predicament exacerbated by over-use—and thus degradation—of the land and its natural resources. In the arid and semi-arid regions of Africa, over-use of the land most often takes the form of overgrazing, leading to land degradation that is severe enough to be referred to as desertification. It is concluded that to achieve sustainable utilization of the land and its natural resources will necessitate the integrated attainment of environmental security and societal security—the latter inter alia requiring participatory governance, non-violent means of conflict resolution, and especially population controls.

This Chapter is reproduced from the author’s Entry #257 provided in Chap. 2, with the original title, ‘Population, desertification, and migration’. It is used here by permission of the Foundation for Environmental Conservation, the copyright holder, as given on 13 March 2013 (and verified on 18 March 2013). It is based on an invited paper presented to ‘The International Symposium on Desertification and Migration’, Almeria, Spain, 9–11 February 1994, of the United Nations Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a Convention to Combat Desertification [INCD]. The Author is most pleased to acknowledge useful suggestions from Johannes B. Opschoor and Carol E. Westing.