Introduction

Abstract

This edited volume brings together academics from Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Australia and the Philippines, to examine lived experiences of and actual as well as potential responses to the varieties of migration, displacement, planned relocation as well as voluntary and involuntary immobility (collectively termed human mobility) that take place in the context of disasters and climate change that increasingly impact the lives of people living across Asia and the Pacific. A product of the editorial collaboration between the South Asian University and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI), the volume represents the collective efforts of members of the Asia Pacific Academic Network on Disaster Displacement. This academic network was formed in 2018 as part of a regional thematic study on human rights and disaster displacement.

This edited volume brings together academics from Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Australia and the Philippines, to examine lived experiences of and actual as well as potential responses to the varieties of migration, displacement, planned relocation as well as voluntary and involuntary immobility (collectively termed human mobility) that take place in the context of disasters and climate change that increasingly impact the lives of people living across Asia and the Pacific. A product of the editorial collaboration between the South Asian University and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law (RWI), the volume represents the collective efforts of members of the Asia Pacific Academic Network on Disaster Displacement. This academic network was formed in 2018 as part of a regional thematic study on human rights and disaster displacement. Since then, the network has expanded its membership and activities, including collaboration on publications, submissions to international consultative processes, conferences and collaboration on design and implementation of research as well as more practitioner-focused initiatives.¹

This volume explores multiple dimensions of climate mobility, examines the extent to which it threatens, but which can also support the realisation of, fundamental human rights in countries in Asia and the Pacific, and engages with ideas about how to overcome observed challenges while recognising that ‘solutions’ can only be achieved in the local context. The objective is to provide evidence-informed insights that can support the work of multiple actors, including civil society, regional and national government, the private sector and international agencies.

The collection of contributions provides expert, vernacular insights into the complexities of disaster- and climate-related human mobility in the region.² This volume offers unique and discernible research treatment from home-grown scholars who are closely experiencing and enduring the ground realities of climate change impact and resultant human mobility. At a time when international and regional agendas are calling for more action to address the phenomenon, this volume expands the knowledge base. It is crystallised with the required visibility for stakeholders to re-calibrate and re-formulate the laws, policies and programmes in context for addressing Asia and the Pacific-related climate crisis in their respective jurisdictions, locally and regionally. It stimulates interdisciplinary engagement in law, political ecology, social work, disaster management, climate change adaptation and artificial intelligence. These contributions are combined under the universalising language of human rights. This introduction sets the scene and outlines the key themes that will be addressed across the volume.

The RWI conducted a bibliometric study on literature on human rights, human mobility and climate change in Asia and the Pacific,³ using the PRISMA methodology for systematic review and transparency. The study found that while research on human mobility is growing, a significant number of academic outputs are produced by authors from the Global North, such as the USA, Australia and the UK. China and India are the second and fifth most productive countries, respectively. The study suggests increasing the representation of scholars from the region who can write about their experiences and perspectives. The study reveals a significant focus on displacement (71% of the literature), with less attention given to planned relocation (18%), immobility (7%) and migration (4%). The current volume addresses these findings by highlighting the role of local researchers in understanding human mobility within the region.

1 Climate Change Impacts in Asia and the Pacific

The Asia–Pacific region hosts 4.3 billion inhabitants that represent more than 50% of the population of the world.⁴ Droughts, floods, tropical cyclones and other weather-related climate hazards are threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions of people throughout the region, displacing a large number of people.⁵ Extreme weather and climate events are having an impact on agriculture arability, food security and water availability. One notable instance of climate change-related impacts was Pakistan’s historic floods, where the most substantial losses were in the housing, agriculture and livestock and transportation and communications sectors, at USD 5.6 billion, USD 3.7 billion and USD 3.3 billion, respectively.⁶ Due to climate change in low-lying areas, typhoons and river flooding threaten a growing number of people in India,⁷ Bangladesh,⁸ the Philippines⁹ and across the Asia and the Pacific region.

Many factors are significant in assessing Asia–Pacific’s vulnerability and exposure to climate change. Firstly, the location is a key factor in determining exposure to climate change. Asia’s river deltas and coastal regions are among the world’s most densely populated regions and climate hotspots.¹⁰ The majority of Pacific Island nations, some of them including low-lying atolls, are also quite exposed.¹¹ Another critical issue is rapid urbanisation and population growth. The rising population pressure in the Asia–Pacific, where the urban population is projected to exceed 50% in the next ten years with a significant coastal concentration, increases exposure and vulnerability.¹²

Vulnerability to climate change is not solely a matter of where a person lives but also depends on how they live. Many Asia–Pacific nations share common characteristics, such as their dependency on the agricultural and natural resource industries, densely populated coastal areas, inadequate institutional framework and the fact that a sizeable portion of the population lives in poverty.¹³ The population of the Asia–Pacific is especially susceptible to climate effects because it is also home to the vast majority of the world’s poor.¹⁴ Though many countries in the region have undergone economic transformation and are developed,¹⁵ poverty remains widespread, with about 1.8 billion people living on less than $2 per day.¹⁶ Unchecked global warming is already significantly undermining prior gains in economic growth and advancements, endangering the region’s future. Without coordinated action, the region could see an additional 7.5 million people fall into poverty as a result of climate impacts by 2030.¹⁷ This figure should be considered alongside the considerable development losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and increases in the cost of living, which has pushed more than 67 million more people into extreme poverty since the outbreak of the pandemic in 2020.¹⁸ The deteriorating effects of climate change on the economy, society, culture and environment have negative repercussions for the effective promotion and defence of human rights and the accomplishment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined in the 2030 Agenda.¹⁹

According to the Pacific Islands Forum’s 2018 Boe Declaration on Regional Security, ‘Climate change remains the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security, and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific.’²⁰ One of the climate change impacts is climate-related human mobility.

2 Climate-Related Human Mobility in Asia and the Pacific

This volume explores variations of human mobility in specific national and sub-national contexts across this vast region. It contributes to existing literature by presenting the diversity of the phenomenon in a collection where common challenges and potential responses can be discerned.

The First IPCC Assessment Report (FAR), published in 1990, emphasised the significance of climate change as a problem needing global cooperation. According to the first IPCC assessment in 1990, the most severe effects of climate change may be on human mobility when major disasters such as coastal floods and shoreline erosion, force millions of people to flee their homes.²¹ The aforementioned finding was developed and nuanced in later IPCC assessments that also includes the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), which also covered several scenarios of climate mobility for the Asia–Pacific and other regions.²² By this point in time, all varieties of human mobility are extensively discussed in this state of the art reports.²³

Regarding climate-induced displacement, several projections are made, but the accuracy is limited due to this complicated web of components. What is clear is that every year, an average of 25 to 30 million new displacements occur in the context of sudden-onset disasters, particularly floods and storms.²⁴ Data concerning displacement in the context of slower-onset hazard events like droughts and sea level rise are much more challenging to collect owing to the lack of a temporally clear trigger of movement. Planned relocation is only beginning to receive attention.²⁵ Although predicting future movements has been strongly discouraged by a broad spectrum of academic authorities owing to the multiple drivers and varieties of human agency,²⁶ the IPCC reports that paint increasingly urgent pictures of current and foreseeable climate impacts strongly point towards an increase in all forms of climate mobility, including immobility, in the coming years. More attention to the issue is clearly called for. Although there is a growing body of research on climate-related mobility in Asia and the Pacific,²⁷ these studies only begin to reveal the varieties of movement arising in the context of interconnected social and environmental dynamics across the myriad social-ecological systems characterising the region.

Even with the growth in armed conflict, the majority of IDPs move in the context of climate-related disasters. Between 2008 and 2020, the Asia–Pacific region surpassed all other regions in the world in terms of climate-related displacement,²⁸ accounting for 80% of all new cases. In 2021, the biggest per-country numbers of displaced individuals were recorded in China, the Philippines, India and Vietnam.²⁹ There were 32.6 million movements in 2022 compared to 2021, reflecting a whopping 40% increase. Pakistan, the Philippines, China, India and Nigeria were the top five nations where there were new disaster-related displacements.³⁰

Although displacement receives attention in this volume, as a point of departure, we note the importance of elevating the term climate-related human mobility owing to the inadequacy of the terms migration and displacement to reflect observed experiences. These terms, which typically reflect different ends of a spectrum between forced and voluntary movement, can mislead in situations where multiple forms of movement are taking place, as observed in the case studies in this volume. For instance, in their study of the mobility of elderly people in the context of recurrent cyclones in Bangladesh, Malak and Lina describe how some people have moved to urban centres, while others have remained. Those who moved reflect on the adverse and cumulative impact of cyclones, starting with Cyclone Aila in 2009, but also on the benefits associated with improved access to services in towns. Similarly, Nizar and Dang draw attention to what they describe as ‘micro-level mobility dynamics’ reflected in how people move within areas impacted by (increasingly frequent) flooding events, without necessarily being described as ‘displaced.’ Katel et al. describe rural to urban ‘migration,’ but demonstrate the significant impact of a changing climate on agricultural livelihoods as a significant factor compelling people to move.

Further, the phenomenon of planned relocation warrants substantially more attention, not least owing to the serious human rights issues that arise in this context. The term is defined as:

… a planned process in which persons or groups of persons move or are assisted to move away from their homes or places of temporary residence, are settled in a new location, and provided with the conditions for rebuilding their lives. Planned Relocation is carried out under the authority of the State, takes place within national borders, and is undertaken to protect people from risks and impacts related to disasters and environmental change, including the effects of climate change. Such Planned Relocation may be carried out at the individual, household, and/or community levels.³¹

Several texts in the volume, such as Abeywardhana’s chapter on relocations in Sri Lanka, also include the term ‘resettlement.’ One way to distinguish resettlement from relocation is the process of resettling relocated individuals or groups into new locations while maintaining significant socio-political features at the resettlement destination, as well as restoring or creating new livelihoods in these sites. In conceptualising the planned relocation dimension of human mobility in this volume, we follow the description provided in the Brookings, Georgetown and UNHCR guidance as ‘a community is physically moved to another location and resettled there.’³² Further, drawing on Section V of the 1998 UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, we understand resettlement as including the character of permanence as one of the three durable solutions to displacement. However, whereas resettlement in this sense can only take place after a person has been displaced, relocation has a pre-emptive character.

Although there has been more focus on relocating people due to climate change events in recent years, there is still a great deal of ambiguity over how populations will respond to long-term climate change, and existing case studies show widespread adverse outcomes.³³ Consequently, planned relocation should not be undertaken lightly, must follow international good practice and ought generally to be pursued as an option of last resort.

Thus the volume adopts the term human mobility to address the varieties of movement that take place in the context of disasters and climate change. We also use the term immobility where the lack of movement takes place in a context where movement is somehow a relevant consideration in light of lived experiences in a particular location. In this context, for instance, Reni Juwitisari in this volume describes decision-making by older farmers in northern Thailand to remain in situ notwithstanding drought-related challenges to their agricultural livelihoods, even as some members of the younger generation engage in circular forms of labour migration to complement agricultural livelihoods.

3 Intersectionality

As other social and economic elements operate in tandem and will be the deciding factor in individual and community mobilities, climate change amplifies existing pressures. The thresholds of exposure, vulnerability and capacity all impact the mobility of individuals and groups of people in climate change situations. Therefore, climate mobility cannot be viewed as monolithic, and the experience, as well as measures to address the phenomenon, varies according to a variety of governance, environmental and social factors at different regional and national scales. Consequently, it is important to explore mobility dynamics in national and local contexts to enhance the understanding of drivers, formal and informal governance mechanisms, impacts and other characteristics necessary to catalyse transformation.³⁴

Climate change makes it harder for people in intersecting situations of gendered vulnerability to adapt to and deal with the social, political and economic obstacles they confront.³⁵ Due to their expertise in coping with and mitigating the effects of climate change at the home and community levels, their meaningful participation in disaster risk reduction and climate action initiatives is essential to reducing these disparities. Some of the contributions to this volume engage intersectionality to a certain extent. For instance, Nizar and Dang explore varieties of mobility experienced by women in different socio-economic groups living in an urban context in Vietnam. Gunarathna and Premarathne describe varieties of intersecting vulnerabilities associated with gender, age and disability in relation to disaster-related evacuations and emergency response in Sri Lanka.

Another dimension can be associated with the vulnerability faced by Indigenous Peoples. Climate change exacerbates the difficulties already confronted by Indigenous Peoples, including political and economic marginalisation, loss of land and resources, human rights abuses and violations, discrimination and unemployment.³⁶ In this volume, Rumpia explores indigenous experiences of immobility and resistance to development-induced displacement in the Philippines.

4 International Law and Climate Mobility

The volume does not address movement of people across international borders. Consequently, notwithstanding the prevalence of the term ‘climate refugee,’ international refugee law is not relevant to the case studies because it requires people to cross an international border before it can be engaged. At the same time, we recognise that the increasing scale of displacement and other forms of human mobility already include a cross-border dimension, even though few legal mechanisms exist to regulate this kind of movement,³⁷ and no reliable statistics are available to reflect how many people are moving across borders in this context, either in Asia–Pacific or in other parts of the world. Similarly, the international climate regime anchored in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement has not adequately addressed the issue of cross-border climate mobility,³⁸ although initiatives linked to this process, including the Warsaw International Mechanism and the Platform on Disaster Displacement, have contributed to notable advances at the regional and sub-regional level in Africa, the Americas and the Pacific, with less progress evident in Asia.³⁹ The field may be expanding here as climate change adaptation, which is where human mobility has normally been discussed, is now institutionally complemented by a formal UNFCCC mechanism on climate change-related loss and damage. Moore’s contribution to this volume advances a loss and damage perspective on processes of planned relocation in Fiji and Tuvalu. Human mobility is expressly envisaged as relating to loss and damage, as reflected in the UNFCCC 2023 global stocktake:

The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement…

131. Calls on Parties and relevant institutions to improve coherence and synergies between efforts pertaining to disaster risk reduction, humanitarian assistance, rehabilitation, recovery and reconstruction, and displacement, planned relocation and migration, in the context of climate change impacts, as well as actions to address slow onset events, in order to make progress in averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage associated with climate change impacts in a coherent and effective manner⁴⁰;

While waiting, and advocating, for regional and international mechanisms to emerge, international human rights law applies to all persons all of the time, irrespective of whether they have crossed an international border or not.⁴¹ The human rights dimensions of climate-related human mobility are extensive, and adopting a human rights-based approach (HRBA) to this phenomenon provides a framework for rich description as well as policy-relevant recommendations. Whereas by now the 1998 UN Guiding Principles, themselves grounded in international human rights law, are well-established as providing a useful tool for all actors concerned with climate-related displacement,⁴² a human rights-based approach is also relevant to addressing migration, planned relocation and immobility as well.

Human rights are universal legal safeguards that defend individuals, communities and nations from acts and omissions that limit their fundamental freedoms and rights. Human rights law obliges governments (in general) and other duty-bearers to respect, advance, preserve and uphold all human rights.⁴³ Every individual’s inherent value and dignity is the cornerstone of human rights. They are equal, indivisible, inalienable, interrelated and interdependent.⁴⁴

It is now beyond question that the full enjoyment of human rights is negatively impacted by climate change brought on by human activities. Climate change substantially affects many human rights, including the rights to life, self-determination, development, food, health, water, sanitation and housing.⁴⁵ People who are marginalised on a social, economic, cultural, political, institutional or other level are particularly sensitive to climate change as well as to various adaptation and mitigation measures.⁴⁶ The catalogue of rights and related obligations created by international law is the foundation for the HRBA to climate change. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), collectively known as the ‘International Bill of Rights,’⁴⁷ are the most critical components of these approaches. In the present context, human rights are invoked in the Paris Agreement on climate change, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and Agenda 2030 on sustainable development. The normative depth generated by 75 years of work at international, national and sub-national levels to progressively realise the rights of all persons without discrimination provides guidance relevant to the implementation of these agendas, including in the context of climate-related human mobility.

The human rights-based approach highlights those who are the most marginalised, excluded or subjected to discrimination. To make sure that interventions reach the most marginalised sections of the community,⁴⁸ it is frequently necessary to analyse gender stereotypes, various forms of discrimination and power disparities. In accordance with the human rights framework, efforts to reduce the effects of climate change and prepare for them must be directed by pertinent human rights norms and principles, such as the rights to participation and information, transparency, accountability, equity and non-discrimination.⁴⁹ Several well-formulated norms that constitute the core policies of human rights include:

• Advancing human rights in the context of climate change mitigation, adaptation and measures to address loss and damage is considered the ultimate goal.

• People-centric approach is the core element of tackling climate change.

• Participation serves as a means to an end, but also an end in itself.

• The climate activities are locally controlled, and the programmes give special attention to excluded and marginalised communities.

• A crucial component of the human rights framework is the idea of vulnerability. The legal commitment of the States to respect, protect and fulfil human rights is supported by the need to identify and remedy vulnerability in addition to the need to uphold human dignity.

Human rights strategies require socially inclusive climate adaptation measures to build resilience and reduce underlying vulnerabilities contributing to harmful forms of human mobility. An HRBA also attempts to ensure that mobility is based on choice. However, when movement is unavoidable, this will also require plans and programmes to support safe, voluntary and dignified movement as a positive choice and, if necessary, through participatory planning to relocate to safer settlement areas with full respect for human rights.⁵⁰ Simply expressed, the human rights framework must be a part of the entire solution cycle to the climate-related mobility issue.

In the last ten years, several regional initiatives and partnerships addressing climate issues have evolved in response to these significant global trends. However, how each region approaches and conceptualises such cooperation varies. Therefore, it is crucial to support ongoing efforts at all levels to address the negative forms of climate-related human mobility on the enjoyment of human rights in light of scientific data and assessments and in a well-integrated manner that advances progress towards the pragmatic implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as towards the promotion, protection, realisation and enjoyment of all human rights.

Academic and research collaboration is an integral part of the solution-seeking. In this context, the present book attempts to bring together home-grown research from scholars in Asia and the Pacific and highlight the challenges and opportunities of climate change mobility in Asia and the Pacific from an interdisciplinary perspective with a special focus on an HRBA.

5 Local Perspectives

The edited volume examines the multiple dimensions of climate-related human mobility from countries in Asia and the Pacific, intending to advocate and highlight the appropriateness of the HRBA. Given the multiple dimensions of climate mobility, evaluating the issue from a single-domain perspective will have limited coverage. Hence the instant book frames the issues of climate mobility cumulatively through an interdisciplinary perspective that encompasses other subjects like migration, gender, social disability and human rights. The book showcases the research abilities and subject matter expertise of scholars from Asia and the Pacific on climate-related human mobility in the region. This is done to bring forth the lived experiences and local solutions of the people of the region. Various chapters in the instant book, while covering the policy and theoretical dimensions of mobility, also evaluate the issue through empirical studies. The objective is to provide evidence-informed insights to build strategies that are resistant to the impacts of climate change and equipped to ensure the basic human rights of all. As the context is significant in understanding the nuances of mobility, the findings of empirical research help scholars and policymakers understand how environmental factors interact with socio-political and economic factors to influence people’s movements. They also highlight promising future research directions and raise critical questions for global policymaking. In this manner, the book examines the multi-dimensional issues of climate mobility in Asia and the Pacific through an interdisciplinary perspective.

The scholars from the region have adopted the human rights-based approach and the interdisciplinary approaches consistent with the international human rights law framework in their contributions that make the unique focus on the impacts of climate change-related human mobility, justified in this region. However, there is no consensus on terminologies among the scholars of this part of the world. It is qualitative or quantitative and depends on the authors’ research treatment, understanding and intellectual preferences. The volume’s primary focus is not to critique the climate mobility from the Global North–South dynamics lens but to instead highlight the lived experience and ground realities of climate change impacts and consequent mobilities and immobilities happening in the Asia–Pacific from the perspective of vulnerable populations. The expertise and understanding gathered through the studies are crucial in evolving a durable solution based on the HRBA approach, which is inclusive and not merely a top-down model.

6 Book Structure

The volume is divided into two part. Part 1 focuses on mobilities and immobilities most closely associated with migration and displacement. Most case studies also examine lived experiences from the perspective of different groups within society, such as older persons, Indigenous Peoples or persons with disabilities. Part 2 explores mobilities related to planned relocation and resettlement, as well as proximate forms of mobility such as development-related displacement. The section will also see the responsibility of the State and non-State actors in exploring planned relocation/resettlement.

This Chapter—The introductory chapter offers an overview of the book and provides a conceptual background. It brings out the issue of climate change and mobility, focusing on the Asia–Pacific. It explains the focus of the book, the structure and arrangement of the book.

Part 1 of the book titled Dimensions of Migration and Displacement: Experiences, Policies, Laws and State Practice contains eight chapters.

Chapter “Tropical Cyclone and the Mobility of Older Persons: Insights from Coastal Bangladesh” by Md. Abdul Malak, and Nazia Khan Lina, explores the mobility of older individuals in Bangladesh in the context of recurring tropical cyclones, highlighting the significant impact on coastal populations. It highlights the challenges faced by these individuals, including economic, social and cultural losses. The study also reveals that these mobility choices often make them more storm-resistant, contributing to our understanding of their adaptation strategies.

Chapter “To Move or Not to Move? Drought-Related Internal Migration and Voluntary Immobility Among the Hmong Forest Community in Northern Thailand” by Reni Juwitasari, explains the drought in Northern Thailand, particularly near Myanmar and Laos, that is affecting the Hmong ethnic minority group in Chiang Rai. The drought has led to a significant water shortage, affecting agriculture, forests, income, food security and primarily circular labour migration. The study, examining the social effects of climate change in the Hmong community’s home district of Wiang Kaen, reveals that factors such as limited educational opportunities, job readiness and land ownership status influence migration patterns. The older generation, using indigenous knowledge, has shown resilience in managing forests and agriculture, while the younger generation seeks financial stability, yet neither group reflects any interest in moving away from their predominantly rural livelihoods, reflecting a form of voluntary immobility and highlighting the importance of supporting such communities to strengthen resilience in situ.

Chapter “Sensitisation of Disaster Relief Operations towards Persons with Disabilities” by Ishari Gunarathna and Priyadarshani Premarathne, explains that persons with disabilities often face marginalisation in society, especially after disasters. The findings highlight the need for pre-emptive mapping, adequate training for evacuation, cultural awareness and increased participation of social workers in disaster management initiatives.

Chapter “Rising Waters, Stagnant Paths: Gendered Experiences of Flooding and Restricted Mobility in Can Tho City, Viet Nam” by Danang Aditya Nizar and Ly Quoc Dang, explains the integration of climate change into the regulations of Vietnam recognising the link between mobility, gender equality and climate change. However, the authors point out the challenges faced in implementing national commitments, as seen in Can Tho City’s urban flooding. The authors argue for consideration of micro-level mobility dynamics and gender principles in climate initiatives, emphasising the need for greater consideration of this aspect in the debate on climate change-related mobility.

Chapter “Establishing a Human Rights-Based Approach to Climate Change-Induced Internal Displacement in the Regime of Bangladesh: Challenges and Way Forward” by Md Abdul Awal Khan, deals with the impact of climate change leading to internal displacement in Bangladesh. The author highlights the challenges faced by Bangladesh in linking human rights law with climate change legislation. The chapter reviews the current Bangladeshi domestic law and policy framework, highlighting inadequacies in preventative and preparedness systems, and suggests long-term remedies to protect communities displaced due to climate change.

Chapter “Climate Change, Agriculture and Internal Human Mobility in the Bhutan Himalayas” by Om Katel, Anooja Nair, Ugyen Yangchen and Chogyel Wangmo, explains that Bhutan is among the most vulnerable nations to climate change, despite not contributing to it. The country’s geographical location and the effect of climate change have a detrimental impact on sectors like forestry, agriculture and natural resource management. Climate change also increases the risk of disasters, impacting biodiversity and community livelihoods leading to primarily rural–urban labour migration.

Chapter “Climate Change-Induced Disaster Displacement and Law in India: Positioning the Operationalization of Artificial Intelligence for Protecting Human Rights” by Nafees Ahmad, explains that climate change-induced disaster displacements (CiDD) in India and other countries are causing human rights concerns. AI applications can significantly impact both CiDD and low-emission, climate-resilient development. The UN Climate Change Initiative on AI for Climate Action suggests that the crisis needs to be reimagined and operationalised to defend human rights under a legally enforceable international Human Rights Protection Framework (HRPF). The author highlights that India could develop AI-driven automatic decision-making systems to defend human rights in CiDD scenarios. To ensure AI technologies operationalise human rights protection and contribute to the accomplishment of Sustainable Development Goals, humanitarian actors must be proactive and inclusive in creating AI apps, policies and accountability systems that protect human rights.

Chapter “Humanitarian Aid Distribution in the Context of Human Rights-Based Approach Among Vulnerable Communities: Flash Floods and Climate Change in North Luwu, Indonesia” by Dina Ruslanjari, Cahyadi Ramadhan, Inayah Bastin Al Hakim and Feby Aulia Marsida, deals with the outcome of a catastrophic flash flood that occurred in 2020 in South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia’s North Luwu Regency, leaving 106 persons missing and 38 confirmed deaths. Using a qualitative methodology, the study explores the comprehensiveness of laws and policies in Indonesia, finding a high level of satisfaction among people assisted in this multi-level, multi-stakeholder initiative.

Part 2, titled Planned-Relocation, Resettlement, and State Responsibility, contains six chapters.

Chapter “Climate Change-Related Displacement: Inter-Island and Rural–Urban Migration in the Solomon Islands: Options for a Viable National Resettlement Plan” by Lovelyn K.M. Otoiasi, deals with climate change that is causing a surge in forced migration, particularly from low-lying atolls in the Solomon Islands. This chapter examines the intervening aspects of climate change-related migration and rural–urban migration, suggesting institutional, legal and financial mechanisms for the nation’s resettlement programme. It aims to improve the understanding of the social, economic and cultural characteristics of the mobile population, promoting wise decisions regarding climate change-related migration and resettlement.

Chapter “Impact of Climate Change and Accessing Services in Papua New Guinea” by Dora Kuir-Ayius, examines the issues of government service delivery, focusing on communities from the Carteret and Manam  Islands who have been relocated in the context of disasters and climate change. The chapter highlights the centrality of land ownership to identity and livelihoods and considers how people who relocate and do not secure land rights face serious adverse human rights impacts because state authorities are unable to ensure the right to an adequate standard of living for those unable to support themselves on the land.

Chapter “State Responsibilities and International Obligations in Responding to Climate Mobilities: What Should International Assistance Look Like?” by Liam Moore, highlights that Fiji and Vanuatu have developed innovative policies, recognising the rights of people forced to relocate and the responsibilities of states to uphold these rights. However, there are emerging implementation challenges, and the international community has a responsibility to support these states in managing climate mobility and relocation. Foreign assistance should be directed locally and customised to local circumstances, supporting local actors and increasing their potential.

Chapter “Marginalisation of Adat Communities: Intersectionality of Land Grabbing, Human Rights, Climate Adaptation and Human Mobility in Indonesia” by James Reinaldo Rumpia, discusses the marginalisation of Indigenous Peoples particularly the Adat Community, in Indonesia. It highlights the impact of land grabs, human mobility, climate adaptation and human rights violations. The Sikep and Rendu people, despite their traditional farming practices, face land grabbing and migration due to the cement industry and dam projects. The situation is aggravated by the impact of climate change. The lack of the role of indigenous law and participation in environmental policy further exacerbates these vulnerabilities.

Chapter “Climate Change and Socio-economic Issues in Sri Lanka: An Assessment of Landslide-Induced Relocations in Aranayake” by Dinushika M. Yapa Abeywardhana, examines the socio-economic effects of landslides in Aranayake, Sri Lanka, which led to the displacement of communities. The relocations increased social and economic vulnerabilities, jeopardising their well-being. The study suggests that for effective policy formation in Sri Lanka, community requirements must be identified and monitored before and after the relocation, ensuring that the community’s rights to freedom, development and an adequate standard of living are upheld.

Chapter “Conclusion”—The concluding chapter explores the findings and learnings gathered from the chapters highlighting the impact of climate change on global migration and the need for an inclusive policy response founded on human rights and reflecting the local reality. Although highlighting the varieties of human mobility taking place across the region, the volume also identifies core similarities relating to differential exposure and vulnerability based on characteristics like age, gender and class, limitations of law and policy to tackle the complex development challenge of climate-related human mobility and the consequences of failing to take the dimensions reflected in a human rights-based approach into account, when taking action to address disaster risk and the adverse impacts of climate change. With this volume we offer ground-level insights into lived experiences, while framing issues in relation to international standards and global policy processes. These two levels need to speak more to one another, and the APANDD network provides a unique forum for facilitating such an exchange.