Environmental Refugee

Suresh Bhattarai, Environmentalist

Migration is a phenomenon of moving from one place to another. When the moving group is big then it is called mass migration. Migration can be permanent or temporary, between or within country, voluntary or at gun point, for lucrative opportunities or in search of basic need. Especially in the third world, degradation and depletion of the available natural resources, compels people to move out in search of survival. Thus such poverty and hunger driven nomadic third world inhabitants, having not much choice but to drift towards new places, are labeled as environmental refugees. Apart from the natural calamities there are numerous other reasons to migrate but whatever the reason be, it is increasing and increasing at the alarming rate. Unmanaged mass migration has put natural resources at stake, the AAAS (2000) summarizes "The world is on the move, and the environmental causes and consequences are profound".

History of Migration

The human flow towards "potential" places started with the human civilization itself. The colonization by the European of America and Australia has transformed the ecology of three continents. Further, the shipment of 15 million African slaves to America fundamentally changed the socio-ecology of those regions. The dusk of 20th century recorded unprecedented international migration, one estimation projects that 120 million people are either living or working outside their native land. Previous thoughts that migrants are destined to some rich nation need to be changed as studies have found that almost half of the cross-border migration takes places in developing world.

The political, ethnic, economic, military or environmental are key factors that trigger the migration both in past and present. A migration has proven as an escape route from local problems for poor, while for the rich it provides an opportunity to recruit insolvent labors. However, huge migration portends an imminent environmental catastrophe in the receiving area.

Environmental driven mass migration

10 million people fled drought and famine in the Sahel region of Africa in the 1970 and 1980, settling in wetter coastal region, including neighboring countries. At least half of them never returned home.

In Mauritania, environmental degradation has helped to force the proportion of the total population living in the coastal from 9 to 41 percent in 1968.

In the 1980s, land scarcity caused by a fast-rising population in Bangladesh led to conflict that drove 12 to 17 million Bangladeshi into neighboring Indian state of West Bengal and Assam.

Million fled Rwanda in the 1990s during ethnic conflict triggered in part at least by the country’s poverty, water scarcity and declining soil fertility, all steaming from its very high population density of 400 people per square kilometer.

Environmental Refugees:

The environmental refugee is defined as "those people who have been forced to leave their traditional habitat, temporarily or permanently, because of a marked environmental disruption (natural and/or triggered by people) that jeopardized their existence and/or seriously affected their quality of life (Hinnawi 1985:4). Elites argue if the environmental refugees should be granted the status of "refugees" because the concept of the environmental refugee is extremely difficult and further complicated by the biological and social implications. The biggest problem about these people is that neither government not the fighting parties keeps their records, which further hampers any effort towards their wellbeing. Together neither the environmental managers nor the migrants themselves know whether their stay in exile would be temporary and permanent. The environmental refugee has been categorized according to the severity they go under.

First Category: Comprises of those people temporary displaced by the environmental stress. I.e. earthquake, volcano, hurricane etc.

Second Category: Those people permanently displaced and resettled to another area because of human caused permanent environmental changes. I.e. Dams

Third Category: Those individual and group who can no longer be supported by their land because of environmental degradation. I.e. desertification, wind erosion.

Those three categories almost cover all the people except those forced to leave involuntary without having any environmental or economic problem. Thus Baker (2001) suggested a fourth category for those displaced because of policy implication affecting the environment i.e. national park.

An estimation study on people displaced by land shortage, deforestation, soil erosion, desertification, water deficits, extreme weather events and epidemics put the annual figure to be around 25 million. The same study (Climate Institutes, Washington) argues, should the current climate change and rise on sea levels continue, the migration exceeds 200 million annually by the year 2050. However, often it is very hard to delineate a boundary between environmental refugees and economic migrants as the environmental degradation leads to the economic hardship.

Environmental damage due to migration

Mass migration frequently causes heavy damage on the similar scale. The fleeing people arrives at new place virtually empty hand and immediately storms into the "free" un-patrolled natural resources. The temporary stay will develop a short-term attitude towards their new surrounding and their desperate measure exploits whatever available.

In the mid-1990s the Rwandan refugees, who escaped to neighboring Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) from domestic conflict, destroyed large areas on forest of their new host. Apart from these, even the state-sponsored migrants who find the allocated land insufficient for their living, plunders to the surrounding forest. The unfortunate example from Brazil and Indonesia, where the migrants caused illegal deforestation in Amazon and Kalimantan respectively, further solidifies the earlier claim that mass migrants are blight to the environment.

Migration disasters

During colonialism in the 19th century in Africa, many indigenous groups were asked to leave their native place. The Masai in Kenya were displaced by the establishment of the Amboseli National Park, the Shanga in South Africa by Krueger National Park, and the Eek tribe from northeastern Uganda, by the establishment of Kidepo Valley National Park, who eventually starved to extinction (Armstrong 1991; Hitchcock 1995; Turnbull 1972). In other case the people were "compensated" with land with mountainous environment, where they have neither skill nor familiarity to survive (Turnbull 1972).

In the Botswana and Zimbabwe, the Tyua tribe was subsequently forced to move out to create Hwange Game Reserve, a hunting ground for elite few (Hitchcock 1995). Traditionally Tyua tribe used to practice hunting; they were displaced to south to practice agriculture. It proving hard for them to pick up this new means of survival and their attempt to repeat their ancestral profession has resulted in hundreds of death on the ground of illegal poaching.

In the case of the Eek of northern Uganda, the displacement of the foragers into the mountains resulted into the starvation and the eventual extinction of the race (Turnbull 1972).  These people were deprived from basic human right as the government doesn’t acknowledge them as full citizen of the country.

The Signing of North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) resulted into conflict between Mexican Government and Zapatista National Liberation Army. Zapatista Subcomandante Marcos, the insurgent leader of the guerilla army, has termed NAFTA as the "death sentence" for poor Mexicans (Defense & Foreign Affairs' Strategic Policy, March 31, 1995). The signing of the agreement dismantled the livelihood of thousands of Chiapans, who were expected to compete with US farmers. These poor Chiapans has no alternatives but to migrate inviting yet another environmental calamities.

South Asian and Nepalese context

In India alone, approximately 15 million people are negatively impacted by natural disasters each year (Gadgil, Madhav and Ramachandra Guha. 1995)

Indian government has been one of the major dam builders in the last four decades resulting into displacement of 20 to 50 million people (Judge 1997). Balimela Hydro Project and Upper Kolar Dam displaced 98 % and 96 % of the local inhabitants. Moreover, these people, generally hill or river inhabitants, were moved to plains, deserts or mountain-less desirable, less productive lands.

Bhakhra Dam, one of the first dam in India built in 1959, submerged the town of Bilaspur.  The people were resettled in other villages, where they have since been considered a new ethnic community known as Bilaspuris (Judge 1997). 

During the construction of the Pong Dam, the Rajasthan government had agreed to resettle 66% of the displaced peoples, while only 4% were ultimately resettled (Judge 1997).

Environmental epidemics also migrate with the people spreading disease in new places. On contrary, the refugees also falls victim to new surroundings as they find it hard to adjust. In one case, the drastic change into the surrounding proved ruthless for the refugees from Maharashtra, resettled in Parvetha Village.  These problems escalated to the point that not a single baby survived beyond infancy in the second half of 1989 (Judge 1997).

One of the first and easy resources for the migrating people is forest. This causes severe soil erosion, gully formation ultimately resulting into abandonment of the land. One of the effects of deforestation is increase global temperature rising sea levels. Some predictions estimate the sea level may rise 30 to 110 centimeters by 2100 (Suhrke 1994; Douglas 1996).  It has raised serious concern among the coastal inhabitants of China, Bangladesh, and Egypt, islands in the South Pacific and the Maldives, and urban populations in Karachi, Pakistan, and Dhaka, Bangladesh (Suhrke 1994; Douglas 1996). 

Immediately after the restoration of democracy we have received a bonus as "Bhutanese refugee" thanks to the courtesy of India. Hundred of these people, driven out by callous Bhutanese regime, arrived Nepal empty handed. Nepal, having lots of problem of its own, can’t provide much help to them expect place to live. These ungrateful refugees are exploiting whatever comes to their way for decades now. If that was not enough current ongoing Maoist movement has forced people to leave village, people has start flocking in the district headquarter. They don’t have money to afford living so would depend on the nature and its product heavily. Such natural wound would take decades to heal.

Conclusion

As our surroundings getting erratic, abuse of the resources aided by civil unrest people around the world are losing their home, land and means of subsistence. We should formulate a plan to address the key factor that would lead to the migration. We should have both short and long term plan. While implementing some temporary measures we can bargain time to implementing long term mitigating measures.

(Views expressed in this article does not reflect to the organization associated)

Author’s address: sbhattarai@ku.edu.np

Inhuman Right Organizations in Nepal
Promoting inhuman right in the name of human rights….

By Rajeeb L. Satyal

What we have in Nepal in the name of human right is inhuman right. To the common people, most of the Human Right Organizations have been overly political and outrageously biased towards social and political issues. Their focus and roles have been narrowly defined in addressing only political issues. They have ignored all the other vital social and economic area of human rights where they could make a real fruitful difference in the society.

The Human Right organizations seem to have failed to understand that, apart from big political issues, human rights are being violated in several other core areas such as gender, economic growth, social and cultural practices, governance, to name a few. They have least or no intervention in promoting the basic human dignity and culture in the society, which need more genuine focus.

Just having a mere format of political democracy, does not guarantee actual human right in a correct sense. The understanding, principle and practice of Human Right need more sophisticated thinking than we have now. In the Nepalese context, we lack even the basic human right to eat, drink water, required to live with dignity. Where is the human right of a woman when her existence is questioned by asking her husband’s name when issuing citizen certificate or passport for their children? And where is the human right of people of Nepal when a majority of genuine citizens are denied their citizen certificate on the pretext of some mere technicalities. As if it is not already shameful, the same voters without citizen certificates are made to vote but denied from very basic citizen rights. However the Human Right Organizations see no roles in such area of human right. They are stereotype focusing only on political issues.

In the first place- the term "Human Right" itself is a very vague and ambiguous term, with no clear-cut definition. Due to the vagueness and ambiguity, the term has, time and again, been misinterpreted in the ways that benefit organized crimes and political parties. The biasness of some Human Right Organizations, at times, even propagated the violence in the country. Example of such biasness, as any common people would agree are- always-taking side and sympathizing insurgents against the government. They keep silence when security people and general public are killed mercilessly and make a clamor of violation of human rights when a Maoist rebel is killed. In an ideal situation, their sympathy should have gone to both parties, and their effort should have been towards bringing both parties to negotiation table. Apparently they have no such interest.

Its time to redefine the term "Human Rights" itself by changing it to Human Rights and Responsibilities which would correctly connote the true role and spirit of human right. Every Human Right Organizations should start operating as Human Right and Responsibility organization in name and spirit also. It would fairly minimize the malpractice of using the Human Right forums to cover some biased political issues. Logically also, human rights should always come accompanied by human responsibility (actually the human rights be earned by fulfilling the human responsibilities) to prevent anarchy against each other. For example- political parties may have human right to rebel against a system for larger public interest such as now. But they should earn their right, first by fulfilling their fundamental duties. How can Human right Organizations stay aloof or even support political party’s unilateral decision to declare Nepal Bandh or to organize violent demonstration? If this is the definition and scope of work of the Human Rights Organizations includes supporting and even actively propagating violence, the relevance, need and scope of these organizations must be revisited in the larger social and national context.

The scope and the practice of Human Rights need redefinition to suit the national context and interest. The scope of Human Right should also be redefined so that the human rights of a person or organization do not cross same of other individual or organizations, a clear trend seen in Nepal. If it is the human right of political parties to organize demonstration, and to paralyze country to get their demand, it is also the human right of business organizations to be able to work peacefully and for people to earn their bread unhindered. It is as painful for any Nepali to see a security person die, as it is to see any Maoist die. But unfortunately the Human Right Organizations do not seem to view human right situation from this angle. They choose to take side.

The Human Right organizations must at least remain neutral if they cannot play any active positive roles. It is yet to understand whether it is due to lack of sufficient competence in the relevant technical areas in playing correct role or it is due to the vested interest that such human right organization failed to fulfill their correct roles.

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