Climate Change, Migration and Human Rights

Description

Climate Change already having serious impacts on the lives of millions of people across the world. These impacts are not only ecological, but also social, economic and legal. Among the most significant of such impacts is climate change-induced migration. The implications of this on human rights raise pressing questions, which require serious scholarly reflection. Drawing together experts in this field, Climate Change, Migration and Human Rights offers a fresh perspective on human rights law and policy issues in the climate change regime by examining the interrelationships between various aspects of human rights, climate change and migration. Three key themes are explored: understanding the concepts of human dignity, human rights and human security; the theoretical nexus between human rights, climate change and migration or displacement; and the practical implications and challenges for lawyers and policy-makers of protecting human dignity in the face of climate change and displacement. The book also includes a series of case studies from Alaska, Bangladesh, Kenya and the Pacific islands which aim to improve our understanding of the theoretical and practical implications of climate change for human rights and migration. This book will be of great interest to scholars of environmental law and policy, human rights law, climate change, and migration and refugee studies. Cover ......Page 1 Half Title ......Page 2 Title Page ......Page 4 Copyright Page ......Page 5 Table of Contents ......Page 6 List of illustrations......Page 8 List of contributors......Page 9 Foreword......Page 12 PART I: Introduction......Page 18 1. Climate change, migration and human rights......Page 20 Notes......Page 25 PART II: The theoretical nexus......Page 26 Introduction......Page 28 The elephant in the room......Page 29 Voluntary or forced movement?......Page 30 The refugee regime......Page 31 The international migration regime......Page 36 The way forward......Page 40 Notes......Page 42 Introduction......Page 45 A ‘conceptual and semantic chaos’: ‘environmental refugees’ or ‘environmental migrants’?......Page 47 Rationales for international governance: environmental migration, climate migration or simply migration?......Page 51 Conclusion......Page 54 Notes......Page 55 PART III: Legal and policy approaches......Page 60 Introduction......Page 62 Climate justice......Page 64 The human rights-based approach......Page 66 The practical application of a climate justice approach......Page 71 Conclusion: ways ahead......Page 80 Notes......Page 82 Introduction......Page 85 Overview of climigration and legal frameworks......Page 86 The evolution of transitional legal protection......Page 93 Conclusion......Page 99 Notes......Page 100 Introduction......Page 103 The challenges of climate displacement......Page 104 State responsibility to prevent climate displacement......Page 105 Planned relocations and preventing climate displacement......Page 107 Notes......Page 110 Introduction......Page 116 The relationship between climate change, migration and human rights......Page 118 From theory to practice: advancing policy coherence......Page 119 Non-migration as a coping strategy......Page 122 Adaptation with dignity......Page 125 Notes......Page 127 PART IV: Case studies......Page 132 Preparing for war?......Page 134 Scientific (non-)support for linking climate and conflicts......Page 136 Hotspots for potential displacement and conflict/cooperation......Page 138 Notes......Page 142 Climate change......Page 146 Relocation......Page 147 Governance......Page 150 Creating an adaptive governance framework based in human rights......Page 151 Guiding human rights principles......Page 156 Notes......Page 161 Introduction ......Page 166 Environmental change, land and displacement in Kenya......Page 168 State-sponsored resettlement in Kenya......Page 171 Developing a framework to assist and resettle IDPs: the humanitarian perspective......Page 174 Developing a framework to assist and resettle IDPs: the land policy perspective......Page 176 Outlook......Page 179 Notes......Page 180 Introduction......Page 186 Critical perspectives towards environmental migration......Page 188 The European Union and environmental migration......Page 189 An alternative view of climate change and migration......Page 193 New rights and resources for environmental migrants in the Pacific region......Page 194 Conclusion: decentring and politicising climate change......Page 198 Notes......Page 200 Introduction......Page 206 Transdisciplinary methods......Page 207 Findings......Page 210 Implications: human rights, livelihoods and migration effects......Page 215 Notes......Page 218 Introduction......Page 220 Environmental degradation and mobility strategies......Page 221 Human mobility and adaptation in the Pacific......Page 222 Notes......Page 228 PART V: Conclusion......Page 234 14. Conclusion: On the politics of climate change, migration and human rights......Page 236 Notes......Page 241 Bibliography......Page 243 Index......Page 274