In the news: The UN on the pivotal role of water
By Eliot Levine, WWF-US
A recent UN policy brief discusses why water-related climate change adaptation is critical for achieving sustainable development around the world. As significant water shortages already exist, water is the medium through which climate impacts are going to be felt most immediately and most severely by many people. “Adaptation to climate change is urgent. Water plays a pivotal role in it, but the political world has yet to recognize this notion.” Among other things, this report recommends implementing “no regrets” strategies since they have positive development outcomes that are resilient to climate change.
UNWater.org: “Climate Change Adaptation: The Pivotal Role of Water”
Excellent article, disaster induced displacement is complicated problem
So-called environmentally induced migration is multi-level problem. According to Essam El-Hinnawi definition form 1985 environmental refugees as those people who have been forced to leave their traditional habitat, temporarily or permanently, because of a marked environmental disruption (natural or triggered by people) that jeopardised their existence and/or seriously affected the quality of their life. The fundamental distinction between `environmental migrants` and `environmental refugees` is a standpoint of contemporsry studies in EDPs.
According to Bogumil Terminski it seems reasonable to distinguish the general category of environmental migrants from the more specific (subordinate to it) category of environmental refugees.
Environmental migrants, therefore, are persons making a short-lived, cyclical, or longerterm change of residence, of a voluntary or forced character, due to specific environmental factors. Environmental refugees form a specific type of environmental migrant.
Environmental refugees, therefore, are persons compelled to spontaneous, short-lived, cyclical, or longer-term changes of residence due to sudden or gradually worsening changes in environmental factors important to their living, which may be of either a short-term or an irreversible character.