Wars and human conflict have long been related to conquest and material gain, however the new commodities in a rapidly warming world are access to water, food and oil. Environmental degradation around the world is creating a new category of people known as "environmental refugees," a United Nations Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) study reports. Exact figures vary on how many environmental refugees may be displaced by environmental factors, although experts are predicting numbers may be from 50 million by 2010 to 150 million by 2050. British ecologist Norman Myers estimates there could be as many as 200 million people displaced by environmental factors by the end of the century.
A Canadian Broadcast Company News (CBC) report describes the Katrina disaster and Darfur as only dress rehearsals for the sorts of mass migrations of future environmental refugees. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 saw the displacement of more than 15 million individuals whether it was due to impacts to the economy, emergency evacuations, higher gas prices, or even drinking water, according to the American-based Hurricane Relief Fund. Nearly two years later, many individuals are still living in temporary housing.
Darfur & Climate Change
The ongoing and bloody conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan is considered to be an environmental-based conflict. The conflict started in 2003 between the African farmers and the Arabic herders, both struggling to access the same limited resources. The government is reported to be supporting Janjaweed tribes’ people who keep Sudanese farmers from accessing diminishing water supplies and from using the arable land. Restoring peace in the region will be extremely difficult until the area’s water and resource shortages are addressed.
Drought, Displacement and Disasters
Climate change will affect all aspects of human life. A Tufts’ University study shows the cost of inactivity around climate change could be an estimated $74 trillion dollars. However the study also found ‘… even these numbers fail to convey the multiple harms that lie in store for the world'. Around the world, the negative effects of climate change are increasing.
More than 70,000 farmers have been affected by the drought in Australia, considered to be the worst drought in more than 1000 years. Currently, a farmer commits suicide in Australia every 4 days, more than twice the national norm.Individuals living on low-lying islands around the world are starting to be forced from their homes due to rising ocean levels. New Zealand lets in an estimated 70 refugees each year from South Pacific Islands like Tuvalu and Tonga. Other recent environmental disasters have included the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004, the 2005 Kashmir earthquake and Hurricane Wilma in 2005, these disasters are considered to be a preview of what the future holds.
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