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Open Access 2024 | Open Access | Book

Climate-Related Human Mobility in Asia and the Pacific

Interdisciplinary Rights-Based Approaches

Editors: Stellina Jolly, Nafees Ahmad, Matthew Scott

Publisher: Springer Nature Singapore

Book Series : Sustainable Development Goals Series

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About this book

This open access book critically examines the policies and practices related to climate-related human mobility in Asia-Pacific and the legal and policy protection framework for climatically displaced migrants (CDMs) through an interdisciplinary human rights-based approach. While covering the policy and theoretical dimensions of mobility, it also evaluates the issue through empirical studies. The book illustrates how interdisciplinary rights-based approaches address and identify gaps in the protection framework for the region regarding dimensions of climate change displacement, migration, forced migration, susceptibility to climate change, and typology of climate change-induced displacement. Presenting multiple case scenarios, it recommends a legal mechanism based on human rights in a region brimming with variety and multiculturalism.
Bringing together voices from the Asia-Pacific Academic Network on Disaster Displacement, the book examines issues that are immediately relevant in countries where they are living and working. In addition to academic perspective, the chapters also bring perspectives from positions held in national human rights institutions and government. They bring insight into lived experience and policy processes, seeking to avert, minimize, and address displacement, including through general disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation initiatives, as well as specific initiatives around emergency preparedness for response and planned relocation and resettlement. The chapters examine diverse forms of human mobility, including displacement, planned relocation, and forced immobility. The combination of studies focusing on both sudden onset and slower onset movement is also distinctive. With a thorough understanding of the interdisciplinary rights-based approaches to the issue, students, researchers, policymakers, administrators, and all those engaged in studying these topics can quickly evaluate and appreciate how the rights of CDMs are protected on a national, regional, and international level in Asia-Pacific.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter

Open Access

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.
Stellina Jolly, Nafees Ahmad, Matthew Scott

Dimensions of Displacement: Experiences, Policies, Laws and State Practice

Frontmatter

Open Access

Tropical Cyclones and the Mobility of Older Persons: Insights from Coastal Bangladesh
Abstract
Cyclones occur almost annually in Bangladesh, causing significant harm to people living on the coast. It is argued that less attention has been paid to older persons in the development and migration-related literature. In response, this study explores how cyclone impacts influence the decision-making capabilities of older persons with respect to mobility as an adaptation strategy. The study area is in Gabura (a coastal union) as a place of origin, but migrant participants for interviews were also selected from the coastal municipality of Shyamnagar and the district city of Satkhira, as well as the mega-capital city of Dhaka. The data was collected through qualitative research, including in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The study results show that older adults face challenges during cyclones, which can lead to migration. Older persons face various economic, social, and cultural issues, including the loss of property and assets, disruption of social networks, and loss of cultural practices due to climate change-generated hazards. The results suggest that mobility to nearby towns or big cities is a common response of older persons to climate change. It is also found that such mobility decisions of older persons improved their resilience to cyclones. Overall, this study advances the knowledge concerning mobility among the elderly in the face of tropical cyclones and other coastal environmental stressors. The findings can be useful in developing policies and programmes that include older persons and address their specific needs and vulnerabilities in the context of climate change.
Md. Abdul Malak, Nazia Khan Lina

Open Access

To Move or Not to Move? Drought-Related Internal Migration and Voluntary Immobility Among the Hmong Forest Community in Chiang Rai, Northern Thailand
Abstract
Over four decades, from the 1980s to the 2020s, Thailand has experienced a severe and prolonged drought, primarily attributed to the effects of climate change. Consequently, this drought has led to a significant and pervasive shortage of water resources across the country. Drought has substantial environmental, social, and economic ramifications on farmers, manifesting as diminished agricultural and forest productivity, depleted water reserves, heightened vulnerability to wildfires, and consequent losses in income, food security, well-being, and population displacement. The region of Northern Thailand has seen the emergence of drought as a distinct slow-onset calamity in the country. Chiang Rai is characterised by its extensive forested areas and agricultural landscapes, which provide residence for at least ten ethnic minority groups from neighbouring countries, including Hmong. The survival of these ethnic minority people is dependent on the agricultural production they rely upon. Therefore, climate change has emerged as a catalyst for forced migration. This study examines the social implications of climate-related drought in the Wiang Kaen district, which the Hmong ethnic group inhabits. The analysis focuses on three main areas: (1) the impact of drought on the community’s forced migration patterns; (2) the disparities in perceptions of human mobility between older and younger generations in response to the drought; and (3) the factors influencing well-being, such as food security and adaptive capacity, in the context of climate-related drought. The study reveals that climate-induced migration has become one of the climate change adaptation efforts, especially for economic reasons. The internal migration has patterned at the moving from rural to urban areas in joining the informal sector. Although this effort is positively adopted, the disparity in migration perspective is distinctly reflected between older and younger generations, with particular emphasis on food security and availability. Food sufficiency for the household is considered the benchmark of well-being for the Hmong elderly per se, while the younger generation weightens the currency for sustainable well-being. In addition to climate change adaptation, the older generation has demonstrated their ability to cope with climate-induced drought by using traditional or local knowledge in managing forests and agriculture, acknowledged as a kind of resilience rather than resorting to migration, while the younger generation chooses migration as an adaptation strategy. Therefore, this study acknowledges the significance of climate-induced human mobility as a pressing worldwide issue that poses climate change adaptation for sustainable development, although it has been differently perceived by different generations. Hence, the formulation of policies based on climate change adaptation and resilience by both generations is being undertaken.
Reni Juwitasari

Open Access

Sensitisation of Disaster Relief Operations Towards Persons with Disabilities
Abstract
Persons with disabilities (PWDs) often face societal exclusion, particularly during disasters when communities become more vulnerable and reliant on external assistance. PWDs, who are already at higher risk, experience heightened challenges. They usually rely on caregivers, such as family, neighbours, or government support, for daily assistance. However, even these support networks become vulnerable when disasters strike, increasing dependence on government and external relief. During times of disasters, the process of evacuating individuals to relief camps establishes reciprocal relationships between PWDs and relief providers. In the realm of disaster management, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) go beyond being passive recipients; they actively contribute to rescue missions alongside their families. Particularly in Sri Lanka, where advanced tools for those with mobility impairments are scarce, PWDs take on a hands-on role. They guide support providers lacking specific rescue training, offering instructions on how to assist and meet their support expectations. This active participation exemplifies what we term ‘reciprocal relationships between PWDs and relief providers.’ This mutual support is of paramount importance since the entire population is deemed at risk, and collaborative efforts significantly boost the efficiency of evacuation endeavours and the provision of support services. However, it is essential to acknowledge the distinctive vulnerabilities and interdependencies present within the disability community. This recognition emphasises the critical necessity for inclusive disaster preparedness measures. While prior studies have addressed the vulnerabilities of PWDs during and after disasters, a critical knowledge gap exists in understanding these issues in Sri Lanka. This chapter investigates the challenges of PWDs during and after disasters, explores the difficulties of service providers in assisting PWDs, and emphasises the need for inclusive disaster preparedness, highlighting the significance and role of social workers in emergencies in Sri Lanka. The study utilised a qualitative research design, conducting twenty in-depth interviews in two disaster-prone districts in Sri Lanka, Kandy, and Kegalle. The findings reveal that PWDs face a range of challenges, such as limited access to information, inaccessible shelters, transportation barriers, loss of assistive devices, and insufficient healthcare access. The Framework for Integrating Rights and Equality (FIRE) offers crucial recommendations to comprehensively address these issues. Service providers, confronted with resource constraints, accessibility problems, communication barriers, inadequate training, low trust levels, and policy gaps, must integrate these principles for improved disaster preparedness and response. This involves prioritising resource allocation, enhancing accessibility, improving communication, investing in training, fostering trust, and addressing policy gaps, aiming to create a more inclusive and resilient system that better serves the needs of PWDs during emergencies and identifies the importance and role of social workers in emergencies in Sri Lanka.
Ishari Gunarathna, Priyadarshani Premarathne

Open Access

Rising Waters, Stagnant Paths: Gendered Experiences of Flooding and Restricted Mobility in Can Tho City, Viet Nam
Abstract
Viet Nam’s response to its vulnerability to climate change impacts is marked by the integration of climate change concerns into sectoral laws. The Government of Viet Nam has also acknowledged the interlinkages of climate change, gender equality, and mobility within its climate regulatory framework. However, the focus on climate-related mobility has predominantly centred on macro-level mobility, which refers to the broad categorisation of migration, displacement, and planned relocation, with limited attention given to micro-level mobility. This chapter understands micro-level mobility as the smaller-scale and day-to-day movements which involve individual decisions regarding daily activities, destinations, and modes of travel. Furthermore, challenges remain in translating national commitments into local action, as evidenced by urban flooding in Can Tho City. Complex interactions between political, economic, social, and environmental elements contribute to recurring floods, with a disconnection between central Government commitments and local implementation, resulting in gendered impacts. Women in Can Tho City bear disproportionate impacts during recurring flood events, restricting their micro-level mobility in the household and public sphere. Women’s decision to remain during floods results from a complex interplay between risk perception, socio-economic elements which contribute to vulnerability, and limited macro-level mobility options. However, at the same time, these women also actively employ strategies to cope with their restricted mobility, which signifies their agency in negotiating the associated risks and adapting to recurring floods. These insights into women’s mobility behaviour during flooding offer a valuable starting point for policymakers to integrate gender and mobility, both at the macro and micro-level dynamics, into concrete climate actions. The findings also underscore the need to pay more attention to micro-level mobility within the climate-related mobility discourse.
Danang Aditya Nizar, Ly Quoc Dang

Open Access

Establishing a Human Rights-Based Approach to Climate Change-Induced Internal Displacement in the Regime of Bangladesh: Challenges and Way Forward
Abstract
The rise of global temperature and climate change creates multiple adverse impacts on the life and livelihood of human beings, as well as on the environment and non-human biodiversity. One of the significant effects of climate change is that the sea level will rise and submerge substantial parts of low-lying countries, which is one of the significant reasons for being displaced internally. Bangladesh’s marginalised and displaced population is perhaps one of the worst victims of climate change. Despite the given fact, establishing a legal relationship between climate change and human rights law remains one of the daunting tasks of policymakers. There is numerous research on Disaster Risk Reduction and disaster management adaptation in Bangladesh to identify normative gaps for protecting internal climate-displaced people in Bangladesh. Despite significant developments in law and policy measures, the normative gaps and lack of protection mechanisms and durable solutions to address climate change-induced internal displacement still exist significantly in Bangladesh. This paper primarily revisits the current policy framework to understand the challenges of applying a human rights-based approach in national law and policy framework in Bangladesh. Secondly, the chapter identifies the shortcomings and barriers of prevention and preparedness mechanisms for displacement and recommends durable solutions that are most needed to protect climate change-induced displaced populations.
Md. Abdul Awal Khan

Open Access

Climate Change, Agriculture, and Internal Human Mobility in the Bhutan Himalayas
Abstract
When it comes to the impact of climate change, Bhutan is one of the world’s most vulnerable countries. Although Bhutan has not contributed anything to cause climate change, it is facing the brunt of it impact. Bhutan’s climate is strongly influenced by the rugged mountainous terrain surrounding it as well as the Indian summer monsoon and changes in climate, which are increasing the vulnerability of vital economic sectors such as agriculture, forestry, and water resources. Climate change also impacts the country’s rich biodiversity and fragile community livelihoods through the increased risks of hazardous events such as glacier lake outburst floods, flash floods, droughts, and forest fires. This chapter analyses the impacts of climate change on agricultural livelihoods and associated internal human mobility. Despite being a small country, Bhutan has been doing its best to adapt to the impacts of climate change, but its topography and inadequate resources due to the small economy have been constraining Bhutan's developmental philosophy of Gross National Happiness and its achievement of its global sustainable development goals.
Om N. Katel, Anooja Nair, Ugyen Yangchen, Chogyel Wangmo

Open Access

Climate Change-Induced Disaster Displacement and Law in India: Positioning the Operationalization of Artificial Intelligence for Protecting Human Rights
Abstract
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is playing an increasing role in humanitarian space requiring the integration of human rights into AI and human rights-based approach (HRBA) into law and policy relating to the Climate Change-induced Disaster Displacement (CiDD) in India. AI has the potential to significantly impact low-emission, climate-resilient development as well as CiDD. The UN Climate Change Initiative on AI for Climate Action investigates how AI might be used as a potent instrument to advance and intensify climate action that is revolutionary and pragmatic. Therefore, the CiDD crisis must also be re-imagined and operationalised for protecting human rights instead of posing risks to inherent human dignity and human protection at the intersection of National Disaster Laws (NDL), National Climate Law Frameworks (NCLF) and International Human Rights Law (IHRL). The institutional capabilities of the AI-driven systems pose challenges to the human rights of the CiDD population that has become a threat multiplier. Therefore, AI technologies must be designed and developed to incorporate diagnostic, formative, and summative digital assessments of the CiDD situations. The digital assessments must be integrated with NDL, NCLF, and IHRL frameworks to facilitate the protection of human rights. In protecting human rights, the changing climate conditions have necessitated a specific legally binding international Human Rights Protection Framework (HRPF) during CiDD situations. Therefore, India can create AI-driven automatic decision-making (ADM) systems in collaboration with Asia–Pacific countries or otherwise to protect human rights in CiDD scenarios. Thus, in India and elsewhere, AI technologies, AI policies, and accountability systems operationalise human rights protection and contribute to attaining Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in climate statecraft and beyond. In this chapter, I explore the space to integrate AI into NDL, NCLF, and IHRL frameworks with the human rights-based approach (HRBA). I investigate the questions around legal and policy considerations, such as the divergences and convergences of AI norms between NDL on CiDD and the protection of human rights in India. Can AI help national governments better prepare for CiDD migration? What are the specific AI tools and AI best practices that India can adopt for operationalizing the ADM systems and integrating them with the NDL and IHRL framework? Can AI be used to direct and operationalize the IHRL framework in the CiDD crisis? Should AI Ethics be invoked to plug gaps in CiDD emergency and raise standards above the minimum requirements of IHRL obligations in India? Would the age of algorithmic humanitarianism be sufficient for protecting human rights in CiDD prosceniums?
Nafees Ahmad

Open Access

Humanitarian Aid Distribution in the Context of Human Rights-Based Approach Among Vulnerable Communities: Flash Floods and Climate Change in North Luwu, Indonesia
Abstract
North Luwu Regency in South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia, was struck by a flash flood in 2020, resulting in 38 reported deaths and 106 people missing. Additionally, 20,562 residents were forced to evacuate and were referred to as internally displaced persons (IDPs). The handling and protection of the affected community or IDPs in an emergency and a post-emergency period requires proper, integrated, and measurable management. The research done in North Luwu Regency, employed a qualitative approach and was conducted through observation, in-depth interviews, and focus group discussions (FGDs) with heads of villages and the officials, religious and local traditional leaders, NGOs, related agencies, and the IDPs. The findings of this study indicate that the policies regarding aid provision during flash floods are considered quite comprehensive, given that the region experiences similar disasters frequently. The findings also suggest that the implementation of IDP protection is comprehensive but encounters some challenges, including hindered aid distribution due to difficult access to disaster-stricken areas, non-targeted and non-centralised aid distribution, as well as the ineffectiveness of the random system for temporary housing for IDPs. In terms of perception, the community expresses satisfaction with the government’s performance in providing humanitarian aid and logistics, resulting in tangible impacts. Furthermore, no discriminatory practices based on religion, ethnicity/race, gender, background, or economic status were found in the aid distribution.
Dina Ruslanjari, Cahyadi Ramadhan, Inayah Bastin Al Hakim, Feby Aulia Marsida

Planned-Relocation, Resettlement, and State Responsibility

Frontmatter

Open Access

Climate Change-Related Displacement: Inter-Island and Rural–Urban Migration in the Solomon Islands: Options for a Viable National Resettlement Plan
Abstract
Global environmental change has been projected to have a greater impact on human mobility across the globe. In the recent past, the movement of people between islands in the Solomon Islands was voluntary, either through marriage or other social interactions. However, recently climate change-related impacts have begun to force people to move, particularly from the low-lying atolls. Although there is a drive from the international community to address climate change-related resettlement and relocation, there is an urgent need to better understand local migration intervening factors and address these intervening obstacles to the resettlement programme in the Solomon Islands. This chapter discusses the intervening aspects of climate change-related migration and rural–urban migration to Honiara City, the capital of Solomon Islands, the options to address resettlement challenges, and makes recommendations for institutional, legal, and financial mechanisms for the nation’s Resettlement Programme. It is hoped that discussions from this chapter will provide the needed insights and a better understanding of various social, economic, and cultural attributes of climate-related human mobility in relation to Honiara and thereby inform the development and implementation of sound and viable legal and policy measures.
Lovelyn Otoiasi

Open Access

Impact of Climate Change and Accessing Services in Papua New Guinea
Abstract
With rising sea levels, changes in rainfall, increased frequency of El Niño-type conditions, and increased intensity of cyclones, the Pacific Islands region is exposed to climate change. A large proportion of the people are marginalised and are among the most vulnerable and least prepared to cope with its impacts. There are many competing definitions of the concept of vulnerability, but in the context of the Pacific Islands countries (PICs), it is referred to as the lack of power, influence, and control of those affected by climate change. The lack of power is reflected where access to resources is minimised. This can be viewed in various ways, including a lack of access to basic services such as enabling infrastructure, transport, hospitals, and others. In addition, the lack of access to income-generating opportunities further complicates the challenges imposed by the impact of climate change. In most of the PICs, including Papua New Guinea (PNG), Kiribati, Vanuatu, Marshal Islands, and Cook Islands, the chances of access to basic needs such as food, water, and land for survival are threatened. Approaches to dealing with climate change, displacement of people, and issues of traditional land ownership and relocation must be taken seriously. The paper presents some challenges of accessing services mainly caused by lack of effective management by the government of Papua New Guinea in the midst of climate change.
Dora Kuir-Ayius

Open Access

State Responsibilities and International Obligations in Responding to Climate Mobilities: What Should International Assistance Look Like?
Abstract
Climate change-related events are already pushing people towards mobility, and it is likely this dynamic will only escalate as the effects of the climate crisis are more readily felt. Despite knowing this, before 2018, there were very few examples of state-level policies to manage climate mobilities. Unpacking the two path-leading policies designed by Fiji and Vanuatu in this space, we can see a significant recognition of the rights that individuals faced with mobility have and the obligations that states have to take to protect these rights and prevent harm. Although these policies are still in their infancy, we can already see significant barriers to implementation developing. In addition, considering the unequal distribution of responsibility for the drivers of climate change, there is a compelling legal and moral argument that the international community has a duty to step forward and assist states like these in discharging their responsibilities and managing climate mobilities effectively. In this chapter, I argue that the early experiences of Fiji and Vanuatu show us that the international community has a responsibility to help and I attempt to showcase what this responsibility should look like. It is my assertion that the international support must be locally led and tailored to local needs and context. Those who know how to best implement policies are already on the ground, so instead of parachuting in foreign experts, local actors should be supported and assisted with technical and financial support that builds their capacity.
Liam Moore

Open Access

Marginalisation of Adat Communities: Intersectionality of Land Grabbing, Human Rights, Climate Adaptation, and Human Mobility in Indonesia
Abstract
This chapter seeks to examine issues concerning the Adat community, a community whose very existence is based on a strong link between indigenous knowledge and the environment. It will also examine the community’s role in climate change mitigation and adaptation. The chapter addresses the problem of marginalisation of indigenous people through the intersectionality of land grabbing, fulfilment of human rights, climate adaptation, and human mobility. It uses an indigenous—local knowledge—human rights-based approach to understand the knowledge, traditions, and dynamics of the rights of indigenous people. The chapter uses the case of the Sikep and Rendu communities in Indonesia and shows that their lives as farmers doing traditional farming are very much a part of conservation efforts. And that their marginalisation because of the expansion of industries, specifically, the cement industry and various dam projects, has resulted in land grabbing and consequently, migration. In addition, the fragmentation of law and policy creates multiple vulnerabilities due to the absence of specific laws concerning the rights of indigenous people, limited legal recognition, bureaucratic-administrative nature of land registration, and the lack of meaningful participation by the indigenous people in environmental and climate policy.
James Reinaldo Rumpia

Open Access

Climate Change and Socio-economic Issues in Sri Lanka: An Assessment of Landslide-Induced Relocations in Aranayake
Abstract
Being a tropical island with a developing economy in the South Asian region, Sri Lanka is exposed to the adverse impacts of climate change. Extreme weather events and their slow-onset effects have threatened well-functioning communities, serving as a core factor for climate mobility. This paper explores the socio-economic impacts of landslide-induced relocations in Aranayake, Sri Lanka. Communities in Aranayake were exposed to a massive landslide in 2017, which led to a wide range of relocations. The relocation of the affected community to peripheral areas intensified the economic and social vulnerabilities, leaving their well-being at risk. The lack of consideration for the societal implications of the relocation and the rebuilding process has further enhanced their vulnerability by disrupting social networks and reducing individual livelihoods. Though it has been five years since the landslide relocation, the insecurities of the communities persist, and access to fundamental rights, including food, development, and freedom, are negatively impacted. Proper identification of the community’s needs before the relocation and proper post-monitoring is a must in order for policy formation in Sri Lanka to be more effective and community sensitive.
Dinushika M. Yapa Abeywardhana

Open Access

Conclusion
Abstract
A legal research and policy agenda for addressing climate-related human mobility in Asia and the Pacific in the context of interdisciplinary rights-based approaches.
Stellina Jolly, Nafees Ahmad, Matthew Scott
Metadata
Title
Climate-Related Human Mobility in Asia and the Pacific
Editors
Stellina Jolly
Nafees Ahmad
Matthew Scott
Copyright Year
2024
Publisher
Springer Nature Singapore
Electronic ISBN
978-981-9732-34-0
Print ISBN
978-981-9732-33-3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-3234-0

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