Environmentally-Induced Displacement

Identifying the Complexities and Finding Solutions Under the Current International Protection Regime

Abstract

Migration has been a human adaptive strategy to environmental changes for millennia. The current and anticipated environmentally-induced displacement is noteworthy, however, for its scale and intensity. This paper approaches the issue predominantly through a migration/displacement lens and assesses the applicability of existing international law, in particular the 1998 Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement and the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. The difficulty of categorizing the wide-ranging types of environmentally-induced displacement challenges existing conceptual and legal frameworks. The lack of distinction between voluntary and involuntary migration associated with slow-onset natural disasters further complicates the provision of protection for those uprooted. This topic is particularly pertinent to the discourse of internal displacement as most environmentally-induced displacement is likely to occur and remain within borders, at least in the near future. A uniquely Canadian perspective is offered to the issue by examining Canada’s response to environmentally-induced displacement, including a discussion on displacement scenarios of Inuit populations in the Arctic. Lastly, an alternative, if not complementary, approach of investing in the resiliency and adaptive capacities of at-risk communities is suggested.