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Climate change and human rights
Dr. Atiq Rahman
Global climate change has emerged as the greatest threat facing humankind today. The long arm of climate change impacts is likely to undermine various fundamental human rights and basic securities. These rights and securities include the right to life, food, safe water and health, home, land, properties, livelihoods, employment and development. Climate change affects almost all ecosystems, societies and economies. But the effects are different depending on their location, economic status, and history of development and governance patterns. The poor in developing countries would be most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and extreme climatic events such as frequent and prolonged floods, cyclone, tidal surges, salinity intrusion, sea level rise and drought. Climate change will increase global poverty and human insecurities (food, water, health, energy, shelters and social securities), enhance regional disparity and violate sets of basic human rights if the global communities do not take urgent actions now.
Climate change, sea level rise and the associated risks may displace over 200 million people in the near future. This will increase number of climate refugees particularly in the small island states, low lying deltas and the developing world, which will again enhance rural to urban migration and international migration. The internally displaced people (IDP) and externally displaced people will create new socio-political instability in many parts of the world. Millions of poor are already living in urban slums in Asia, Africa and Latin America without employment, adequate income, food, water, shelters and basic amenities. The extreme climatic events and sea level rise will push millions of displaced to the city slums and thus violate their set of human rights including right to food and water, right to development and right to live in their own societies and culture. The following stories give personalized glimpse about - how climate change will displace people, affect their resources base and livelihood and violate their basic rights.
Story 1: The migrating people
On 21 February, 2007 Henry Chu, Staff Writer of the Los Angeles Times reports “Climate Change laps at Bangladesh’s shores rising oceans are already a reality there, and thousands of people could be displaced. Global warming has a taste in this village. It is the taste of salt. Only a few years ago, water from the local pond was fresh and sweet on Samit Biswas’s tongue. ..for one meter sea level rise, there will be 35 million people displaced by middle to end of 21st century. One Mr. Borhan, the leader of a small coastal community in Bangladesh said that “Anybody in my island hardly uses any petrol, gas or coal. We never get on a car or plane. Why should I or my children drown because somebody else wants to have a good life? Where is the justice in this?”
Story 2: The traveling mother
A woman in El-Salvador in Latin America was traveling to join her husband who had been posted on an international NGO job in Dakar, Senegal in Africa. She was in her advanced stage of pregnancy. A few hours into the flight, the plane faces turbulence and has to land in an airport in Florida, USA. Because of the turbulence and nervousness she gives birth to a premature baby in the US soil. This baby could have been born a few hours earlier in El-Salvador or the next day in Dakar, Senegal. This is purely a chance of history and circumstances. We can model the future consumption history of this child depending on where she was born. The fact that the child was born in the US she would consume tens of times more petroleum, would travel many times more by cars and airlines, would consume meat many times more and also use and waste water by a huge margin. In the process of evolution in the mother’s womb, each child, irrespective of place of origin, has similar nutritional allocation. But it is the society where she is born that very often decides the consumption patterns. In the final analysis it is the consumption pattern and utilization of resources that has created the GHGs, resulting in Climate Change.
Story 3: The sinking country
Before the UNCED of 1992, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil there was a high-powered meeting held in Aspen, Colorado in 1990. This was aimed at defining the agenda of UNCED. One of the critical questions that came up in this meeting was “what is the core business of the United Nations?” After extended delivery, it was concluded that the UN core business is to protect the sovereignty of its member states. In 2009, a newly elected President of Maldives is looking for lands to buy in several countries as his own Nation state of Maldives is likely to disappear. Maldives is composed of low-lying atolls, is threatened with Sea Level Rise (SLR) induced by Climate Change. Our international jurisprudence can only handle land-based states. There is no space for water-based states. So when all the land of Maldives disappears, so does its sovereignty. With that the whole purpose of the UN becomes questionable. Thus Climate Change raises issues of equity, justice and survival of nations and communities. Even if Maldivian people find an alternative piece of land in another country, their rich culture is lost. A leading Maldivian said “My fore-fathers graves are here. How can I be happy in another land?”
Climate extremes and enhanced insecurities
The enormous, forceful and devastating cyclone Sidr that hit the coast of Bangladesh on 15 November 2007, had not only killed over 10,000 people but also devastated the lives and livelihoods of over 30 million people. The next devastating cyclone Nargis generated in the Bay of Bengal had spared Bangladesh but had severely hit Myanmar coast on 4 May 2008 killing more that one hundred thousands of people and injured millions. Most recently, cyclone Aila hit the coasts of Bangladesh and India on 25 April 2009 killing over 300 people and displacing thousands. Many people of coastal districts were made homeless for weeks and were suffering from serious food and water insecurity. Thousands of them would be thrown back into poverty. Diarrheal diseases spread amongst many affected communities. The poor in the developing countries are the worst affected by those climate extremes, they are in the forefront of climatic disasters and have least capacity to cope with the risks.
Poverty, food insecurity and hunger
Poverty situation may further deteriorate in Asia and Africa due to climate change impacts. The number of poor has increased in Bangladesh sharply in the last 2-3 years from 38% to 48% due to climatic disasters as well as economic and social crisis. Currently, over 860 million people are suffering from severe food insecurity and chronic malnourishment in the world. About 95% of them are in developing countries. Inequitable access to food is the major factor behind this, but global warming and climatic events are also contributing to food insecurity.
The Human Development Report (UNDP) of 2007-2008 argues that the progress made in recent years in human development is being threatened by climate change. The signs are already observed mainly amongst the poorest and most vulnerable population and countries. The report warns about loss of agricultural productivity leading to food insecurity and water stress causing enormous health risks. This will certainly increase global poverty if appropriate measures are not taken urgently by all actors. Further, the climate induced natural calamities and the climate inflicted bio-fuel issues affected the food production and food trade, which resulted in price hike of food grain in developing countries. Global wheat production has decreased sharply in the last year because of increasing maize cultivation destined for bio-fuel production for the rich countries. The poor and marginal sections of people are mainly the victims of this situation. In this context, Amartya Sen observed that the stomach of poor are competing with the fuel tanks of the rich. Millions of non-poor are also becoming poor in such a situation. Bangladesh is facing like a silent famine in the contexts of climate disasters (floods and cyclones) economic shocks such as price hike of food grains.
Climate change poses serious threat to agriculture, particularly in developing countries in Asia and Africa. Both climate variability (rise of temperature and changes in rainfall patterns) and the climatic extreme events like drought, flood, cyclone etc. are affecting agricultural productivity and food security in Asian and African countries. Over 60% in Asia depends on agriculture for their employment, income, food and livelihood. Drought and climatic events have already decreased food production in Africa in the recent years and degraded the food security situation there. There would be increased pest attack in tropical crops in the warmer climate and hence it would lead to crop loss and food crisis. Salinity intrusion and possible sea level rise have already affected coastal agriculture and livelihood of millions in India, Bangladesh, Indonesia and coastal countries in Africa.
Climate refugees and migration
The frequency, intensity and impacts of climatic and natural disasters have increased in the recent years. Climatic events such as flood, drought and cyclones first hit the poorest since they live in the fringe areas. Death casualty is high among the poor due to natural and climatic disasters. Further these would affect agriculture, food supply and water sources and health of the poor very badly. Thus today’s poor would be extreme poor in future. The conventional disaster risk reduction (DRR) measures are not effective in the contexts of frequency and intensity of climatic disasters. The cost of DRR has increased globally. The poor countries need further resources and technology supports from the developed countries in this regards otherwise climatic disasters will increase poverty in Asia and Africa. This situation will make millions of people landless and homeless and thus violate their land right, home rights, property, employment, development, food, water, health and livelihood rights.
The possible sea level rise will affect low lying and coastal countries. Millions of people would be displaced from their homes, occupations and livelihood and many would be thrown into poverty by increasing salinity and sea level rise across the world. Bangladesh is already experiencing higher level of tidal inundation in the coastal districts. The country would be highly vulnerable to sea level rise. About 45cm sea level will not only affect the vast coastal ecosystems, water and hamper agriculture and food production, but also may dislocate about 35 million people from 20 coastal districts by the year 2050. These may create severe problems in rural livelihood, regional and sectoral development as well as in sharing of scarce resources (land, water, forest and fisheries) and thus it will enhance rural to urban migration and generate social conflicts in near future. The emerging climate refugees will put enormous pressure on urban economy and infrastructure (housing and communication) as well as on basic services such as water supply, power, health and sanitation. The rural poor would be pushed to live into urban slums. Internal relocation of population due to shoreline erosion and rising sea level is already happening in Pacific regions like Vanuatu, Kribati and Tuvalu. More and more people will face forced migration in future which may create social conflict particularly in the resources poor countries in Asia and Africa (Reid, 2007).
Key emerging challenges and urgent actions
Climate change is a result of unequal development and consumption and it is enhancing inequity across the world. The impacts are also unequally distributed, where poor in developing countries are becoming the worst victims. All these undermine the set of basic rights of the poor and marginalized communities. Mitigating climate change, eradicating poverty and promoting sustainable and equitable economic growth as well as political stability all demand the same solutions. To ensure that the rights of the vulnerable communities are protected, GHG emission be reduced urgently and immediately. The key challenges for all of us are:
l to stop climate change through urgent mitigation measures now and create effective framework for post 2012 commitment with greater participation of both developed and developing countries to halt dangerous climate change;
l to explore how to live and adapt in a warmer climate which will be unavoidable and more risk prone;
l to promote low carbon sustainable economic development and modify the life style of the rich who do the most harm through luxuries and over consumption;
In addition, to address the issues of threatened rights and securities the following urgent actions are required:
l To support the vulnerable communities with food, shelter, safe water and health services;
l The displace populations both internal and external need planned migration
l The climate induced refugees must have the right to abode in countries which are the major emitters and bear the responsibility i.e. Annex 1 countries under UNFCCC
l To ensure the above rights, the relevant UN agencies will have to develop new policy framework and programmes in the context of emerging climate refugees.
l The specially vulnerable small island states and countries with low lying deltas and coastal areas deserve special attention from the international community;
l The developing nations must formulate appropriate strategies and plans to address the right of emerging climate refugees based on the principal of “Common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities”;
l In the not too distant future, a separate protocol on climate migrants and refugees will need to be developed to ensure their fundamental rights; and
l Stronger actions on mitigation, adaptation, finance and technology transfer will be required to reduce the number of affected people as well as to ensure their fundamental rights.
[The writer is Executive Director of Bangladesh Centre for Advanced Studies (BCAS), Dhaka and the winner of the UN Environmental Award - the Champion of the Earth 2008]>
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