ANALYZING THE INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIAL RIGHTS CONDITION OF CLIMATE CHANGE REFUGEES FROM THE INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW PERSPECTIVE - International Journal of Environment Science and Technology, Vol. 9, No. 1

The recent earthquake that rocked Nepal is a tragedy, to say the least. In some cases where a natural disaster has left cities in ruins, the government is quick to act and rebuild. However, according to Sam Jones - who is the author of a recent article published by the Guardian - and her interviewee, Katie Peters, governments should not be quick when rebuilding. Rather, they should take more time and plan so new infrastructure can withstand such environmental disasters. Such disasters are inevitable, Jones reiterates.

Jones goes onto mention the issue of the millions of displaced locals-turned-migrants from such disasters. Approximately 1.5 million people from Haiti were displaced due to the tragic earthquake in 2010 and while funding from the international community is important, Jones suggests that the funds should be allocated locally. Doing so, makes the process more sustainable and lessens the dependence of such extensive funding in the future.

Pourhameshi et al., in their journal: "Analyzing the individual and social rights condition of climate change refugees from the international environmental law perspective" take on this complex issue of climate change displacement more specifically. While Jones may be correct when emphasizing the importance of a more sustainable development plan. Pourhameshi et al. focus more attention on the countries taking in refugees. With emphasis being placed on the inefficiencies and the lack of rights being provided to each individual migrant, they are - according the Pourhameshi et al. - deprived of the most essential human rights, such as a healthy living environment. Currently, the legal administration has not made the necessary contingencies for responding to the environmental consequences of immigration and is extremely inefficient in expanding this phenomenon.

The journal seeks to address the question: To what extent can existing forms of legal and operational protection be applied in climate change-related displacement, in general, as well as cross-border displacement, in particular. Further, the authors seek to provide a better insight, so as to address the gaps and inefficiencies within the governments providing safe-haven to migrants. It is expected that analyzing these gaps and determining the international community's duties and commitments - both governments and international organizations - can result in a more efficient management of the crisis and prevent contagion of chaos globally. 


For this journal and others from this issue, click here.