Page - 240 - in Loss and Damage from Climate Change - Concepts, Methods and Policy Options

240 A.Heslinet al. for reasonsof suddenorprogressive changes in the environment that adversely affect their livesor livingconditions, areobliged tohave to leave theirhabitualhomes,orchoose todo so, either temporarilyorpermanently, andwhomoveeitherwithin their territoryor abroad (IOM2017c). Alternatively, using themore restricted definition ofmigrant from theUN(vol- untary, international), an environmental migrant would be one who voluntarily resides outside his/her country for reasons of changes to the environment, sudden- or gradually-onset. Internal environmental migrants voluntarily relocate domesti- callyforreasonsofenvironmentalchanges.Anenvironmental refugeewouldbeone who, due to environmental factors, is forced to flee home and cross international borders, whereas an environmental IDP is also forced to leave home but remains within the state of which he/she is a national.While these termsmay seemwell defined, the process of identifying populations that fall into each category is rife with complications, leading to scientific and policy debates on the specific criteria of thedefinitions. Indetermining thecategory intowhichapersonfalls, locating the personaswithinorwithout theirnationalborders is themost straightforward,while determiningwhether or not that personmoved voluntarily andwhether or not that movementwasmotivatedbyenvironmental factors, is cause formuchdebate in the literature. The decision to leave a place of residence ismultifaceted, comprised of both push and pull factors (Bronen et al. 2009;Obokata et al. 2014;Renaud et al. 2007;Warneretal.2010).Inthecaseofslowonsetlanddegradation,withdecreasing cropyields, forexample,onecouldargue thata resident leftwillinglyorwasforced to leave, aswell asarguing that said resident left forneweconomicopportunities in anearbycityor left forenvironmental reasons.Whethermovement is forcedorvol- untaryandwhethermotivatedbyenvironmentaloreconomicreasonsencompassesa primarydebate in the scientific literatureonenvironmentalmigration (Bates2002). Additionally,becausethesedefinitionsconstitutelegalclassifications, identifying whichcategoryapopulationfalls intocancarrywithitparticularsetsofentitlements or binding policy responses. For example, theUNHighCommission onRefugees providesaidandresources to refugeesaccording to theirdefinitionof refugees (Gill 2010).Accordingly, environmentally displacedpopulationsmaynot be eligible for aidasrefugeesastheylacka“wellfoundedfearofbeingpersecuted”asoutlinedinthe UNConventionRelating to theStatusofRefugees.Without the inclusionofnatural disastersorclimate-relatedenvironmentaldegradationasformsofpersecution,those displaced from these causes do not constitute refugees per this definition (Bronen et al. 2009;Warner et al. 2010). Despite this understanding from the UN, many studies have used the term environmental refugees to describe those displaced by environmental factors (Bates2002;Myers2002). 10.2.2 Measurement Aparticularscientificimplicationofthedefinitional issuesrelatingtoenvironmental migrationisthecapacitytomeasureandpredictflowsofenvironmentalmigrants(per IOMdefinition).Dataandempiricalstudiesonenvironmentalmigrationdifferbased