Environment Causing Migration - By: Amin Abedi

Many of us are aware of economic migrants and political refugees but are we aware of environmental migrants? Indeed, what is an environmental migrant? An environmental migrant or migrants is a person or a people who have had to leave their natural place of residence due to sudden or long-term change in the local environment. Such a change could have been caused by an earthquake, flooding or the like.

Natural disasters, droughts and famine often cause people to migrate into neighbouring lands in search of food and aid. Such type of migration has somewhat been overlooked in comparison to economic and political migration. However, as we have seen in recent times the increase in natural calamities such as the earthquake in Japan, the Fukushima region and the natural disasters that have struck the Philippines along with the Thai floods. Ash clouds of Iceland and of course man-made disasters like that of nuclear plant breakdowns and oil spills from tankers in the sea. This can all cause people to have no other option but to migrate to another region or country.

Therefore the issue of environmental migrants must be taken with a degree of urgency and have a clear definition as well as policy in the eyes of the leaders of the world. A recent study performed on behalf of the UK government not only highlighted migration but also spotlighted the situation of those trapped in such 'environmental' situations. Quite often, there are those that can not move from effected areas for various reasons who's plight must be taken into consideration for future policy.

Environmental immigration on the whole is usually local immigration however it can also be international immigration. The economic problems that are caused by such immigration can be vast as often such migration is an unplanned one and results in the movement of under skilled and uneducated people as usual many of these natural disasters occur in the undeveloped world and international migration usually comes from individuals who were residing in these less economic countries.

Often the lands that are effected by natural disasters depend on foreign aid and charity organisations. It may take decades for such landscapes to return back to their normal states. However, long after the people of such lands have migrated it is often left barren and never really develops to what it quite was unless the occurrence of such a disaster happens in a developed country like Japan who have produced technology upon technology to cope with their regular disasters.

In the year of 2011 there has been over twenty serious natural disasters around the world. Local and international migration has taken place due to these events and as a result many have been displaced from their loved ones.

Migration is a cog in the engine that is the world and RemitONE who provide money transfer software like to keep a close eye on its developments as we believe we are providing a service that is benefiting millions. We hope that environmental migration is less in the years to come and that our political leaders have a clear vision for those that are affected by it.

About the Author

Amin Abedi Global Development Aider Money Transfer System

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