This book addresses the forms of legal protection extended to people displaced due to the consequences of climate change, and who have either become refugees by crossing international borders or are climatically displaced persons (CDPs) in their own homelands. It explores the legal response of the South Asian Jurisdictions to these refugee-like situations, and also to what extent these people are protected under current international law. The book critically examines and assesses whether States have obligations to protect people displaced by climate change under international refugee law (IRL) and international climate change law (ICCL). It discusses the issue of climate migration in South Asia, analyzes the legal and judicial response initiated by South Asian nations, and also investigates the role of SAARC in relation to climate change and climate refugees. Drawing on the International Legal Standards and States’ Practices in South Asia regarding climate refugees, the book shows how IRL, ICCL, and IHRL (international human rights law) have been used to address and identify the gaps in the global legal protection framework concerning the contours of the normative debate on climate refugees, climate change displacement, migration, forced migration, susceptibility to climate change, typology of climate change-induced displacement, role of the SAARC and its municipal legal systems, approaches to climate change, human mobility and developing a hybrid regional law, or advocating a legal alternative of equal measure in a region characterized by diversity and multiculturalism. The book offers valuable takeaways for students, researchers, consultants, practitioners and policymakers alike.

Climate change has been fueling migration, and, according to some policy reports, there could more than one billion climate migrants/refugees across the world by 2050. In South Asia, disasters, environmental degradation, and climate change are increasing the number of migrants every year. In South Asia, like other parts of the world, migrants and displaced people mainly move within their respective countries, but some cross the porous border. At most places, the migrants and displaced people face hostile situation as they are not welcome by their local host population. The chapters in the book highlight the challenges and inadequacies of governments and communities in protecting the environment as well as the disproportionate effect that climate change has on the poor and marginalized groups. The book also discusses the gendered experiences of climate-related migrations and policy measures which need to be implemented to counter forced displacements and environment degradation along with the legal and institutional resources which could help mitigate climate change and protect climate refugees. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of development studies, ecology and environment, migration, sociology, law and governance, human ecology, climate change and economics.

This volume studies the challenges of climate change in South Asia and examines the role of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) in addressing them. It highlights the dangers posed by climate change in South Asia and underlines the need to strengthen and intensify regional cooperation to preserve, protect and manage the diverse and fragile eco-systems of the region. The book examines policies and initiatives of the SAARC in tackling these issues and also analyzes their implementation by member countries. Comprehensive and topical, this volume will be useful for scholars and researchers of South Asian Studies, environmental studies, climate change studies, public policy and governance, development studies, international relations, regional cooperation, and political studies. It will also be of importance to policymakers and NGOs working in this field.

This book critically discusses the multi-dimensional contemporary issues within the ambit of the driving forces, mechanisms, vulnerability, and opportunities of the intra-region human movement in South Asia. It covers different dimensions of cross-border migration within South Asia as well as internal migration particularly in India, reflecting upon both voluntary and forced movements. It traces the trajectory and past trends in migration in the South Asian countries. It evaluates the vulnerability of refugees and stateless vis-à-vis state policies. Issues regarding Rohingya refugees from Myanmar to Bangladesh, Nepalese immigration to India, the crisis around Sri Lankan Tamil refugees, Afghan returnee refugees from Pakistan and Iran, resettlement of Bhutanese refugees are explored in the chapters. It also analyzes the impact on wage inequality due to emigration, the crucial role of social capital in migration decisions, and socio-economic vulnerabilities of women migrants in India. This book provides a clear understanding of international and internal migration in South Asia for students and academics, and a valuable resource for policy-makers and planners in development studies, regional development, and South Asian studies.

Climate change is perhaps the greatest threat to humanity today and plays out as a cruel engine of myriad forms of injustice, violence and destruction. The effects of climate change from human-made emissions of greenhouse gases are devastating and accelerating; yet are uncertain and uneven both in terms of geography and socio-economic impacts. Emerging from the dynamics of capitalism since the industrial revolution — as well as industrialisation under state-led socialism — the consequences of climate change are especially profound for the countryside and its inhabitants. The book interrogates the narratives and strategies that frame climate change and examines the institutionalised responses in agrarian settings, highlighting what exclusions and inclusions result. It explores how different people — in relation to class and other co-constituted axes of social difference such as gender, race, ethnicity, age and occupation — are affected by climate change, as well as the climate adaptation and mitigation responses being implemented in rural areas. The book in turn explores how climate change – and the responses to it - affect processes of social differentiation, trajectories of accumulation and in turn agrarian politics. Finally, the book examines what strategies are required to confront climate change, and the underlying political-economic dynamics that cause it, reflecting on what this means for agrarian struggles across the world. The 26 chapters in this volume explore how the relationship between capitalism and climate change plays out in the rural world and, in particular, the way agrarian struggles connect with the huge challenge of climate change. Through a huge variety of case studies alongside more conceptual chapters, the book makes the often-missing connection between climate change and critical agrarian studies. The book argues that making the connection between climate and agrarian justice is crucial. The chapters in this book were originally published in The Journal of Peasant Studies.

A discussion of cutting-edge developments in policy on climate change and forced displacement from leading academics and practitioners.

This book explores the possibilities of understanding the concept of climate refugees in order to ascribe to a consensual agreement that climate refugees are evident and this situation is a reality. A framework to study both empirically and theoretically is presented in a detailed manner so that it may become a resource for understanding the challenges of climate refugees. Through discussion and analysis the book presents potential answers to such questions as: ● Why has the international system been so short-sighted and has not given importance to the problems of climate migrants and refugees? ● How to identify a climate refugee? ● How do you justify a climate refugee or a migrant? ● What are internally displaced people? Should we call them just refugees? The book covers the interdisciplinary nature of climate refugees and the perspectives of social science. The empirical findings provides an edge to holistically understanding climate refugees. This book discusses the concept of, what really is a climate refugee, and the necessary factors to make it an important part of the climate discourse. The legality of the term is missing in international parlance, and the academic discourse should provide the necessary critique required for the evolution of the subject under study. Therefore, the major objective of the book is to make the subject of climate migration known to all.

This book delves into the theory and praxis of human security in South Asia. Home to almost a quarter of the world’s population and fast emerging markets, South Asia holds social, geopolitical and economic significance in the current global context. The chapters in the volume: examine the challenges to human security through an exploration of environmental issues including water availability, electric waste, environmental governance and climate change; explore key themes such as development, displacement and migration, the role of civil society, sustainable development and poverty; and discuss developmental issues in South Asia and provide a holistic picture of non-military security issues. Bringing together scholars from varied disciplines, this comprehensive volume will be useful for researchers, teachers and students of international relations, human rights, political science, development studies, human geography and demography, defense and strategic studies, migration and diaspora studies, and South Asian studies.

Part IV. Approaches to understanding the relationship between migration and health.The relevance of culture for migrant health /Tilman Lanz --The sociology of migration and health : the decline in migrants' health due to adverse environments and limited options for care /Steven J. Gold --Economics in migrant health : migrant-sensitive service improvement as a driver for cost savings in health care? /Ursula Trummer, Lika Nusbaum, and Sonja Novak-Zezula --Multilevel and mixed-methods studies of migration and health /Joshua Breslau and Lilian G. Perez -- Epidemiology and the study of migrant health / Nadia N. Abuelezam -- The humanities of migration and health / Carrie J. Preston -- Law, migration, and health in the US context / Sondra S. Crosby, Michael R. Ulrich, and George J. Annas --Migration : a health-equity lens /Felicity Thomas --Part V. Case studies in migration and health.The United States as a case study : policy, access, and outcomes /Sana Loue --Eastern Mediterranean and Balkan migration route /Karl Philipp Puchner --Migration and health in Nepal /Sabrina Hermosilla, Emily Treleaven, and Dirgha Ghimire --Persian Gulf migrants /Maria Kristiansen --South Africa /Jo Vearey --Migration and health in China /Bingqin Li --Asian immigrants in New Zealand /Eleanor Holroyd and Jed Montayre --Mobility and health in the Pacific Islands /Celia McMichael --Venezuela and Latin America /Oscar A. Bernal Acevedo, Jovana A. Ocampo Cañas, Jhon Sebastian Patiño Rueda, Laura Baldovino-Chiquillo, and Salma S. Baizer Cassab --The South Asian context /Muhammad H. Zaman, Reshmaan Hussam, and Hulya Kosematoglu --Part VI. The future of migration and health.Preparing the next generation of scholars in migrant health /Zelde Espinel and James M. Shultz --Migration and health : taking stock and looking to the future /Muhammad H. Zaman, Catherine K. Ettman, and Sandro Galea.