Millions have been forced to leave their home regions, hit by severe floods and droughts
Hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, floods and increasingly intense and threatening human life. On climate change, natural disasters year doubled to 400 in the last 20 years and have become more destructive.
But other disasters slower and quieter, though equally devastating, occur in all corners of the world. And all of them are forcing millions to flee their homes.
Rising sea levels threaten to engulf rivers and islands and affect coastal populations. The desertification and drought running amok in various regions of the planet, which degrades vast agricultural lands. And the high temperatures are melting glaciers. Thus, entire populations are forced to move in search of essential resources, increasingly scarce.
According to Norwegian Refugee Council, last year alone over 20 million people were displaced by disasters induced by global warming, nearly four times more than those affected by armed conflict. And the forecasts are not encouraging: the optimists say there will be about 250 million "displaced climate" by 2050. The pessimists, 1000 million.
Despite these alarming figures, the problem is still ignored in international negotiations, as happened in the recent Copenhagen. "The displacement of populations is the forgotten child: do not talk about it at conferences even though it is a priority issue," said Jean-François Durieux, Head of Climate Change United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees ( UNHCR).
The situation of the "displaced climate, which are not considered refugees by the international standards required to establish a new legal framework and create a specific world body to meet its needs.
"The notion of a refugee applies to people persecution or violence. There is no obligation to welcome those fleeing poverty. In the future, who will take care of all this misery? States are reluctant, even hostile, to open this discussion. It is necessary to establish a clear link between IDPs and climatic reasons, "says Durieux.
" The fear is that those displaced due to weather are in a legal limbo, "says La Nacion Carolina Podesta, a spokeswoman for the UNHCR office in Buenos Aires .
Differential Impact
international agencies to help displaced people around the world suggest that costs will be absorbed by industrialized countries have more impact on global warming, as the U.S. and China, the largest emitters of greenhouse gases.
While developed nations are responsible for increasing the maximum CO2 in the atmosphere, are the poorest countries that will face the greatest consequences. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that during this century the average global temperature will increase between 2 and 4 ° C above pre-industrial era. These levels of warming that will alter climate patterns, will result in extreme situations each more frequent. And millions of people will be forced to leave their homes will make it impossible to return.
"The developing countries can not cope with this additional burden: the displaced population will increase pressure on areas already affected by shortages," warns François Gemmene, Institute for Sustainable Development and Relations International.
According to a joint UN and the Centre for Monitoring Internal Displacement in Asia occurred on 80% of trips related to natural disasters in 2008: more than five million people by floods in India, nearly two million in the Philippines by storm and hundreds of thousands in China and Myanmar due to heavy rains. Not to mention the 15 million who left an earthquake in Sichuan province, China.
Meanwhile, in China the Gobi desert is growing at a rate of 10,000 km2 per year. Similar situations occur in Morocco, Tunisia and Libya. In Egypt, half of the arable lands become saline, and the Amazon thousands of people displaced by droughts. And millions of people in coastal areas (60% of the 39 largest cities in the world are concentrated there) will be forced to migrate when within 40 years, sea level rose several inches.
that time, between 10 and 25 million people have fled their homes by flooding. In the delta of the Nile, a rise of underground water levels to flee to six million people.
to UNHCR, there can be no further delay. "Now we have sufficient knowledge to act and avoid a situation that could prove to be uncontrollable."
Source: www.lanacion. com
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