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" The political ecology of environmental displacement and the United Nations' response to the challenge of environmental refugees "
Bristow, Sarah Dell
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Latin Dissertation
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| Record Number
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1097265
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TLets505578
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| Main Entry
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Bristow, Sarah Dell
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| Title & Author
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The political ecology of environmental displacement and the United Nations' response to the challenge of environmental refugees\ Bristow, Sarah Dell
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| College
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The University of Wales, Aberystwyth
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| Date
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2007
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2007
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| Degree
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Ph.D.
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| Abstract
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Currently there are approximately 25 million people displaced by environmentalconditions, including resource scarcity, natural hazards and ecosystem degradation.By 2050, as many as 200 million people are predicted to be forced from their homesby changing environmental conditions brought about or exacerbated by climatechange. Yet despite the scale of this problem, there is no international policy on theirstatus. This thesis aims, first, to investigate some of the challenges to devisinginternational political solutions to the problem and second, investigate thesechallenges empirically by undertaking a comprehensive analysis of the UnitedNations' current approach to the problem.Drawing on political ecology, the thesis analyses debates and approaches to theproblem of environmental displacement. Part 1 of the thesis investigates academicdebates, particularly within International Relations. Part 2 provides a criticalevaluation of how the United Nations approaches environmental displacement.Although its main agency responsible for refugees does not recogniseenvironmentally displaced people as refugees there are nevertheless a number ofUnited Nations' bodies concerned with this growing problem. The study argues thatthe United Nations' main approach, namely sustainable development, has seriouslimitations because it does not recognise the underlying socio-political causes ofenvironmental displacement, including how the distribution of resources and thesocio-environmental costs and benefits of development drive this phenomenon.The thesis concludes that as environmental displacement is likely to increase in thenear future, a supplemental category of environmental refugee that recognises thesesocio-political causes is an important step to establishing coherent internationalresponsesto the problem. In this regard,a nd despitet he political difficulties of statesaccepting a new refugee category, the United Nations can nevertheless play aconstructive role in promoting dialogue and establishing a formal operationalframework for action on environmental displacement in the international system
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The University of Wales, Aberystwyth
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