ENVIRONMENTALLY DISPLACED PERSONS:

WORKING DEFINITIONS FOR THE EACH-FOR PROJECT*

Olivia Dun (a), François Gemenne (b), Robert Stojanov(c)

11 October 2007

(a) United Nations University, Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), Bonn, Germany; School of
Geosciences, University of Sydney, Australia
(b) Centre d'Etudes de l'Ethnicité et des Migrations (CEDEM), Université de Li`ege, Belgium; Centre d'Etudes et de
Recherches Internationales (CERI), Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, France
(a) Independent Research Contractor for the EACH-FOR Project, based in Ostrava, Czech Republic

Acknowledgements: Thank you to the participants of the Environmental Migration Theory seminar, held
during the International Conference on Migration and Development in Ostrava, Czech Republic on 5
September 2007, for providing valuable input regarding the definitions in this document.

ENVIRONMENTALLY DISPLACED PERSONS

Recognising that there is much debate within the international community about the
definition of the term “environmental refugee (migrant)”, for the purposes of the EACH-
FOR project, the collective term Environmentally Displaced Persons (EDPs) shall be
used and would apply to people who would fall into one of the following three categories:

1. Environmental migrants
2. Environmental displacees
3. Development displacees

The common element between people falling within all three categories is that:
• their main reason for departure or flight from their usual place of residence is a
situation of objective environmental degradation or change. This factor can be
mingled with other factors e.g. social, economic or political factors; however,
environmental factors needs to be identified, by those moving, as one of the
main forces
• their displacement may be temporary (short or long-term) or permanent1
• no distinction is made as to whether or not the persons migrating or fleeing have
crossed an international border

The core distinction between the first category (environmental migrants) and the last two
categories (environmental displaces and development displaces) is the element of
voluntary versus forced migration. The main distinction between the last two categories
is whether or not the event/situation forcing the displacement is planned. These three
categories are described in greater detail below.

*
The Environmental Change and Forced Migration Scenarios (EACH-FOR) Project is a research project funded under the
Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) (Priority [8.1] - Policy-oriented research) of the European Commission.
1
We consider temporary displacement to be either short-term (up to a maximum of 1 year) or long-term (1-3
years). We consider permanent displacement to be situations in which people are never able to return to their former
place of residence or have been displaced for a period of 3 years or more even though eventual return may still be
possible.
Environmental Migrants

Definition: Environmental migrants are people who chose to move voluntarily from their
usual place of residence primarily due to environmental concerns or reasons.

Interpretation: This category covers people who are motivated to move because, in their
mind, environmental factors (e.g. natural disasters, slow-onset land degradation, sea-
level rise) are one of the foremost reasons for leaving their usual place of residence.
This type of migration is pro-active, and can also be viewed as a coping strategy.
However, ‘amenity migrants’2, who also move voluntarily, are not included in this
category.

Comments: Despite this category emphasising that the environmental degradation or

change is the dominant reason for migration, it is important to also recognise the
environmental dimension in other causes of migration e.g. politically motivated or
economically motivated migration since environmental factors often underlie and
accumulate into social, economic and political stressors.

Environmental Displacees

Definition: Environmental displacees are people who are forced to leave their usual
place of residence, because their lives, livelihoods and welfare have been placed at
serious risk as a result of adverse environmental processes and events (natural and/or
triggered by people).”3

Interpretation: This category of people accounts for people who are displaced by both
slow onset and rapid onset environmental process and events e.g. natural disasters,
land degradation and sea-level rise. Their departure or flight from their usual place of
residence is forced4 due to a rapidly or slowly deteriorating environment.

Comment: This category has merged the two definitions of “environmentally forced
migrants” and “environmental refugees” proposed by Renaud 2007 et al5 as essentially
these two categories are similar with the only difference being the swiftness with which
people are forced to move. We have been able to account for this difference in swiftness
within this one new definition.6

2
Individuals who may depart their usual place of residence due to it “subjectively feeling unpleasant” (cold, rainy,
etc.). While, for amenity migrants, the ambient environment is a consideration in the decision to move, it is not evaluated
as an environmental change or degradation.
3
This definition is a very close adaptation of a definition proposed by Jeff Crisp, Special Advisor on Policy and
Evaluation, UNHCR (source: Gorlick, B. 2007. Environmentally Displaced Persons: A UNHCR Perspective. Presentation
given at “Environmental Refugees: the Forgotten Migrants” Discussion Event,UN Headquarter, New York, 16 May 2007.
http://www.ony.unu.edu/16May2007.html).
4
The assumption is that the people facing a situation of environmental change or degradation are people who
do not want to be displaced or migrate away from their usual place of residence but often are faced with no choice but to
depart whether it be a sudden unplanned departure or a gradual organised departure.
5
Renaud, F.G.; Bogardi, J.J.; Dun, O.; Warner, K. (2007): Control, Adapt or Flee: How to Face Environmental
Migration? InterSecTions no. 5/2007, United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security, Bonn.
6
Among the three categories proposed in this document, the category of environmental displacee is nearest to
the term “environmental refugee” which is more commonly found in the academic literature and defined by people such as
El-Hinnawi (1985), Jacobson (1988) and Myers (1993).
Development Displacees

Definition: Development displacees are people who are intentionally relocated or

resettled due to a planned land use change.

Interpretation: This type of displacement includes people who are displaced by

intentional land use changes e.g. development projects such as dam construction,
transport infrastructure development, as well as nature/wildlife conservation projects

Comment: This category matches with what is commonly termed ‘development-induced

population displacement’ in the existing literature. Development Displacees are people
forced to relocate and resettle due to the implementation of a development project or
policy, usually – but not always – in developing countries. This third category of
development displacees differs significantly from the above two categories of
environmental migrants. This is due to the fact that when a person is displaced by a
development project, the displacement of people is planned and intended and there is a
legally liable entity for indemnification of the displaced. As such the issues surrounding
assistance, relocation and protection of such displacees differ greatly from the issues
surrounding displacement of the previous two definitions since displacement of
environmental migrants and environmental displaces is unplanned and unintended. It is
therefore pertinent to include this third category of definition within the scope of the
EACH-FOR project, as development projects commonly involve environmental change
or degradation at a particular locality to an extent that the population in that locality can
no longer reside in their usual place of residence.

______________________________________

Explanatory Note

In considering whether or not to use the term “environmental refugee” in our

categorisation of Environmentally Displaced Persons, we made a decision not to use the
term due to the following reasons:
• the term refugee already has a very specific legal meaning in international law,
we do not wish to detract from this
• the term refugee has very specific policy implications and at this stage we wish to
remain academically focused by providing more descriptive categories linked to
the cause of migration/displacement as opposed to considering the possible
consequences in response to the event of migration/displacement (e.g. policy
implications of whether or not humanitarian aid or protection is required).
• the term refugee has political connotations and is frequently used by refugee
lobby groups and anti-refugee lobby groups to apply targeted pressure on
governments
• we do not distinguish whether or not EDPs cross an international border, which is
one of the most important conditions in the case of refugees.