Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ecomigration and Violent Conflict: Case Studies and Public Policy Implications

  • Published:
Human Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In 2005, a hurricane named Katrina hit the states of Louisiana and Mississippi in the US, destroying properties and flooding areas. Many people left the region and still have not returned. While some of these people may eventually return, some may not, becoming “migrants.” Assuming this phenomenon will occur, is it unique? What is the role of the environment in migration? Can there be violent conflict between such migrants and residents in areas absorbing migrants? We evaluate these questions in the cases of Hurricane Katrina, the US Dust Bowl in the 1930s, and Bangladesh since the 1950s, demonstrating that environmental change can trigger large out-migration, which can cause violent conflict in areas receiving migrants. These findings have important policy implications. Climate change is expected to degrade the environment considerably in this century. Minimizing climate change-induced migration and violent conflict in receiving areas requires an engineered economic slowdown in the developed countries, and population stabilization and economic growth in the developing countries financed by the developed countries.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Wars and genocides can also cause many people to move at once.

  2. For example, implications from the cases I present may not apply to cases of migration caused by industrial accidents or development projects, such as the Chernobyl nuclear accident, which permanently displaced 231,000 people (UNDP 2002), and the Three Gorges Dam project, which permanently displaced 1.4 million people by 2007 (BBC News, 26 January, 2007) and may displace 2 million by 2009 (IRN 2003).

  3. See also Homer-Dixon (1999), Barashi (1991), and Boyce (1990).

  4. About 1–2 million of these people moved due to the 1971 war (Homer-Dixon 1999).

  5. Additional casualty data were recorded as follows: 3,000 before 1983, Swain (1996); in 1983, 3,000–5,000, Suhrke (1997); in the early 1980s, 4,000–5,000, Hassan (1991).

  6. For other total loss estimates see NOAA (2006), $125 billion; McQuaid (2006), $150 billion; and Burton and Hicks (2005), $156 billion.

  7. Assessments of total areas vulnerable to innundation are not available for all countries. For Canada, for example, studies focus only on select regions (IPCC 2001a).

  8. Deported aliens include those arrested upon entry or on US soil, and (before 2004) criminals.

References

  • AAAS (2000). Atlas of Population and Environment, American Association for the Advancement of Science, University of California Press, Berkeley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Abbott, E. (1991). Where Water Run Brown. Equinox 10: 35–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen, L., Harris, S. L., Howell, C. H., Kostyal, K. M., and Sammon, R. (1998). The Wonder of the World, National Geographic Society, Washington DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Associated Press (2005). Governor: Texas Nearing Refugee Capacity, September 3.

  • Associated Press (2006). Appreciation Drying up for Texas Katrina Compassion, March 12, 2006.

  • Barashi, D. P. (1991). Introduction to Peace Studies, Wadsworth, Los Angeles, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barras, J. et al. (2004). Historical and Projected Coastal Louisiana Land Changes: 1978–2050, US Geological Survey, Washington DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baumhardt, L. R. (2001). Dust Bowl Era, Encyclopedia of Water Science, Marcel Dekker, NY, pp. 187–191.

  • Bloomberg (2006). Louisiana Gangs That Fled Katrina Heighten Houston Murder Rate, March 3, http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=az6n8C6gsqf0&refer=us#.

  • Boserup, E. (1981). Population Growth and Technological Change, Chicago University Press, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyce, J. (1987). Agrarian Impasse in Bengal: Institutional Constraints to Technological Change, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyce, J. (1990). Birth of a Megaproject: Political Economy of Flood Control in Bangladesh. Environmental Management 14: 419–428.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burton, M. L., and Hicks, M. J. (2005). Hurricane Katrina: Preliminary Estimates of Commercial and Public Sector Damages, Center for Business and Economic Research, Marshall University, WV.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carlson, A. R. (1935). Dust. The New Republic 82: 332–333.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, R. (1996). Theories of Migration, Edward Elgar, Brookfield, VT.

    Google Scholar 

  • Colten, C. E. (2005). An Unnatural Metropolis: Wrestling New Orleans from Nature, Louisiana University Press, Baton Rouge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conca, K. (2001). Environmental cooperation and international peace. In Diehl, P. F., and Gleditsch, N. P. (eds.), Environmental Conflict, Westview, Boulder, CO, pp. 225–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Contact the Press Office (2005). Summary of Key State of Texas Actions in Response to Hurricane Katrina, Texas Governor Press Release, September 3.

  • CRED (2002). Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, University of Louvain, Brussels.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daily Telegraph (2005). Murder soar in wake of Katrina refugees, December 3, London.

  • Davenport, W. (1935). California, Here We Come. Collier’s 10: 10–11, 47–49, August.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deane, G., and Gutmann, M. P. (2003). Blowing Down the Road: Investigating Bilateral Causality Between Dust Storms and Population in the Great Plains. Population Research and Policy Review 22: 297–331.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deudney, D. H. (1999). Environmental security: a critique, In Deudney, D. H., and Matthew R. A. (eds.), Contested Grounds: Security and Conflict in the New Environmental Politics, State University of New York Press, Albany, NY.

    Google Scholar 

  • El Hinnawi, E. (1985). Environmental Refugees, UNEP, Kenya.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fox News (2005). Half Katrina Refugees Have Records, September 22, http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,170134,00.html .

  • Gallery Watch (2005). Texas Nearing Capacity with Evacuees, September 3, Austin, http://lookahead.surfwax.com/examples/uscongresscom/index_files/intro2.htm .

  • Gillette, J. M. (1941). Some Population Shifts in the United States, 1930–1940. American Sociological Review 6: 619–628.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Great Plains Committee (1936). The Future of the Great Plains, Government Printing Office, Washington DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gommes R. et al. (1998). Potential Impacts of Sea-Level Rise on Populations and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations, Rome.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gore, A. (1992). Earth in the Balance: Ecology of the Human Spirit, Houghton Mifflin, Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gregory, J. N. (1989). American Exodus: The Dust Bowl Migration and Okie Culture in California, Oxford University Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hansen, Z. K., and Libecap, G. D. (2004). Small Farms, Externalities, and the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Journal of Political Economy 112: 665–694.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hardin, G. (1974). Living on a Life Boat. BioScience 24: 561–568.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hassan, S. (1991). Environmental Issues & Security in South Asia, Adelphi Papers, 262.

  • Hatton, T. J., and Williamson, J. G. (2002). What Fundamentals Drive World Migration? NBER Working Paper Number 9159, Cambridge, MA.

  • Hazarika, S. (1993). Bangladesh and Assam: Land Pressures, Migration and Ethnic Conflict. Project on Environmental Change and Acute Conflict 3: 45–63.

    Google Scholar 

  • Herman, B. (1999). Population, environment and security: a new trinity. In Jaen, S., and King, Y. (eds.), Dangerous Interactions, South End, Cambridge pp. 25–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Homer-Dixon, T. F. (1999). Environment, Scarcity, and Violence. Princeton University Press, Princeton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Houston Chronicle (2006). Houstonians evacuee-weary, poll says, March 24.

  • Hugo, G. (1996). Environmental Concerns and International Migration. International Migration Review 30: 105–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IDMC (2006). Bangladesh: Minorities Increasingly at Risk of Displacement, Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, Geneva.

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (2001a). Special Report on The Regional Impacts of Climate Change: An Assessment of Vulnerability, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Geneva.

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (2001b). Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Geneva.

    Google Scholar 

  • IPCC (2001c, 2007), Climate Change: The Physical Science Basis, Summary for Policymakers, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Geneva.

  • IRN (2003). Human Rights Dammed Off at Three Gorges: An Investigation of Resettlement and Human Right Problems in the Three Gorges Dam Project, International Rivers Network, Berkeley, CA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobson, J. L. (1989). Environmental Refugees: Nature’s Warning System. Populi 16: 29–35.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalbag, C. (1983). A State Ravaged. India Today 8: 16–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaplan, R. D. (1994). The Coming Anarchy, The Atlantic Monthly 273: 44–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelman, A. (2003). A River and Its City: The Nature of Landscape in New Orleans, University of California Press, Berkeley.

    Google Scholar 

  • LaCoast (2005). Other Impacts From Coastal Wetland Loss, National Wetlands Research Center, US Geological Survey, Louisiana.

    Google Scholar 

  • LAFD (2005). Hurricane Katrina Situation Report, Homeland Security Intelligence Section, Los Angeles Fire Department Historical Archive, September 7.

  • LDHH (2006). Reports of Missing and Deceased, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Baton Rouge, August 2.

  • Lee, S. W. (2001). Environmental Matters: Conflict Refugees and International Relations, World Human Development Institute, Tokyo.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lohrmann, R. (2000). Migrants, Refugees and Insecurity: Current Threats to Peace? International Migration 38: 1–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lomborg, B. (2001). The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Louisiana Family Assistance Center (2006). Reuniting the Families of Katrina and Rita: Final Report, State of Louisiana, Baton Rouge, August 30.

  • Malthus, T. (1798). An Essay on the Principle of Population. Penguin, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martin, P., and Widgren, J. (2002). International Migration: Facing the Challenge. Population Bulletin 57: 1–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matthew, R. A. (2002). In Defense of Environmental Security Research. ECSP Report 8: 109–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matthew, R. A., Gaulin,T., and McDonald, B. (2003). The Elusive Quest: Linking Environmental Change and Conflict, Canadian Journal of Political Science 36: 857–878.

    Google Scholar 

  • McGregor, J. (1995). Are There Environmental Refugees? Refugee Participation Network 18: 7–10.

    Google Scholar 

  • McQuaid, J. (2006). Katrina’s Assault on New Orleans. World Watch 19: 13–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • McQuaid, J., and Schlefistein, M. (2006). Path of Destruction: The Devastation of New Orleans and the Coming Age of Superstorms, Little and Brown, Boston.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mey, W. (1984). Genocide in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh, International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs, Copenhagen, Denmark.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mineral Management Service (2006). Hurrican Katrina and Rita Research, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington DC, www.mms.gov/tarprojectcategories/hurricaneKatrinaRita.htm.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mongobay (2005) State by State Estimates of Evacuate Housing, September 8, http://www.mongobay.com.

  • Myers, N., and Kent, J. (1995). Environmental Exodus, Climate Institute, Washington DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls, R. J., and Leatherman, S. P. (1996). Global sea-level rise, In Strzepek K. M., and Smith J. B. (eds.), As Climate Changes: International Impacts and Implications, Cambridge University Press, New York, pp. 92–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neumann, J. E., Nicholls, R., and Manion, M. (2000). Sea-level rise and Global climate change: A Review of Impacts to U.S. Coasts, Pew Center on Global Climate Change, Arlington, VA, http://www.pewclimate.org.

  • NOAA (2006). Hurricane Katrina: a climatological perspective. Technical Report 2005-01 - updated August 2006, NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC.

  • North, R. D. (1995). Life on a Modern Planet: A Manifesto for Progress, Manchester University Press, Manchester.

    Google Scholar 

  • NPR (2005). Evacuees Were Turned Away at Gretna, La., Katrina & Recovery, National Public Radio, September 20, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4855611.

  • Organski, K., and Organski, A. F. K. (1961). Population and World Power, Alfred and Knopf, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Passel, J. S. (2006). Size and Characteristics of the Unauthorized Migrant Population in the U.S.: Estimates Based on the March 2005 Current Population Survey, Pew Hispanic Center, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • PBS (2005a). Katrina Relocation Challenges, Public Broadcasting Service, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/weather/july-dec05/relocation_9-12.html.

  • PBS (2005b). Rebuilding Lives in Houston, Public Broadcasting Service, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/weather/july-dec05/houston_9-8.html.

  • PBS (2002). The American Experience: Surviving The Dust Bowl, Public Broadcast Service, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/peopleevents/pandeAMEX08.html.

  • Prugh, T. (2006). Katrina: The Failures of Success, Editor’s Introduction. World Watch 19: 7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rahman, M. A. (1984). Reducing the flow of the gangs: the consequences for agriculture in Bangladesh. In Goldsmith, E., and Hildyard, N. (eds.), The Social and Environmental Effects of Large Dams, Vol. 1, The European Ecological Action Group, Wales, UK, pp. 65–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Refuge (1992). Special Issue: Environmental Refugees. Canada’s Periodical on Refugees: Refuge 12(1): 1–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • SACW (2007). State of Emergency in Bangladesh and Political Repression on Indigenous Leaders in CHT, South Asia Citizen Wire, Dispatch No. 2367, February 26, New Delhi.

  • Schwartz, P., and Randall, D. (2003). An Abrupt Climate Change Scenario and Its Implications for United States National Security, US Department Defense, Washington DC, http://www.ems.org/climate/pentagon_climatechange.pdf.

  • Shelley, M. R. (1992). The Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh: The Untold Story, Center for Development Research, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon, J. L. (1996). The Ultimate Resource 2, Princeton University Press, Princeton.

    Google Scholar 

  • State of New Jersey (2005). New Jersey will Help Louisiana Evacuees Obtain Birth Records,” Department of Health and Senior Services, State of New Jersey, http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/dhss/njnewsline/view_article.pl?id=2769.

  • Suau, A. (2006). Portfolio: The Border, Time 168: 101, December 18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Suhrke, A. (1993). Pressure Points: Environmental Degradation, Migration and Conflict, International Security Studies Program, Occasional Paper Series #3, American Academy of Arts & Sciences, Cambridge, MA, pp. 3–43.

  • Suhrke, A. (1997). Environmental degradation, migration and the potential for violent conflict. In Gleditsch, N. P. et al. (eds.), Conflict and the Environment, Kluwer, Netherlands, pp. 255–272.

    Google Scholar 

  • Swain, A. (1996). Environmental Migration and Conflict Dynamics: Focus on Developing Regions, Third World Quarterly 17: 959–973.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Times (2006). Katrina: One Year Later 168: 51–53.

  • Timm, F. R. W. (1991). The Adivasis of Bangladesh, Minorities Rights Group International, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Titus, G. J. et al. (1991). Greenhouse Effect and Sea Level Rise: The Cost of Holding Back the Sea. Coastal Management 19: 171–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trittin, J. (2000). Forward. In Carius, A., and Lietzmann, K. M. (eds.), Environmental Change and Security: A European Perspective, vii–ix, Springer, Berlin.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNCCD (2001). Dust Bowl in the 1930s and Sandstorms in 1999 in the USA., Global Alarm: Dust and Sandstorms From the World’s Drylands, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, Bangkok.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNDP (2002). The Human Consequences of the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident: A Strategy for Recovery, United Nations Development Programme, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • US Army Corps of Engineers (2006). Performance Evaluation of the New Orleans and Southern Louisiana Hurricane Protection System, Executive Summary and Overview, 1–68, http://www.asce.org/files/pdf/executivsummary_v20i.pdf.

  • US Census Bureau (2006). Special Population Estimates for Impacted Counties in the Gulf Coast Area, Hurricane Data and Emergency Preparedness, Washington DC http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/emergencies/impacted_gulf_estimates.html.

  • USCR (1999). World Refugee Survey, US Committee for Refugees, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • US House of Representatives (2006). A Failure of Initiative: Final Report of the Select Bipartisan Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane Katrina, Washington DC, http://origin.www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/index.html.

  • USCR (2002a). World Refugee Survey, US Committee for Refugees, Washington, DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • USCR (2002b). Frequently Asked Questions About Refugees, World Wide Refugee Information, US Committee for Refugees, http://preview.refugees.org/news/fact_sheets/faq_ref_immigrants.htm.

  • Warrick, R. A. (1980). Drought on the Great Plains: a case study on climate and society in the USA. In Ausubel, J., and Biswas, A. (eds.), Climatic Constraints and Human Activities, Pergamon, New York pp. 92–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • WDI (2001, 2002). World Development Indicators, World Bank, Washington DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • WDR (1999). World Development Report, World Bank, Washington DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Webb, J. N., and Brown, M. (1938). Migrant Families, World Progress Administration Research Monograph XVIII, Government Printing Office, Washington DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, M. (1992). Security, Stability, and International Migration. International Security 17: 91–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiner M., and Teitelbaum J. (2001). Political Demography, Demographic Engineering, Berghahm, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • White House (2006). The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: The Lessons Learned, February 23, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counter-terrorism, Washington DC.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wolk, M. (2005). How Katrina's Costs are Adding Up, Eye on the Economy, MSNBC, www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9329293/.

  • Wood, W. B. (2001). Ecomigration: linkages between environmental change and migration. In Zolberg, A. R., and Benda, P. N. (eds.), Global Migrants, Global Refugees, Berghahn, New York, pp. 42–59.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Disasters Reports (2002). Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent, Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian.

  • Worster, D. (1979). Dust Bowl: The Southern Plains in the 1930s, Oxford University Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yearbook of Immigration Statistics (2005). US Department of Homeland ecurity, Washington DC.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public and Environmental Affairs, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Rafael Reuveny

Authors
  1. Rafael Reuveny
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rafael Reuveny.

Additional information

I thank Ashley Peterson Allen for great feedback and editorial help. The usual disclaimer applies.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Reuveny, R. Ecomigration and Violent Conflict: Case Studies and Public Policy Implications. Hum Ecol 36, 1–13 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-007-9142-5

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-007-9142-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation