CLIMATE INDUCED MIGRATION IN PAKISTAN: GLOBAL DISCOURSE, LOCAL REALITIES AND GOVERNANCE 2021
5. Conclusions and Recommendations
CLIMATE INDUCED MIGRATION IN PAKISTAN: GLOBAL DISCOURSE, LOCAL REALITIES AND GOVERNANCE 2021
5.1: Conclusion The complexities of climate change mean that it compounds existing issues regarding human mobility and further complicates efforts to detangle the various factors influencing and affecting migration. Nevertheless, as this research highlights, it is essential that efforts are made to study the dimensions of climate induced migrations, as it is a human rights and security concern. Every individual has a right to a dignified life, decent livelihood opportunities, and safe and legal mobility. Countries in the Global South, such as Pakistan, have a negligible carbon footprint but suffer the most severe climate change impacts. Therefore, when climate disaster strikes, or declining ecological conditions impact and force communities to migrate, it is the international community’s collective responsibility to ensure the safety and protection of those communities, as well as to support their sustainable development. This can be safeguarded through the formation of legally binding frameworks and investments that build the resilience of developing countries.
permanent migrations, where vulnerable people are forced to settle in urban slums in nearby cities like Thatta, while those with resources are moving towards mega cities like Karachi. GLOF events and flash floods are recognised as the main climate hazards in the Northern and Central Khyber Pakhtunkhwa zone, while droughts have been the key threats to the people living in Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa districts. The Northern parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have a very long history of GLOFs, but in the last two decades, both the intensity and frequency of these events have increased. Over the last 17 years in particular, the district of Chitral (villages like Yarkhon Lasht, Brep, Sonoghor, Bindo Gol, Reshun, Booni and Golen) experienced more than 13 glacial outburst floods in different valleys, displacing several households and forcing them to live in temporary shelters for years. Moreover, some households migrated from their native valleys permanently. Climate induced migrations in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region are mostly towards the capital city of Peshawar and nearby urban cities.
It is important to note that the lack of knowledge regarding climate induced migration among key stakeholders can also be a result of traditional migration practices in the country. The climate induced migration patterns identified by the respondents of this research are in the same direction as the migration streams that have historically taken place in Pakistan. In Sindh, people are moving from coastal regions (Kharo Chan and Keti Bander) towards the big cities. Temporary migrations to escape flooding are turning into
Due to ever long-lasting and repeated spells of drought, the people in Balochistan are increasingly undertaking seasonal and more permanent migration. Consistent with traditional migration patterns, the people of Balochistan are either moving towards the capital city of Quetta or towards other urban centers like Hub Chowki and further towards Karachi in Sindh. Communities from Khuzdar are migrating towards Sindh, while people from Barkhan and nearby regions are moving towards Punjab.
Climate Change
Indirect consequences
impacts
Rapid onset disasters
Place of origin
Temporary Displacement
Economic resources
political Slow onset disasters
adaptive capacitty
Environmental
Migration
culture
Place of origin Social
Figure 6: Graphical description of factors that lead to migration decision
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