Internal Displacement Caused by Disasters

Internal Displacement Caused by Disasters

India is the fourth largest country in the world, and its geographical location, natural setting, vulnerable infrastructure, and rapid urbanization multiply its exposure to climate-related risk. Earthquakes, tsunamis, cyclones, floods, and landslides together account for almost half of the internal displacements due to disasters in India. Migration and internal displacements have occupied the center-stage once again, but also due to climate change.

What is Internal Displacement

Internal Displacement is a diverse phenomenon where the persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized border.

People forced to flee or leave their homes - particularly in situations of armed conflict - are generally subject to heightened vulnerability in a number of areas. Displaced persons suffer significantly higher rates of mortality than the general population.

Difference between an internally displaced person and a refugee

A refugee is a person who has left the country of their citizenship because they fear persecution over their race, religion, nationality, beliefs or membership of a particular social group. An asylum seeker is someone who has left their home country and formally applied for asylum in another country.

Internally displaced people have also fled their homes for safety. Unlike refugees, they have not crossed a border and are still within their own country. The reasons for their flight may be the same, but they are still under the protection of their country’s government, even if that government caused their displacement. This can make these people particularly vulnerable.

Key Findings related to Internal Displacement:

Natural Disasters: Displacements due to the flooding caused by the south-west monsoon and followed by Cyclone Fani, Vayu, Bulbul and drought conditions.

Forced Migration: It has also caused many migrants to move for work from one state to another.

Impact of Covid-19: Due to the impact of lockdown which was imposed to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, many workers migrated to their homes because of lack of employment and food.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): India faces major challenges in achieving all of the 17 SDGs, especially SDG1 (No Poverty) and SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation).

Forest Cover and Water Resources: Forest cover has shrunk in 38% of districts, while five out of 21 river basins are now in a state of absolute water scarcity. Only Punjab managed to get an average national ranking in the management of water resources.

Status of Tigers: It notes that there were 747 tigers more in 2018 than in 2014. However, the net area meant for tiger conservation shrunk by 179 square kilometres.

Environmental Crime: The report found that in 2018, total 35,196 environmental crimes were recorded in the country. Majority of those cases are pending for police verification and in various courts.

Global Risk: The global risk is determined as an uncertain event or condition that can cause significant negative impact on several countries or industries in the next ten years. The top 4 global risks in terms of likelihood are all found to be environment related as extreme weather, climate action failures, natural disaster and biodiversity loss.