Subject GuideThe causes and consequences of forced migration and internal displacement.
Detailed examples of two or more forced movements, to include environmental and political push factors, and consequences for people and places.
Detailed examples of two or more forced movements, to include environmental and political push factors, and consequences for people and places.
A. DefinitionsForced migration
The International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM) defines forced migration as: ‘a general term that refers to the movements of refugees and internally displaced people (those displaced by conflicts) as well as people displaced by natural or environmental disasters, chemical or nuclear disasters, famine, or development projects.’ We can divide forced migration into three broad groups:
1. Conflict-Induced - this is when people are forced to flee their homes because of armed conflict including civil war; generalised violence; and persecution on the grounds of nationality, race, religion, political opinion or social group. Examples would include refugee crises and internal displacement of people in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya
2. Development-Induced - this is when people are forced to leave their homes because of policies and projects implemented to supposedly enhance ‘development’. Examples of this include large-scale infrastructure projects such as dams, roads, ports, airports; urban clearance initiatives; mining and deforestation; and the introduction of conservation parks/reserves and biosphere projects. Examples would include the displacement of indigenous people in rainforest area or of people in China as a result of the Three Gorges Dam.
3. Disaster-Induced - this is when people are forced to leave their homes as a result of natural disasters (floods, volcanoes, landslides, earthquakes), environmental change (deforestation, desertification, land degradation, global warming) and human-made disasters (industrial accidents, radioactivity).
Refugee
The United Nations defines a refugee as "someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group."
Internally displaced person
The United Nations defines an internally displaced person as "someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee."
The International Association for the Study of Forced Migration (IASFM) defines forced migration as: ‘a general term that refers to the movements of refugees and internally displaced people (those displaced by conflicts) as well as people displaced by natural or environmental disasters, chemical or nuclear disasters, famine, or development projects.’ We can divide forced migration into three broad groups:
1. Conflict-Induced - this is when people are forced to flee their homes because of armed conflict including civil war; generalised violence; and persecution on the grounds of nationality, race, religion, political opinion or social group. Examples would include refugee crises and internal displacement of people in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Chechnya
2. Development-Induced - this is when people are forced to leave their homes because of policies and projects implemented to supposedly enhance ‘development’. Examples of this include large-scale infrastructure projects such as dams, roads, ports, airports; urban clearance initiatives; mining and deforestation; and the introduction of conservation parks/reserves and biosphere projects. Examples would include the displacement of indigenous people in rainforest area or of people in China as a result of the Three Gorges Dam.
3. Disaster-Induced - this is when people are forced to leave their homes as a result of natural disasters (floods, volcanoes, landslides, earthquakes), environmental change (deforestation, desertification, land degradation, global warming) and human-made disasters (industrial accidents, radioactivity).
Refugee
The United Nations defines a refugee as "someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence. A refugee has a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group."
Internally displaced person
The United Nations defines an internally displaced person as "someone who is forced to flee his or her home but who remains within his or her country's borders. They are often referred to as refugees, although they do not fall within the legal definitions of a refugee."
Case study 1: Climate change (environmental) migration from Pacific Islands
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Tuvalu |
Use the resources to examine the case of Tuvalu and Kiribati (pronounced Kiribahs). Explore the following.
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•Why is Tuvalu so vulnerable to climate change?
•What is the island’s adaptive capacity like? •How are Tuvalu adapting to the threat of climate change? |
Kiribati
With most of its land only a few metres above sea level, Kiribati has already seen significant damage from storms and flooding. Some of the nation's uninhabited islets have already vanished.
Most of Kiribati's population of 112,000 people live on the atoll of Tarawa, where the capital is located. The city of Tarawa is less than 3 meters above sea level. Kiribati's president has alerted the United Nations to the challenges the country faces from beach erosion, sea-level rise, and contamination of freshwater.
Rising sea surface temperatures pose an additional danger to Kiribati. Coral reefs—which are critical to sustaining atolls and their islands—are very sensitive even to small increases in ocean temperature, which can cause coral bleaching.
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Kiribati has no internal migration option as there is no higher ground to move to. The country’s leaders have therefore attempted to develop new opportunities for its citizens to migrate abroad.
The ‘migration with dignity’ policy is part of Kiribati’s long-term nation-wide strategy. This aims to create opportunities for those who wish to migrate abroad now and in the near future. The goal is to develop expatriate communities in various receiving countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, so that they may support other migrants in the longer term, and also to enhance the opportunity for remittances to be sent back. The second part of the policy is to improve the levels of education and training in Kiribati. It is hoped that this training and education will provide opportunities to migrate abroad ‘with dignity’.
The ‘migration with dignity’ policy is part of Kiribati’s long-term nation-wide strategy. This aims to create opportunities for those who wish to migrate abroad now and in the near future. The goal is to develop expatriate communities in various receiving countries, such as Australia and New Zealand, so that they may support other migrants in the longer term, and also to enhance the opportunity for remittances to be sent back. The second part of the policy is to improve the levels of education and training in Kiribati. It is hoped that this training and education will provide opportunities to migrate abroad ‘with dignity’.
Case study 2: Syria (political)
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Task Using the resources in the textbooks, kognity and those embedded on the wiki complete a detailed case study using the following guidelines: Place: Locations where the migrants are moving from and to, extent of the displacement Process/ power: What are the poltical push factors (brief overview of the events in Syria- leadership, 2011 Arab Spring, response, civil war, ISIS and environmental factors. What are the impacts of the refugee crisis on source and host countries and for the refugees? |
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Geography IB textbooks on Syria |
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News and web sources on Syria
Assessment
Forced international migrations bring more positive than negative impacts to recipient countries (15). Discuss this statement
Task:
1.Read through the 3 responses written under exam conditions and give each one a mark out of 15 using the IB markbands
2.What feedback would you give these students
3.Using what your advice and the IB markbands to re- write the essay
Task:
1.Read through the 3 responses written under exam conditions and give each one a mark out of 15 using the IB markbands
2.What feedback would you give these students
3.Using what your advice and the IB markbands to re- write the essay
| migration_essay_1.pdf |
| migration_essay_2.pdf |
| migration_essay_3.pdf |
| markbands_paper_1_sl_and_hl_part_b_one_sheet.docx |
| essay_forced_migration.pptx |