A report by Displacement Solutions has found that between two and eight million hectares of land is required to produce homes for people who will be displaced by the effects of climate change.
The company’s report, titled Solving Climate Displacement Through Proactive Land Policy, is divided into three sections: accessibility and policy as the root cause of the issue, the need for proactive planning to start now, and that protecting house, land, and property rights must be at the core of climate policy responses. It believes that the minimum amount of land required is similar to the size of Slovenia, and Austria at a maximum.
Displacement Solutions Director Scott Leckie believes the world is not prepared to face the issue of climate displacement.
“Governments have barely lifted a finger to find land for the hundreds of millions of people threatened with climate displacement. The time for inaction must end now. We need new action, new institutions and new resources to protect these people,” he added.
Leckie says that whilst land supply is not the problem — it’s a question of access and policy.
“Our latest research argues that there is more than enough land available to rehouse the world’s growing climate displaced populations.”
Displacement Solutions has outlined a number of land parcels across the globe that could provide land for displaced communities, even in densely populated areas in Bangladesh.
Leckie urges governments of climate affected nations to take action in a similar manner to Fiji, Kiribati and Panama, who have purchased land in foreign countries and planned relocations.
“Despite the obvious risks to the human rights of millions of people across the globe, governments have failed to prioritise land resources specifically for displaced communities or enacted any comprehensive strategies to set aside land and specific funding for the issue,” he says.
“Inaction will cost lives. governments, international organisations, and civil society must work together to develop comprehensive strategies that anticipate and address the challenges of climate migration. And we need to start now.”
To read the report in full, click here.
