Untold Stories of People Impacted by Climate Change

The document highlights the vulnerability of the Asia Pacific region to climate change, specifically focusing on how extreme weather and slow-onset disasters drive migration. Through case studies in Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines, it illustrates the loss of livelihoods, food insecurity, and social disruption facing marginalized communities. It concludes that current legal systems fail to recognize 'climate refugees' and urges governments to implement human-rights-based resettlement and adaptation strategies.

• The Asia Pacific region is highly vulnerable to climate change, with projected temperature increases of 6 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial times by the end of the century under a business-as-usual scenario, reaching up to 8 degrees Celsius in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and northwest China.
• Climate change is projected to cause significant economic loss in developing Asia, with per capita income estimated to decrease by at least 10% by 2100 compared to business-as-usual growth.
• Environmental degradation and extreme weather are driving both temporary and permanent migration. Global predictions suggest up to 200 million climate-induced migrants by 2050, with Asia considered the most at-risk continent due to population density and low-lying coastal areas.
• In Sri Lanka, a severe drought—the worst in 40 years—has affected 1.9 million people across 17 districts as of September 2017, leading to food insecurity for over 300,000 households and forcing some residents to migrate to the Middle East for work.
• In Pere Village, Papua New Guinea, sea level rise and coastal flooding are causing shoreline erosion that threatens cemeteries and homes, while saltwater inundation is destroying sago and root crop production.
• Indigenous communities in the Philippines, specifically the Tedurays and Lambangian tribes in South Cotabato and communities in Maguindanao, have faced crop failures and food crises due to severe El Niño events in 2015/2016, leading to indebtedness and the migration of women to cities or abroad for domestic work.
• There is a critical lack of administrative and legal systems to recognize and protect climate-induced migrants, who are often not legally recognized as refugees despite losing their lands and livelihoods.

APA

Withanage, H., Lingam, T., Fukakusa, A., Onodera, Y., Bosip, P., & Mercado, N. G. P. (2017). Untold Stories of People Impacted by Climate Change. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Untold-stories-of-people-impacted-by-climate-change_Friends-of-the-earth-Asia-Pacific_2017.pdf

Chicago

Withanage, Hemantha, Theiva Lingam, Ayumi Fukakusa, Yuri Onodera, Peter Bosip, and Norly Grace P. Mercado. Untold Stories of People Impacted by Climate Change. Friends of the Earth International, 2017. https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Untold-stories-of-people-impacted-by-climate-change_Friends-of-the-earth-Asia-Pacific_2017.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{withanage2017untold, author = {Withanage, Hemantha and Lingam, Theiva and Fukakusa, Ayumi and Onodera, Yuri and Bosip, Peter and Mercado, Norly Grace P.}, title = {{Untold Stories of People Impacted by Climate Change}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2017}, url = {https://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Untold-stories-of-people-impacted-by-climate-change_Friends-of-the-earth-Asia-Pacific_2017.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }