And so it begins...
A man from the island nation of Kiribati has applied for refugee status to the country of New Zealand. The basis for his application is forced migration due to climate change. His application has been submitted, and rejected, twice now. But he is appealing the case.
Kiribati is a string of thirty-some atolls in the south Pacific, the average height above sea-level of which is about six and a half feet. Due to the rising ocean waters - about an inch per decade - things in Kiribati have been getting worse.
| "The man said that around 1998, king tides began regularly breaching the sea walls around his village, which was overcrowded and had no sewerage system. He said the fouled drinking water would make people vomit, and that there was no higher ground that would allow villagers to escape the knee-deep water." |
The chances that this man (asylum-seekers' identities are protected) will be successful in his bid to move his family appear slim. The wording of international law in this matter emphasizes political and religious intolerance, violence, and abuses, but says nothing about environmental instability. However, the suit may still produce something positive. Bill Hodge, a constitutional lawyer from the University of Auckland suggests that,
| "...even if the Kiribati man loses, his case might make a good argument for expanding the definition of what constitutes a refugee. He said he expected there would be increasing pressure on nations like New Zealand and Australia to help provide new homes for Pacific Islanders threatened by rising seas." |
I suspect that "increasing pressure" is going to be felt not just by New Zealand and Australia, but most of the world's nations, especially those that have benefited from the overuse of fossil fuels. This is just the beginning of a trend that is, of necessity, going to have to result in some sort of compensation for those less developed countries affected by climate change - if only in the form of relaxed immigration policies.
The Kiribati man's case is a bellwether. No one should be surprised to hear more and more stories like his in the future,
| "There's no future for us when we go back to Kiribati," he told the tribunal, according to the transcript. "Especially for my children. There's nothing for us there." |
(Hat tip to Maryam Kar at the Korbel Report)