Climate Change & Environmental Refugees Flashcards
Due to the increased risk of coastal flooding around the world climate change may create environmental refugees in coastal areas
An environmental refugee is a person forced to move by environmental changes - in this case coastal flooding
A study in 2011 suggested that …………….million people could be displaced by sea level rise by 2100
187m
Low-lying island nations such as ……………… are paticular vulnerable
Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands and the Maldives
In Papua New Guinea and the Maldives between …………% of the land is less than 1m above sea level
50-80%
The issues they face include
Loss of land and a lack of money for coastal defences
Coral reef bleaching which reduces the natural defences against storm surges
Salt water incursion which reduces the freshwater supply
Loss of tourism
In the UK in 2014, residents of the village of Fairbourne in Wales were informed by the local council that flood defences would not be maintained indefinitely
In Bangladesh alone it is estimated that loss of land due to sea level rise and increased coastal erosion could lead to ………….million environmental refugees
20m