Islamabad:Federal Minister for Climate Change Musadik Malik on Thursday said climate-induced displacement had become a major form of forced movement that remained largely unrecognised as migration.
Addressing the launch of the National Civil Society Alliance on Migration, he said around four crore people had been displaced during the last four to five floods, while nearly 6,000 people had lost their lives and around 19,000 had been injured or disabled.
‘I am not talking about cross-border migration. I am talking about the migration, the displacement, the homelessness which you probably do not even consider migration,’ he said.
The minister said such displacement was not recorded in migration registers or books.
‘This is completely nameless displacement. This is nameless homelessness which we do not even call migration,’ he said.
He said climate-related displacement also disrupted access to education and other basic services, particularly for children and elderly people who were forced to leave their communities.
Musadik Malik said much of the destruction linked to climate change was being driven by rising temperatures.
He said increasing temperatures led to glacier melt, resulting in water flows that could exceed the capacity of rivers, canals, barrages and other water-management systems.
‘When water comes in a quantity and at a speed for which the rivers, canals and systems were not built, it leaves its limits, washes away settlements and destroys infrastructure,’ he said.
The minister said Pakistan contributed less than one per cent of global greenhouse-gas emissions but was seeking justice for its people affected by climate-related impacts.
‘We are asking the world for justice,’ he said, describing climate change as an issue of justice and social equity.
Musadik Malik also raised the issue of water rights for lower riparian communities, saying people living downstream needed rights relating to water flows, protection from floods and protection against displacement.
He said the issue had implications for lower riparian communities around the world where rivers crossed national borders.
‘This is a matter of justice and rights,’ he said.
The minister also questioned the practice of repurposing loans provided for sectors such as education and health to address the consequences of displacement and disasters.
He said funds originally allocated for education and health should not simply be repurposed to deal with the problems created by climate-induced displacement.