Addressing Climate Risks in Refugee Settings

This special issue was launched on World Refugee Day, 20 June 2023, in a search for solutions for the approximately 37 million refugees worldwide. Many of the world's refugee camps have been sited in regions prone to climate hazards, a fact increasingly supported by academic research and practitioner reports. These findings present compelling evidence that refugee populations residing in camps often bear a disproportionate burden of climate and environmental hazards within host countries. Refugees are made more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change because of the barriers they face in accessing vital resources, institutions, infrastructure, and climate services that could help mitigate climate-related disasters. Moreover, despite the fact that migration and mobility are crucial responses to environmental pressures and are integral components of climate change adaptation strategies, asylum policies frequently impose restrictions on the movement of refugees from these settlements. Consequently, the protracted displacement faced by many refugees is made more uncertain by the complex interplay between climate change and the various vulnerabilities imposed upon them.

Recent empirical studies have made progress towards characterizing the manner and magnitude of climate-related disaster risks in refugee settings, essential information for developing comprehensive risk assessments that encompass climate hazards, vulnerabilities, and capabilities of refugee populations. Other research into early warning systems and climate-resilient infrastructure and services tailored to specific needs and circumstances of refugee camps is also vital for enhancing preparedness and response efforts. Despite these advancements, we still lack a cohesive evidence base to guide effective science, policy, and implementation strategies aimed at reducing climate-related disaster risks in both short and long terms. Developing such strategies may benefit from a geographically nested approach sensitive to the highly intersectional and place-based vulnerabilities of specific refugee populations and hosting regions. Such strategies could consider not only the localized climate conditions and concerns and values of specific refugee communities, but also the regional socio-economic conditions that shape opportunities for refugee-host integration, and broader national dynamics of humanitarian aid, upon which so many refugees depend.

This research topic invites research contributions that (a) raise awareness of the various pathways through which refugee populations are made vulnerable to climate change impacts or (b) illuminate potential pathways towards sustainable in-place solutions that reduce climate-related disaster risks. We encourage research that examines the ways in which climate change influences (a) socio-economic integration between refugees and hosts, (b) reintegration or resettlement, (c) refugee agency in land management and land use decision-making, (d) novel socio-ecological systems in and around refugee settings, or (e) the extent to which climate risk is considered in asylum policies. Given the protracted nature of displacement, we value forward-looking perspectives that consider potential in-camp climate futures and offer insights into long-term implications of climate change for refugees. We strongly encourage submissions from scholars working in the Global South who adopt an intersectional or critical approach, as their perspectives contribute significantly to the complex issues at hand.