30 
The Challenges of Climate Change: Children on the front line
to be forced out of their homes
by extreme environmental events,
but may have nowhere to go and
few means with which to escape
hazardous conditions.
Children are generally more
at risk than adults when envi-
ronmental threats gradually
grow, or when natural disaster
suddenly strikes. They are more
likely to suffer damage to their
health (diarrhoea, drowning,
vector-borne diseases and lack of
adequate nutrition). They may also
lack the assets, physical strength
and decision-making options that
can make the difference between
life and death. A World Health
Organization study of mortality
linked to climatic events globally
over three decades found that envi-
ronmental factors accounted for a
quarter of the deaths in the general
population but for more than a
third of deaths among children
under 14.
2
When extreme environmental
events displace people, children
are often pulled from school,
led away from accessible health-
care facilities, and compelled
to work in order to survive and
help their families get through
the crisis. They can also end up
in dangerous situations at risk of
emotional, physical and sexual
violence, particularly if they have
lost the company of parents or
other trusted adult guardians along
the way.
To reduce migration driven
by worsening environmental
conditions, and to enhance the
resilience of at-risk communities,
governments should strengthen
social protection systems, basic
urban infrastructure and disaster
preparedness. They should also
2 Prüss-Üstün, A. and C. Corvalán (2006).
Preventing
disease through healthy environments: Towards an
estimate of the environmental burden of disease
.
Geneva: World Health Organization.
adopt measures recognizing that
migration can be a useful way for
people to cope with environmental
changes. If humanely managed
with proper planning and arrange-
ments, migration can provide
substantial benefits to both origin
and destination areas, as well as to
migrants and their families.
Research supported by the
Asian Development Bank (ADB)
has found that, although migration
can impose significant costs on
migrants, it can also improve their
lives in the right circumstances,
especially if there is time to plan
and assistance is available for reset-
tlement.
3
The communities from
which migrants depart may experi-
ence reduced environmental stress
and less competition for resources.
They may also receive remittances
that can be used to build adaptive
capacity. In the long run, migration
can be instrumental in fostering
resilience at the household level,
and can improve access to informa-
tion and social networks.
Recognizing the particular
vulnerability of minors to cli-
mate change, the Children in a
Changing Climate coalition has
advocated for adaptation planning
and implementation to incorporate
features to protect children’s rights,
including disaggregated analy-
sis of climate vulnerability and
capacity by age, gender and urban/
rural status; participatory spaces
created by, with and for children;
child-centred resilience projects
and programmes with dedicated
support and resources; and indica-
tors for monitoring and evaluation
that are based on children’s rights.
4
3 Asian Development Bank (2012).
Addressing climate
change and migration in Asia and the Pacific
. Manila,
Philippines: ADB.
4 Polack, E. (2010).
Child rights and climate change
adaptation: Voices from Kenya and Cambodia
. IDS,
Brighton, UK, and Plan International, Surrey, UK.
Other steps that can be taken
to protect children from natural
hazards include ensuring that
strategic plans on climate change
protect and involve children; that
a proportion of adaptation financ-
ing is explicitly targeted to build
children’s capacity to adapt; and
that climate change adaptation and
disaster risk reduction are included
in school curricula.
5
More generally, ­decision-makers
need more targeted, policy-­relevant
research on the interaction
between the environment and
migration. Many uncertainties
remain about how populations
in particular locations react to
environmental changes, both
sudden and of a slow-onset variety.
Recognizing this ‘data gap’, ADB
and the International Organization
for Migration launched the Asia
Pacific Migration and Environment
Network (APMEN) in 2012.
6
APMEN promotes research on the
migration and environment nexus
in Asia and the Pacific, and offers
a platform for sharing analysis
and insights on environmentally
driven migration.
Across Asia and the Pacific,
actual and anticipated extreme
environmental events are forcing
people, both old and young, to
relocate temporarily or for long
periods. By taking action today,
governments can mitigate future
humanitarian crises and improve
the prospects of people remaining
in their communities. Alternatively,
should conditions make that
impractical or dangerous, they
can provide them with options
to settle in a place that is safe for
their children, and offers them
livelihood opportunities to support
their families. Migration has long
been recognized as an effective
5 Ibid.
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