Displacement and Conflict Climate Change
3 Ways Nature-Based Solutions are Tackling Climate Displacement in the Global South. World Economic Forum.
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WHAT IS PLANETARY HEALTH?
Displacement and Conflict
The Earth crisis is significantly leading to a range of socio-political and humanitarian crises.
Environmental degradation–such as desertification, deforestation, and rising sea levels–forces millions to leave their homes, contributing to a growing population of climate refugees and internally displaced persons. In the past decade, weather-related events have driven an average of 21.5 million people from their homes each year, a figure that surpasses displacements caused by conflict and violence by more than twofold.
21.5M People displaced by weather-related events each year
Rising sea levels threaten the existence of small island states, while water shortages and agricultural collapse in arid areas contribute to increased migration. These movements, within and across borders, often place immense pressure on resources in destination regions, leading to competition for essentials such as food, water, and land, which can escalate into conflicts over resources and civil unrest .
A recent UNHCR report highlights that individuals fleeing war, violence, and persecution are increasingly vulnerable to the global climate crisis and other forms of environmental degradation. These overlapping challenges place them in a precarious position, facing compounded threats while lacking adequate funding and resources for adaptation.
17 Countries The International Rescue Committee has identified as enduring brutal conflicts while being on the front lines of a global climate crisis they did not create.
Displacement caused by environmental crises and conflict is strongly associated with increased risks of infectious disease outbreaks, malnutrition, and both physical and mental trauma. Overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in displacement camps, coupled with limited access to healthcare and clean water, create ideal conditions for the spread of diseases such as cholera and respiratory infections. Malnutrition often becomes more severe among displaced populations due to disrupted food systems and insufficient aid supplies. Addressing these challenges requires urgent global collaboration and evidence-based policies to mitigate the profound human toll of forced displacement.
Displacement and Conflict Resources
Displacement and Conflict Infectious Diseases
Arthropod-Borne Disease Challenges from Planetary Warming, Urbanization, and Migration. Virology Journal.
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Displacement and Conflict Climate Change
Understanding relationships among climate change, conflict, migration/displacement and health in humanitarian settings: A scoping review. Conflict and Health.
Researchers explore how climate change, conflict, migration and displacement, and health interact in humanitarian settings. They found that climate impacts often worsen existing vulnerabilities, emphasizing the need for collaboration across research, policy, and health systems to strengthen community resilience.
• Research & Reports
Displacement and Conflict Life Stage and Reproductive Health
Assessment of malnutrition in preschool-aged children by mid-upper arm circumference in the Gaza Strip (January, 2024–August, 2025): A longitudinal, cross-sectional, surveillance study. The Lancet.
• Research & Reports
Displacement and Conflict Climate Change
Digging an ever-deeper hole: The response to climate change in the Helmand River Basin
This report examines the impact of climate change across the Helmand River Basin. It documents the threat that both state and community responses to climate change and reductions in surface water pose to the livelihoods of an estimated 469,732 households in the Helmand River Basin – especially to the 3.65 million people on the Afghan side of the border, where the groundwater they have come to depend on is disappearing at an alarming rate. This research is part of a wider project examining the conflict that broke out between Iranian and Taliban forces in May 2023. In contrast to media...
• Research & Reports
