Author: Zuali

"God does not create poverty; we do because we do not share" - Mother Teresa Hi, My name is Lalhmangaihzuali from Mizoram, India. I am currently studying MSc Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security, at the National University of Ireland, Galway. I am doing a research project work with The International Center for Tropical Agriculture (known as CIAT from its Spanish-language name Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical, Rome). I believe this is a perfect opportunity to help reduce conflict arising from many areas (especially from climate change impact) which have a huge short and long-term impact on our fellow human beings. This blog will give you an update about our research and the possible outcome, the challenges, and opportunities where you can find opportunities to participate in building peace around the world. It will also give you a platform to share your ideas and experiences and also learn from each other. Thank you.

Brief on Climate, Rural Youth Migration, and Social Protection

Before discussing the contribution of women to society and their position and importance as I described in the previous post, I would like to provide an update on the analysis of the literature I have been working on in relation to the project I have done with CIAT, Rome, Italy.

As a quick reminder, my project with CIAT was on Climate-Security and Peacebuilding and I wrote Should I stay, or should I go? Climate, Rural Youth Migration, and Social Protection formerly called Climate Change, Rural Youth Migration, and Social Protection. In this review, I discuss climate and future climate change impact on migration patterns, looking at the rural youth context. I reviewed about 165 literature/articles from various topic-related sources; the effects on migration, climate and climate change impact on youth (global & rural), and the response steps, in particular programs and policies for social protection.

This paper finds that different countries/regions have different response systems depending on their geographic area and vulnerability level. This is largely influenced by a country’s situation whether it is developed or developing, the availability of resources and infrastructure, and a person, household, or community’s power. Developing countries generally have weak infrastructure, so their ability and capabilities are usually limited, often forcing them to move to other, safer, nearby areas. Africa, for example, has the highest number of youth (15-24 age) indicating a poor climate change adaptation mechanism has highly affected youth, pushing them to migrate or to practice theft, robbery, and trafficking. Climate and climate change impacts are expected to increase, further exacerbating the effect on rural and vulnerable areas and shifting migration patterns, particularly from rural to urban areas without adequate adaptation measures. This huge mass movement poses a threat to the host countries and can change the global demography which can further lead to conflict in the countries of origin and host.

In developing countries, in particular, social protection tends to play a significant role among some of the adaptation programs that officials have adopted. However, my review found that funding approved to strengthen social protection in poor and vulnerable areas often fails to reach the target population but has reinforced the existing sectors that have already received substantial adaptation finance. Not only that, while there has been a rapid increase in the adoption of social protection, there are no specific social protection programs or youth policies, this paper finds that most programs and policies target children, women, and the elderly. Furthermore, the IOM 2019 report shows gaps in data and methods for gathering youth migration data, this complicates discovering the exact driver and pattern of youth migration, and what trigger young people to migrate. This highlights the need for the collection of disaggregated youth migration data and the implementation of appropriate adaptation programs and initiatives that address various age groups.

Even though I have mentioned how huge mass movement could cause conflict for both origin and host countries, migration is not always a negative approach, in fact, it gives an opportunity to millions of people to live a safe and meaningful life abroad, it can reduce poverty and it could be a potential tool for enhancing human development at the national level. Since many years ago, human beings have been traveling around the world. The effect of voluntary and involuntary migration on human beings varies widely; one should not be compelled to move unless, however, the effects of war, civil strife, or natural catastrophe compelled people to flee their homes and countries.

I also discussed how the temperature rise would greatly affect our agricultural sector and food security. Today, many of the developing areas are affected by drought and pest prevalence caused by climate change, this further reduction of agricultural production contributes to deprivation, jobs lost in the agricultural sector, and food insecurity. This puts pressure on young people to move to non-agricultural jobs, and in search of work opportunities, they need to move to a foreign country.

There is much more to be discussed about this subject but the following are some of the paper’s highlights-

If we follow the ‘business as usual’ approach, the temperature rise will change the migration pattern, increasing the number of migrants, especially from rural areas.
There is insufficient data on youth migration to find out the key driver of youth migration
Adaptation plans and policies need to be revised to address every age group, particularly the young, as they are our future. Social Protection programs lack policies explicitly for youth.
Future research needs to focus on collecting and disaggregating data on youth migration to meet their specific needs.

You will be able to read the full details on my paper, at the moment my paper is not available to the public, I will make sure to have the link posted as soon as it is available.

Thank you for your support.

Why are we repeatedly saying women are more vulnerable to climate change than men?

Women were excluded in particular from cultural life. Women face many obstacles to accessing, contributing, and engaging fairly in theatre, arts, music, and heritage, in particular, in the agricultural or another livelihood sector in developing rural areas which prevent them from achieving their full potential and impede sustainable social and inclusive growth. While more attention and support is being provided to women in the developed world now, we should remember that there are millions of women who do not have equality and access to basic necessities. This gender gap is compounded by and the effects of climate change. Several studies have been conducted on the impact of climate change between gender, age groups, and geographical areas. When you read a research paper, article or another document on climate change, you’ll see over and over again how women are more vulnerable than men and you may be able to think for a few reasons, but you are not positive, you may not be sure how exactly are they more vulnerable. It may sound basic, but sometimes it’s complicated, and with different paper lying here and there, it may not be easy for all to understand.

This post is written to help you broaden your thoughts, facts, or knowledge that you might already have in your mind. You’ll also find links to some good paper at the end of this article which you may want to read further.

I believe “climate change” resonates in your ears because it is a global issue and a contentious subject that draws attention from government leaders, politicians, academics, and researchers from all over the world. There is an increasing nationwide impact that causes considerable harm and catastrophe, and even life. Women in third world countries suffer the most due to lack of education, awareness, and poverty. Today, Africa occupies the top 10 poorest countries which implies that they are most vulnerable to climate change, requiring international support to combat the impacts of climate change.

Females are named to care for households and children while men feel the “breadwinner”. This split responsibility between men and women hinders women from accessing agricultural equipment, education, and training which are crucial to climate resilience. Furthermore, the legal rights to work for women are not the same as for men and there are only 6 countries in the world that have the same legal right to work for both gender. Job segregation, where men are mistakenly assumed to do a better job than women lowers women ‘s value and opportunity, and most of the positions are highly paid work, meaning women can only get low-paid jobs, increasing their financial vulnerability. Access to education and training, the most important tool for increasing the value of women particularly in rural agricultural areas has been restricted in different parts of the world for many reasons. These are just a few of the gender inequalities faced in various parts of the world which makes women more vulnerable to disaster.

WHAT THEY NEED

As stated, these inequalities hinder women from achieving their potential, rendering them vulnerable to any possible catastrophe, especially related to climate change which is becoming prevalent. It weakens their ability and capacity to cope and adapt to the changes that surround them. In particular, rural areas in developing countries that are mainly dependent on agriculture and livestock because they are poorer with a lack of infrastructure and services. These people rely primarily on agriculture and livestock, so it is very important for women in these countries to be able to get education and training on how to use farm implements and knowledge about agriculture so that they can be resilient and increase their capacity. To reach their potential,

They need to be given the opportunity to be a leader in the community.
They should be able to take part in decision-making in relation to the environment.
They should be granted land rights and ownership just as much as men.
They should be given the exact same right as men.
They should be given gender-responsive funding to combat climate change.
Access to economic resources

This will not only reduce their vulnerability but will also contribute to community development, country development that is crucial in the fight against the impact of climate change.

In the next article, we will address women’s contribution to society, and the role and value of women.

World’s poorest top 10 countries

Links:

Sea-level rise, why it should be a concern?

Picture: Tuvalu

Global sea-level has been rising over the past century. Today, small islands such as Tuvalu, located in the west-central Pacific Ocean, composed of nine coral islands and Maldives, situated at the Arabian Sea of the Indian Ocean are called the “sinking island” because of the rise in sea level that disturbs the habitat of the people. The natural rise in sea level is not supposed to make these islands vulnerable at this rate yet, at the least in the 21st century, however, global warming-induced by human activity (also called ‘Anthropocene’) force glaciers and icecaps in the Antarctic and Greenland melts faster than anticipated which cause a rapid rise in the sea-level impacting many populations in the low-lying areas and intruding aquatic ecosystem. There is a certain level up to which we can adapt to sea-level rise and its adverse impact, we need full effort to cut down our emission rate, as it is the main cause of climate change and variability which have a further impact like sea-level rise.

What cause sea-level to rise?

We have seen and heard several times of the word ‘global warming’ and ‘greenhouse gas’, as a reminder, the concentration of harmful gases (called ‘greenhouse gas’) such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) increases the earth’s temperature (global warming). The concentration of such gases is aggravated by human activity through agriculture, livestock, choice of food, use of fossil fuels, growing population, lifestyle, and many more which rapidly increase the gas concentration, the higher the concentration is the faster the rise in global temperature. This increase in temperature causes thermal expansion, increasing the melting of glaciers and ice sheets from the Antarctic and Greenland and as the water warms up, it expands and takes more space causing a rise in the water level. The ocean is covering 363 million square km, equivalent to approximately 72% of the earth’s surface and the rise in water level at a high rate can do no good to human beings and other living organisms.

What is the impact of sea-level rise?

The population in the coastal areas are vulnerable and highly exposed to climate change and its impact, in particular, sea-level rise. It induces inundation which destroys properties, agricultural land, causing resource scarcity and can further lead to conflict between an individual, community, or society and forced displacement. Besides flooding, it causes soil salination, decreasing agricultural products or reducing their nutrition content which can further lead to food insecurity, poverty, and malnutrition, it also contaminates our water sources making it unsafe for drinking, it also can affect the economy of the coastal areas where many people use tourism as their livelihoods.

It also impacts aquatic organisms such as coral reefs, seagrass meadows, kelp beds which are essential for marine animals such as fishes, sea creatures, and mammals, where they find their shelter and habitat. Deterioration of aquatic organisms is not only harmful to sea animals but also for humans; decline aquatic organisms affect sea animals, declining sea animals affect humans as many coastal inhabitants use fishing as their livelihoods.

Sea-level rise and migration

According to the United Nations 2017, more than 600 million people, which is around 10% of the world’s population live in the coastal areas that are less than 10 meters above the sea level. Nearly 2.4 billion people, which is about 40% of the world’s population is living within 100 km of the coast. If the sea continues to rise at this rate (0.1 inches per year in the 1990s to 0.13 inch per year today), soon, many of the people on the coast especially those residing at a very low-lying area will be forced to leave causing mass migration. Mass migration can be harmful to the host country, with the increasing population growth, there will be a limit in the number of migrants a country can hold in association with services, education, job opportunities, and settlement. This can increase inequality in different sectors and pose a threat to conflict, shifting our state of stability to instability.

I hope this brief blog post leaves each one of us with a question; What is my role, responsibility and what can I contribute? and find our way to save our planet and support the less fortunate.

If you find it interesting, a link to two interesting paper is below

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-03595-0

https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-019-0002-9

Welcome!

I would like to welcome each one of you to my blog “Zuali”.

Since this is a welcome post, I would like to write a few details about what I will be posting for the next few months. As you can read in the “About” page, I am currently studying at the National University of Ireland, Galway, studying MSc Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). I am in the second semester now and our research project work will be started soon. I will be doing research on Climate Security, Climate Conflict and Peacebuilding with CIAT/CGIAR.

The reason why I choose this project is that I am leaning towards a career that has something to do with migration, especially climate migrants because migration play a huge role in climate security, conflict and peacebuilding as well. This research involved lots of reading, digging and analyzing past literature to find the gap, opportunity, and challenges and it is a perfect opportunity to expand knowledge and ideas not only in the field of migration but CCAFS program and objectives as a whole.

So, I will be posting more about updates on my research and any outcome we have seen to keep you updated and also create a platform for you to participate as frequently as possible.

Share and Give. Feel free to ask any questions, suggestion and advise is always welcomed.