Climate Migration in Latin America: A Future 'Flood of Refugees' to the North?

[malaise]

http://www.coha.org/climate-migration-in-latin-america-part-1/
<snip>
This COHA research piece synthesizes the current developments regarding environmentally-driven human migration –and more specifically, migration caused by the environmental manifestations of anthropogenic climate change– seeking to expose its potential harmful effects in Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean. Although this region has received less media attention and academic focus than Western Africa, South East Asia or the Pacific Islands, it certainly houses the climate and non-climate factors that could cause mass human displacement.

The first section introduces the concept of environmentally-induced migration, expounding upon the current state of the debate that surrounds it and the challenges it faces. This is followed by an examination of different climate processes and natural disasters as drivers of migration in Latin America. It also addresses non-climate factors such as poor governance, poverty, overpopulation, and unequal land distribution that can compound these migratory pressures.

The second section opens with a case study of Mexico, a country several reports have identified as a potential hotspot for environmentally-induced migration in Latin America, due to the confluence of climate and non-climate migration factors it houses. The relevance of this study is also increased due to Mexico’s position as the largest immigration feeder to the United States. The segment goes on to discuss larger developmental impacts of environmentally-induced migration in Latin America –such as the effects on regions of origin and destination, the health and security issues migrants face, and the debate between environment, migration and national security factors– before ending by speculating which potential actions the United States might eventually take to address what could be a looming problem.

[Canuckistanian]

1. I think the military study done a few years ago said that

If the forecasts are true, South and Central America are going to have massive crop failures, leading to an even more intense pressure to move north.

It's coming.

[izquierdista]

2. They need to plant the right crop

Continuing to plant the same crop when the climate is changing is akin to standing in the middle of the road when the semi-truck is coming. But farmers are a conservative bunch, doing the same thing that has worked for years in the past. They need to anticipate, and as climate zones move, plant for the coming climate, not what was the average climate over the last two decades. They also need to anticipate changes in annual rainfall, and adapt to those as well.

All this takes lots of science. Plant science to breed crops more adaptable to the new climate. Observational science to get the climatology right. Entomology to anticipate new insects finding a new home. Well funded science projects require "big government", something that fiscal conservatives won't fund until it is too late.

[Odin2005]

3. Latin American countries needs to set up agricultural colleges, like we did in the late 1800s.

those colleges taught American farmers the latest in farming techniques, botanical and zoological knowledge, stuff on farming as a business, etc.

[malaise]

6. Most of the English-speaking territories had

Agricultural colleges from the 1800s - you'd be amazed at the developments in those areas but while many of these institutions remain they have been depleted with staff migrating as a result of the shock doctrine treatment meted out to local agricultural.

Read about the Jamaica Hope cattle - and then weep.

[Gman2]

5. Yes, and they also said, that the job of our nukes, in the coming decade

will be to stop climate fueled hordes. In other words, come near our border, and we'll vaporize you.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

4. I want to get out of this oven of a city myself.

But having a highly specialized job and two kids, it's hard as fuck.

Chile looks nicer and nicer every day.