AUTHOR BY –T S ACHALA / GUJARAT NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY
ABSTRACT
Climate-induced displacement, a phenomenon that poses a serious problem in all human settlements. Its intricate nature extends its effect not only in geographical or social aspects but also requires attention from economic and political aspects. In India, the increasing frequency of floods, cyclones, droughts and sea-level rise has triggered the internal displacement of millions, which needs to be taken as a wake-up call for humanity. This article, therefore, explores the issue of climate-induced displacement in India and examines the policies and provisions in place to aid the same. It concludes with the intimation for ensuring protection and preparedness to enable rehabilitation and restoration of lifestyles that hang by a thread over humanity.
INTRODUCTION
Humankind has been the witness to and has endured numerous global crises-economic, humanitarian, political and environmental. Amongst them, the most notable and defining event was the COVID-19 pandemic, which transcended borders and disrupted every aspect of life. During the prolonged lockdown enforced to contain the spread of the virus and minimise damage, there were remarkable environmental observations that opened new doors for environmentalists and became of hope for people. The reduced carbon emissions and visible improvements in air quality became the catalyst for the recovery of the ozone layer, which was unprecedented. Further, the spontaneous rewilding in several urban and forest areas was also an achievement.
These incidents brought to light the areas requiring attention and brought in a call for action; however, beneath these lie a persistent and increasingly complex hurdle that humanity is yet to overcome: Climate change. Defined by the United Nations as “long-term shifts in weather patterns, either naturally or exacerbated by human activities like burning fossil fuels.” Unlike the pandemic, which is episodic, climate change has been and continues to be a long-term, structural crisis with its repercussions steadily increasing in frequency and intensity. The problems range from extreme heat waves and floods to abrupt climate changes, and the duration differs from previous years.
Internal displacement or climate change-induced displacement has remained one of the most severe consequences of climate change. Internal displacement has been recognised and defined by the United Nations through its “ Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (1998) has produced the widely accepted definition of internally displaced persons (IDP) as “persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border.”The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has also characterised it as “displacement due to slow-onset events, extreme weather events, and/or other negative effects of climate change.”. These displacements can be caused by sudden-onset events like floods and cyclones, as well as slow-onset phenomena like desertification and sea level rise.
These climate-induced displacements are not only a humanitarian crisis but also pose a legal and policy-level problem which needs to be acted upon with urgency. India’s stance, though recognising such a phenomenon, has yet to provide a comprehensive legal mechanism that can be enforced on people and organs of the society. This is in particular for India wherein high population density, socio-economic inequality and ecological vulnerability converge to create a more layered problem to be solved by having a framework acknowledging and recognising the same therefore eliminating any chance of a situation wherein the IDPs are subjected to neglect, legal invisibility, and systematic gaps in protection and rehabilitation.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, May 9, 1992, art. 1(2), S. TREATY DOC. NO. 102-38, 1771 U.N.T.S. 107 Representative of the Secretary-General, Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/1998/53/Add.2 (Feb. 11, 1998), available at https://www.unhcr.org/protection/idps/43ce1cff2/guiding-principles-internal-displacement.html. International Committee of the Red Cross, Internally Displaced People, https://www.icrc.org/en/war-and-law/protected-persons/civilians/interally-displaced-people-idp (last visited July 5, 2025). Int’l Comm. of the Red Cross, Climate Change and Conflict: A Growing Threat to Humanitarian Action, ICRC (July 9, 2020), https://www.icrc.org/en/document/climate-change-and-conflict-growing-threat-humanitarian-action
INTERNATIONAL REGIME ON DISPLACEMENT DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE
The extent of the phenomenon of climate change-induced displacement being specifically recognised and addressed to be a serious threat, and further realising that the incidents that occur currently are only the tip of the iceberg, is extremely essential to formulate legally binding frameworks to ensure solutions and actions.
It is worth noting that currently there is no such framework that specifically addresses climate-induced displacement; however, there exist certain soft law instruments and policy frameworks that provide guidance on actions by all states to ensure eliminating any possible threats and reduce the burden on the environment in the long term.
The document that serves as a foundation for all other developing schemes and frameworks is the United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (1998). This non-binding legal document provides definitions of displaced persons through natural and human-made disasters. Further, there are instruments such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015–2030) and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (2018) which serve as guidance on situations wherein persons are displaced. These instruments acknowledge the presence of such environmental factors and changes that cause mobilisation of groups and communities leading to loss of livelihood and culture and prompting them to take up a life of refuge and uncertainties. The general responsibilities of states in relation to cross-border displacement or internal displacement brought on by natural disasters and climate change are also elaborated in the 2015 Nansen Initiative’s Protection Agenda. These documents offer a set of normative responsibilities that can be further domesticated within a national legal system and are applicable to displaced populations, even though they do not establish explicit obligations.
Representative of the Secretary-General, Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/1998/53/Add.2 (Feb. 11, 1998), available at https://www.unhcr.org/protection/idps/43ce1cff2/guiding-principles-internal-displacement.html.
U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, U.N. Doc. A/CONF.224/CRP.1 (Mar. 18, 2015), available at https://www.preventionweb.net/files/43291_sendaiframeworkfordrren.pdf.
Intergovernmental Conference to Adopt the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, Global Compact for Migration, U.N. Doc. A/RES/73/195 (Dec. 19, 2018).
Nansen Initiative, Agenda for the Protection of Cross-Border Displaced Persons in the Context of Disasters and Climate Change (Vols. I & II, Dec. 2015), https://disasterdisplacement.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/EN_Protection_Agenda_Volume_I_and_II.pdf.
INDIAN FRAMEWORK ON CLIMATE CHANGE INDUCED DISPLACEMENT
In India, too, the legally enforceable instruments are yet to be brought into existence, and therefore, the response to such displacement is largely fragmented and reactive, mainly regulated by general disaster response laws and Constitutional protections.
The Disaster Management Act, 2005, while critical to India’s disaster governance structure, largely limits itself to response and relief measures for natural calamities, not giving much attention to long-term rehabilitation and protection of the displaced. Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the right to life and is now also interpreted to include the right to shelter, health and a clean environment, constituting a constitutional basis in arguing for the entitlements of the displaced. However, no legal framework exists for climate-induced IDPs or the legal obligation for states to provide durable solutions for them. The existing resettlement policies, like the National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, 2007 mostly refer to development-induced displacement and do not account for climate-affected communities, revealing considerable legal and policy deficits against a compelling humanitarian need of the climate age.
The Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change (PMCCC) – which was established to oversee the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) – was created in 2008, formalising India’s commitment. Each of the eight core missions of India’s NAPCC – which include energy efficiency, solar energy, sustainable habitat, or water – aims to not only express its intentions to reduce the emission intensity of its economy, but also continue with its development progress. While re-emphasising its lower per capita emissions than industrialized nations, the NAPCC indicates that common but differentiated responsibilities are guiding principles and requests finance and technical assistance from developed countries. While these multi-level frameworks provide aspirational goals, ensuring that they are fully adopted and consistent with policies that address displacement is necessary to best preserve vulnerable populations from the rapidly irreversible consequences of climate change. Disaster Management Act, No. 53 of 2005, Gazette of India, Extraordinary, pt. II, sec. 1 (Jan. 9, 2006) (India). Ministry of Rural Development, National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, 2007, Gazette of India, Extraordinary, No. 46 (Oct. 31, 2007) (India). Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Prime Minister’s Council on Climate Change (PMCCC), Gov’t of India, https://moef.gov.in/en/division/environment-divisions/climate-change-cc/ (last visited July 5, 2025). Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), Gov’t of India (June 30, 2008), https://moef.gov.in/en/division/environment-divisions/climate-change-cc/national-action-plan-on-climate-change/.
COMPARATIVE MODEL: LESSONS FROM KENYA’S LEGAL FRAMEWORK
India may find a model in Kenya which has enacted the Prevention, Protection and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons and Affected Communities Act, 2012. The Act is one of the world’s most progressive legal instruments on IDPs with statutory recognition for displacement caused by natural disasters and climate change. It bases its provisions on a rights approach, giving state authorities a clear obligation to prevent displacement as much as possible, protect IDPs while in displacement and pursue durable solutions through voluntary return, local integration or resettlement. The Kenyan model is important in that it is founded both in international law and higher-order state obligations, which places responsibilities on states with enforcement from independent monitoring mechanisms with legal standards for displaced persons. Kenya’s framework prioritizes community participation and non-discrimination and identifies the special protection needs of the most vulnerable. India could learn from the Kenyan model by adopting climate-related displacement as part of its domestic legal architecture with a nationally consistent policy for states, while still allowing local flexibility for vulnerabilities.
The Role of Environmental Law in Addressing Climate Change in India
WAY FORWARD AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Through the above, it is evident that the present stagnancy in responding to climate-induced displacement through domestic laws designed for particular disaster risk is not a positive outlook and should hereby be amended to create and provide for a more inclusive policy that also mitigates any future incidents affecting the rights, lives and livelihoods of persons. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), Gov’t of India (June 30, 2008),https://moef.gov.in/en/division/environment-divisions/climate-change-cc/national-action-plan-on-climate-change/.
Kenya, The Prevention, Protection and Assistance to Internally Displaced Persons and Affected Communities Act, No. 56 of 2012, available at https://www.refworld.org/docid/512bd6ab2.html.
Some of the initiatives that can be done are :
- Enacting national law addressing the problem and providing ways in which accommodations can be made. This should also include defining different terminology and providing rights catering to the differing circumstances, also providing for offices specifically designated with duties to ensure enforcement.
- Amending the Disaster Management Act to have a more inclusive and well-rounded framework providing long-term rehabilitation and scope for coordination with other climate adaptation practices.
- Reinforcing the idea and creating awareness to allow for community-led adaptation and relocation if necessary. This could include utilising the power of local bodies to encourage traditional knowledge and increase chances of sustainable livelihoods to benefit from the long-term effects of climate change.
- Utilising advanced technologies and Artificial Intelligence [AI] to predict the possible movements of nature, especially in cases like sea-level rise and provide for appropriate action and response .
CONCLUSION
Disasters brought on by climate change resulted in more than 2.5 million additional displacements in India in 2022. This number will keep rising as more disasters and phenomena happen throughout, with statistics pointing to a rapid escalation in states like Assam, Odisha, Bihar, and coastal Tamil Nadu. As a consequence, it is important that the situation be dealt with at large, ensuring the creation of an environment where people are safe in every sense. The lack of a legally binding framework to rely upon during a crisis can be a threat to the rights and dignity of individuals essential for a human life. Every country can promote inclusive policies for human rights and livelihoods by applying the constitutional mandates with international norms.
Disaster Management Act, No. 53 of 2005, Gazette of India, Extraordinary, pt. II, sec. 1 (Jan. 9, 2006) (India). Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Global Report on Internal Displacement 2023 30 (May 2023), https://www.internal-displacement.org/publications/global-report-on-internal-displacement-2023.
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