We have heard a lot in recent years a lot about economic migration... the problem of illegal immigration in Europe with boat loads of desperate people risking everything to get into the EU. In the states it largely relates to people from Latin America attempting to get into the perceived promised land of the USA. Just last week tough new immigration laws were passed in the US state of Arizona in attempt to combat an estimated half million illegal residents in a state with a population of 7 million.
One concern however, that is increasingly coming to the fore, is the role of environmental degradation as a driving force behind what is broadly termed economic migration. A poorly managed and degraded environment provides fewer services and supports less life and resources that can in turn support viable incomes for people. Environmental disasters also play their role and certainly can greatly exacerbate the situation in already poor circumstances and even make life untenable in certain areas.
The earthquake in Haiti is requiring the decampment and relocation of hundreds of thousands of people, the same will doubtless be true though on a smaller scale in Quinghai province, China after the recent quake.
Another quite extreme example of this has been the mudslides last month in Uganda. The mudslides on 1st March in the east of Uganda on the slopes of Mount Elgon swept away three villages killed up to 300 hundred people and rendered several thousand homeless. It has further raised concerns about outbreaks of cholera and malaria due to submerged pit latrines and pools of stagnant water.
Uganda has one of the highest population growth rates in Africa which has driven people ever higher up the mountainsides in search of land to eke out a subsistence living. The resulting deforestation and land clearance has left large areas vulnerable to landslides. The recent landslides have been labelled a ”wake-up call” by the Ugandan Minister for Disaster Preparedness, Mr. Musa Ecweru, and prompted him to state that some half-a-million people will need to be moved from their homes in mountainous areas because of the risk of landslides.
For such a statement to be made and only a year before national elections shows how serious the situation is being viewed. It remains to be seen however where provision can be made to re-settle so many people in such a relatively small and poor country.
The terrain of the main populated islands of Seychelles also means that landslides are a risk that needs to be mitigated. The heavy rains of 1997/98 saw several roads being washed out and gradual shifting of soil on some slopes has been and remains a problem in some areas. The most infamous disaster in Seychelles – the 1862 La Valasse - was a landslide. This too was likely coupled with significant environmental degradation of the time with several contemporary writers referring to the extensive deforestation that was prevalent in the 19th century. Today the mountainsides are generally quite heavily forested, though not necessarily by the most desirable species. Nevertheless the Seychelles Disaster Preparedness and Response Project will be, as one of its activities, undertaking a geological risk assessment of the three main islands in order to identify areas where mitigation actions or precautionary measures are required.
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