Relevance for- Gs paper-3
Why in the News?
India’s coastal communities are facing worsening climate impacts, including rising sea levels, saltwater intrusion, and extreme weather. These changes are displacing traditional communities, forcing them into urban labour markets without legal protection. Experts call for a rights-based legal framework for climate-induced displacement, a gap in India’s current disaster, environment, and labour laws.
Context and Overview
India’s coastal regions, which are home to millions of people, are increasingly being threatened by the dual forces of climate change and industrial development. Rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and saltwater intrusion are pushing these vulnerable communities from their homes, forcing them into urban migration. Despite this growing crisis, India lacks a robust legal framework to protect these displaced populations.
The current disaster, environmental, and labour laws in India do not address the specific needs of climate-induced migrants. These displaced individuals often find themselves in urban informal labour markets where they are vulnerable to exploitation and marginalization. The challenge lies not only in protecting their environmental rights but also in ensuring social justice for the affected communities.
This article examines the climate-induced displacement in India, the legal gaps that exist in addressing these issues, and the need for a rights-based approach to ensure a more just and sustainable future for affected populations.
1. Why is Climate Displacement a Concern in India?
India’s coastal communities are facing mounting threats from climate change, including rising sea levels, saltwater intrusion, and extreme weather events. These environmental shifts are forcing people to abandon their homes and traditional livelihoods, pushing them into urban informal labour markets where they lack legal protections. Experts argue that there is a pressing need for a rights-based legal framework to address climate-induced displacement, as India’s current disaster, environmental, and labour laws fail to adequately cover this issue.
2. Impact of Climate Change on Coastal Communities
Across both eastern and western coastlines, communities are encountering threats that are forcing them from their homes. The most vulnerable groups are those reliant on fishing, agriculture, and coastal ecosystems. Key examples of communities grappling with climate-induced displacement include:
- Satabhaya, Odisha: Entire villages submerged by rising seas.
- Honnavar, Karnataka, Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, Kutch, Gujarat, and low-lying Kerala are also facing similar threats.
These communities, dependent on natural resources, are now displaced, with few viable alternatives.
3. Projects and Ecological Degradation: A Double Burden
While climate change accelerates the vulnerabilities of coastal communities, industrial and infrastructural projects exacerbate the situation. These projects, often driven by economic growth ambitions, have:
- Destroyed natural buffers, such as mangroves, wetlands, and sand dunes, which play a crucial role in protecting against rising sea levels.
- Ignored cumulative climate risks during environmental clearance processes, further endangering both the environment and the communities.
Example: Projects under the Sagarmala Programme, including port development, aquaculture, and tourism, have compromised ecological resilience, leaving coastal communities more exposed to climate impacts.
4. Labour Exploitation in the Wake of Displacement
Displacement due to climate change and ecological degradation does not end once relocation occurs. It often results in severe labour exploitation, as displaced individuals are forced into urban informal sectors. These displaced workers face extreme challenges, including:
- Debt Bondage: Families often borrow wages for survival, which traps them in cycles of debt.
- Lack of Labour Protections: Especially in the informal sector, where laws like the Building and Other Construction Workers’ Act, 1996 are poorly implemented.
- Gendered Exploitation: Women are particularly vulnerable to abuse, trafficking, and exploitation, especially in domestic work.
5. Legal Gaps in Addressing Climate Displacement
Although India’s Constitution guarantees the Right to Life (Article 21), the legal framework fails to protect those displaced by climate change. Several key legal gaps exist:
- Constitutional Guarantees: Article 21 ensures the right to dignity and life, but no specific laws exist to safeguard climate-induced migrants.
- Limited Scope of Existing Laws: Laws such as the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and Environment Protection Act, 1986 focus on disaster response and environmental conservation, not on the social impacts of displacement.
- Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2019: This weakened protections for coastal communities, prioritizing industrial and tourism growth over environmental concerns.
- Labour Codes: The new Labour Codes do not recognize climate migrants as a vulnerable group requiring special protections.
Example: The Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) Notification, 2019 allowed industrial projects in ecologically sensitive coastal areas, putting local communities at risk without adequate compensation or relocation plans.
6. Judicial Recognition but Policy Shortfalls
India’s judiciary has recognized the link between environmental degradation and human rights, particularly in cases such as M.C. Mehta (1987) and Enviro-Legal Action (1996). However, despite this recognition, policy frameworks specifically addressing climate-induced displacement are still lacking.
Example: The Supreme Court’s rulings have linked environmental harm with human rights violations, yet the country lacks a comprehensive policy to address climate migration.
7. Communities Resist, But Face Intimidation
Despite the pressures they face, communities across India’s coastlines are actively resisting destructive development projects. Examples of resistance movements include:
- Save Satabhaya in Odisha: A campaign to protect coastal villages from being submerged.
- Adani Ports Protest at Ennore Creek in Tamil Nadu: Local communities protested against industrial expansion that threatened coastal ecosystems.
- Pattuvam Mangrove Protection in Kerala: A movement focused on safeguarding mangroves crucial for protecting coastal areas.
However, environmental defenders face intimidation, surveillance, and criminalization, undermining their constitutional rights to protest and organize.
8. The Way Forward: Towards a Rights-Based Framework for Climate-Induced Displacement
India must adopt a rights-based framework to address climate-induced displacement, integrating social justice, labour rights, and climate resilience. The following key actions are necessary:
1. Legal Reforms
Enact laws to recognize climate migrants and provide social protection. For example, Kerala has made strides in protecting communities displaced due to environmental factors, focusing on community rights and social welfare. Laws must ensure that climate migrants have access to housing, healthcare, and education when displaced.
2. Labour Protections
Revise labour codes to extend protections to informal workers, especially women. For example, women workers in informal sectors in Mumbai and Chennai, often from displaced communities, face exploitation. Extending labour rights would guarantee decent working conditions, fair wages, and protection from trafficking or abuse.
3. Ecological Restoration
Strengthen coastal protection by restoring natural buffers like mangroves and wetlands. West Bengal has been working on mangrove restoration projects in the Sundarbans, which help protect coastal communities from rising sea levels and storm surges. Coastal development must also ensure community consent, as seen in the Save Satabhaya movement in Odisha, where locals resisted industrial projects threatening their environment.
4. Alignment with SDGs
Align national policies with SDG Target 8.7, aiming to end forced labour and promote decent work for displaced populations. By adopting this goal, India can ensure safe livelihoods for displaced people, as seen in the National Health Mission, which helps provide healthcare for migrants in urban areas.
Conclusion: A Test of Constitutional Values
Addressing climate-induced displacement is not just an environmental issue; it is a test of India’s constitutional values of democracy, dignity, and social justice. The true measure of India’s commitment to climate adaptation, human rights, and sustainable development will be evident in how it protects its most vulnerable citizens from rising seas and shrinking livelihoods.
| Example of a Rights-Based Framework in Action Kerala provides a promising model in addressing climate-induced displacement. The state’s focus on community rights and ecological sustainability can be seen in its efforts to protect mangroves, engage communities in conservation, and address mental health concerns among displaced populations. Kerala’s approach to climate resilience and social welfare sets a benchmark for other states. |
| Q. Discuss the interrelationship between industrialization, urbanization, and the displacement of vulnerable sections.(2021) Prelims QSN Q.The phenomenon of industrialization in India has contributed to the degradation of the environment. Which of the following are its direct consequences? (2022) (a) Loss of biodiversity (b) Soil erosion and deforestation (c) Water pollution (d) All of the above Correct Answer: (d) All of the above Explanation: Industrialization in India has led to environmental degradation in several forms, including: ● Loss of biodiversity due to habitat destruction. ● Soil erosion and deforestation caused by industrial activities and land use changes. ● Water pollution from industrial waste and chemicals released into rivers and lakes. All these factors not only harm the environment but also contribute to displacement by disrupting the livelihoods of those dependent on natural resources, such as fishing and agriculture. |
SOURCE –THE HINDU