Migration in Relation to Ecological Degradation and Threats Based on IEP's Ecological Threat Report

Abstract

This chapter presents research and analysis on the Institute for Economics and Peace’s (IEP’s) index in the Ecological Threat Report (ETR). In the analysis, 178 countries are examined at the sub-national level, accounting for 99.9% of the global population. The estimate consists of five indicators that aggregate to yield an index of ecological threats. These five indicators are water risk, the prevalence of stunting, the impact of natural disasters, projected population growth and projected temperature rise. The ETR is a tool that can be used to identify the countries that are at the highest risk of ecological threats. The index identifies that 30 countries facing the highest level of ecological threats as well as low levels of resilience are home to 1.26 billion people. At the end of 2020, in these 30 countries, 68% of the total people were forcibly displaced beyond their borders. As these 30 countries suffer collectively from the highest ecological threats and without the reversal of ecological degradation, displacement is very likely to continue. Without urgent development, ecological threats will continue to create humanitarian emergencies and will likely increase without a sustained effort to reverse the current trend.

Citation

Killelea, S. (2023), "Migration in Relation to Ecological Degradation and Threats Based on IEP's Ecological Threat Report", Chatterji, M., Luterbacher, U., Fert, V. and Chen, B. (Ed.) International Migration, COVID-19, and Environmental Sustainability (Contributions to Conflict Management, Peace Economics and Development, Vol. 32), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1572-832320230000032001