HOW TO ENSURE ADEQUATE LEGAL PROTECTION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REFUGEES

ABSTRACT The growing concern of the International Community for environmental degradation has recently culminated in the international recognition of the man-made nature of global warming and renewed international efforts to mitigate the consequences.In the light of these actual developments, a related aspect of the problem merits attention: What action should states take with regard to persons, commonly dubbed “environmental refugees”. There is an ongoing academic debate between scholars of various disciplines on different aspects of the issue. Due to divergent views on environmental degradation as a root cause of forced migration, a commonly accepted analytic definition of “environmental refugees” has yet to be reached. Consequently, methodologies and estimates of persons potentially displaced due to environmental factors vary considerably. Despite this empirical uncertainty, various authors have proposed to extend legal protection under international law to include “environmental refugees”. It must be assessed whether such proposals are sound from a legal point of view. To this end, the first part of this study will examine existing international regimes and trends of state practice. It will also be determined, which of those regimes would provide the most adequate framework for EDP protection. In this context, a distinction will be made between protection abroad and protection within the country of origin. For the former aspect, instruments protecting refugees as such on the international and regional level are relevant. Moreover, forms of protection not limited to refugees, such as human rights conventions or temporary and complementary protection regimes will be considered. The analysis of the second aspect will focus on rules and practice of protection and assistance available to