During the latest expert meeting held by the CABAR.asia analytical platform, the experts from four Central Asian countries (except Turkmenistan) discussed environmental migration in their countries.
The experts participating in this meeting were Nurzhamal Iminova, a researcher in the field of human rights, gender equality, and inclusion from Kazakhstan, Zoya Kretova, climate researcher, regional coordinator of the Kazakh-German University for the UNDP project “Climate Change and Resilience in Central Asia” from Kyrgyzstan; Sirojiddin Olimov, head of the Department of Internal and Environmental Migration at the State Migration Service of the Ministry of Labour, Migration, and Employment of the Republic of Tajikistan; and Professor Nargis Kosimova, Doctor of Sciences in Philology, head of the “Ecologist” public association from Uzbekistan.
Nurzhamal Iminova said that in Kazakhstan, as well as in other countries, there have been environmental migrants for a long time. She and her family had to move from the Nukus city in the Aral Sea region to Kazakhstan in the 1990s due to the deteriorating health conditions of family members.
“That is, I learned from my own experience what it is like to be an environmental migrant,” Iminova said.
The global organisations predict that by 2050, 216 million people will become environmental migrants. As for Kazakhstan, it is among those countries where the increase in annual temperatures is already felt.
“The increase in temperatures leads to glacial melting, desertification, mudflows, floods, and other disasters… Even an increase in the range of 5-20% in the near future. Thus, the mudflows will increase 10 times. This will threaten 156 cities and towns in Kazakhstan, including Almaty. We must understand that each of us can become an environmental migrant,” said Nurzhamal Iminova.
Even though the concept of “environmental migrant” has been sufficiently studied, Kazakhstan has not introduced the status of environmental migrant yet.
“Unlike, for example, the status of “kandas”. This status allows ethnic Kazakhs to receive a range of benefits, access to citizenship, and so on. That is, if we compare, an environmental migrant does not have the same benefits as the kandas,” the Kazakh expert said.
Climate researcher Zoya Kretova delivered a presentation based on World Bank research on the labour migration in Kyrgyzstan. Although the country’s legislation does not contain the term “environmental migration,” the expert discovered the indirect impact of climate change on the growth of labour migration in the regions of Kyrgyzstan.
She noted that the World Bank conducted research based on questionnaires and surveys distributed to the population and discovered a direct relationship between worsening climatic conditions, droughts, mudflows, landslides, and an increase in the outflow of the population to labour migration.
“In general, in addition to my own data, the World Bank conducted a survey, which demonstrated the same conclusions; when they surveyed the population, they asked – have weather conditions affected your family over the past 10 years? And we see positive responses. Again, the most positive responses are gathered in Naryn and Jalal-Abad. Naryn area is mainly known for the widespread livestock farming here. That is, people here are directly connected, and accordingly, this causes huge losses because there is no food supply, there is no way to prepare food supply for the coming winter; in addition, a cold winter also affects their lifestyle, their livelihoods.
Of course, people react very strongly, they say that, of course, the weather affects them very much, their lives are affected,” said an expert from Kyrgyzstan.
She noted that local environmental disasters such as mudslides and floods occur annually in Kyrgyzstan. The Ministry of Emergency Situations has a specific protocol for the temporary evacuation of the population until the consequences are eliminated, that is, until the location becomes safe.
“Again, this can be considered as migration but it is internal and temporary migration. Of course, some programs allow people to leave dangerous areas. However, again, this is very difficult because people simply do not want, as a rule, to leave their native places, where their ancestors lived, due to traditions,” she said.
In Tajikistan, unlike neighbouring countries, environmental migrants appeared at the beginning of 2000, said Sirojiddin Olimov, head of the Department of Internal and Environmental Migration at the State Migration Service of the Ministry of Labour, Migration, and Employment of the Republic of Tajikistan. Since then, the term and status have existed officially.
From 2002 till now, 72 thousand families have been relocated from dangerous zones to safer places. Since Tajikistan is a mountainous country, 93% of which is occupied by mountains, more than 1,200 locations in the country have been identified as places under environmental threat. The main dangers for the population are mudflows, landslides, floods, and earthquakes since the country is located in a high seismic intensity territory, he noted.
According to Olimov, the relocation of environmental migrants in Tajikistan is carried out comprehensively. The status of environmental migrants in Tajikistan is determined by several ministries: the Ministry of Labour, Migration, and Employment, the Migration Service, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Main Department of Geology, and others. Almost all ministries are involved, he emphasised.
“The Department of Geology determines these [dangerous] places; the Ministry of Emergency Situations gives the go-ahead; then, the Migration Service carries out all other activities. In our 48 districts, from 25 to 48 villages have such environmental migrants. Of course, as Zoya said, it is difficult for people to adapt to a new place. We also have this issue,” Olimov said.
The Tajik expert also said that there are planned flood zones in the country, for example, the territory of the Rogun Hydropower Plant, from where people are being resettled to other places due to the reservoir construction.
“We have to relocate them too. People have been living there for years, centuries. This is very difficult for them,” he said.
Olimov spoke about how new places of residence are prepared for the relocated people, noting that, according to the government’s instructions, the necessary infrastructure is installed in resettlement places.
“Where the government allows it, where the lands are distributed, where they provide land for new housing, first, we open a healthcare facility. Then, the power supply and roads are built. The state and others are helping,” he said.
This year, a decree on the resettlement of 525 people within three years was signed. The government also assists in relocating environmental migrants from mountainous areas to plains.
“The Migration Service is helping them. It helps to take them to a new place, always helps with transportation. It provides loans to them. There are interest-free loans, there are preferential ones, and the state helps. In addition, the migration service allocates 5 thousand somoni to each family, that is, the head of the family. It is $500 now but it used to be $1,200 in the 2000s. Now, the exchange rate is changing rapidly, so now, it is $500 for basic needs,” said the Tajik expert.
Sometimes, it is very difficult to persuade people to leave their homes, the expert emphasised. Their department is carrying out explanatory work.
“It is very difficult. And God forbid you all see this. This is not the case to be happy if I carried out, for example, this order. I sent people from one place to another, although those are good places there but people have been living in their native lands for centuries. They rarely understand that it has become dangerous for their lives. However, when the Ministry of Emergency Situations and Geology Department actually show that within a year, for example, their land is no longer good, they understand it. There are also people who do not want to understand until they see this [with their own eyes], they would not leave… We have 93% of the mountain, which is a very, very large share,” said Sirojiddin Olimov.
An expert from Uzbekistan Nargis Kosimova said that, unfortunately, statistics on environmental migration are not yet kept in any of the ministries in Uzbekistan. The country is not paying much attention to this yet.
Although, according to her, the consequences of climate change for Uzbekistan could be much more dangerous than for other countries. 25% of the economy and workforce are engaged in agriculture and this sector is hit hardest by global climate change. With the negative impact of these processes, external and internal migration may increase.
According to Kosimova, several environmental problems in Uzbekistan affect environmental migration and people’s lives and health.
“This, as everyone knows, is the Aral Sea drying up. The Aral Sea region, which includes the Republic of Karakalpakstan and the Khorezm region, whose territories are large, occupies one-third of the country’s territory. The depletion of water resources in the region, caused by the construction of irrigation systems, has led to serious environmental consequences. The reduction in the Aral Sea area has led to high levels of soil salinisation, dust and salt storms, and deterioration of air quality, which threatens not only the Aral Sea region residents’ health but also the health of other region residents. The winds carry salt dust throughout the country and neighbouring countries,” she said.
The expert considers land desertification a big problem for people.
“Although this is not made public but since I am working directly on environmental problems, I found these statistics. In Uzbekistan, desertification affects more than 10 thousand hectares of land annually. Climate change is leading to increased frequency and strength of winds. Naturally, this leads to the loss of soil fertility. Because of this, people leave these lands and look for new places to live, where there is water, of course,” noted Nargis Kosimova.
Industrialisation and lack of resources for environmental control led to air pollution. Now, in the capital of the country, the suburbs, and regions, the situation with air quality is getting worse. All this, naturally, makes people leave, she noted.
Research conducted by Kosimova among women in Karakalpakstan and the Jizzakh region revealed that “many women are ready now to leave their lands, where their ancestors lived for centuries, due to lack of water, due to soil degradation. In some villages, some houses are abandoned already. People just started leaving their lands”.
Due to droughts, low incomes, and the inability to work in agriculture, the number of labour migrants who leave for Kazakhstan, Russia, South Korea is growing, and now, some already go to Europe.
“Mainly, people leave from the Aral Sea region; more than 400 thousand people have left there for Kazakhstan since 2015; these were ethnic Kazakhs. A public fund was created in Kazakhstan – the Centre for Support of Environmental Migrants from Uzbekistan, which contributed to this process. Unfortunately, there is no such Centre in Uzbekistan, Kosimova noted.
“Ethnic Kazakhs left for Kazakhstan and Uzbeks, Karakalpaks began to move en masse to the Tashkent region, the city of Angren, where they mined coal and uranium. The city has grown,” she said.
Now, the resettlement from the Fergana Valley begins. Nargis Kosimova said that last year, they also conducted a survey among the population of this valley in villages that border Kyrgyzstan.
“Now, people are quite pessimistic there; they said that due to lack of water, young people are leaving the places where their ancestors lived. It is no longer possible to work in farming and agriculture due to a lack of water. Basically, everyone moves closer to the Tashkent region because the climate there is milder and there is water there for now. The population of the Tashkent region has increased sharply in recent years,” she said.
The expert from Uzbekistan said that the government is doing a lot. For example, huge funds are allocated to the Aral Sea region. A lot of money was allocated for water supply in Muynak city. A large airport was built there and a lot is being done to prevent people from leaving their homes.
“There was already the third event that has been carried out to plant the bottom of the dried sea with saxaul and there are already good results. In some areas where saxaul forests were planted, wildlife, wild boars, hares, foxes, and wolves have already appeared. This also reduces the number of dust storms. The country pays special attention to saving water and introducing new irrigation technologies; a moratorium has been introduced on the extraction of gravel in river beds to prevent a decrease in river waters. The President of the country also adopted a decree on concreting the banks of canals and rivers. The country is now doing a lot to prevent the consequences of climate change and adapt to new conditions,” said Nargis Kosimova.
However, she drew attention once again to the fact that the country does not yet keep statistics and does not pay much attention to environmental migrants. In her opinion, research should be conducted to find out where and how environmental migrants appear and to which regions they move.
Other experts also spoke about the work being done in their countries, both by governments and NGOs, to help environmental migrants adapt.
They also proposed their recommendations on how to improve the situation.
Learn more about the expert recommendations and watch the recording of the meeting here.