For many decades, there have been almost constant news reports of large groups of people displaced by wars and famine. In many cases, these refugees flee their native lands, cross borders and settle in camps run by the United Nations or a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO). A new type of refugee is emerging in this century, however; rather than fleeing war or persecution, these are refugees of ecological changes and challenges.

This is particularly true on the Horn of Africa; this region includes the nations of Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. While not geographically considered part of the Horn, Sudan neighbors this region and faces similar challenges as a result of climate disasters. These disasters, namely drought and resulting famine, are further exacerbated by long running ethnic conflicts and regional wars. This combination of natural and man-made trouble have pushed millions to leave their family lands for the hope of a more stable life elsewhere.

Currently, the UN and NGOs working in the field estimate that 10 million people worldwide have already become refugees due to climate change and natural disasters. Looking forward, though, an Oxford University professor, Norman Myers, who has been a leading scholar drawing attention to the climate refugee problem, estimates that by 2050 there will be more than 25 million refugees attributable to climate change. He predicts that climate will replace war and persecution as the leading cause of global displacement.
In many cases, the refugees are fleeing from an area that has been their home and their source of livelihood stretching back generations. Take the story of Rukiya Ali Abdirahman. She and her husband lived in a region of southern Somalia that was not hard hit by clan warfare. The couple had a small farm; growing food for themselves and selling the excess. Three years ago, however, the rainfall began to decrease and the crops failed. As a result, they have abandoned their home and have migrated to the refugee town of Dadaab, in northwest Kenya. There Rukiya makes mud bricks and her husband gets construction jobs when he can. “I would have been happy to stay on the farm and die there,” she told the AP. “We could have coped with the insecurity. But we couldn’t cope with not having anything to eat. That’s when we left.”
In addition to creating the problems that drive people to become refugees, climate and weather-related crises can make matters worse for existing refugees. In 2005, for instance, heavy rains and flooding in Kenya destroyed a refugee camp that housed 25,000 fleeing the Somali conflict.
To date, the UN has no comprehensive plan for dealing with climate refugees. In fact, the entire international community has been slow to address the problems or even acknowledge the existence of climate refugees. The international community must work to first, identify legitimate climate refugees and understand that their needs are different in many ways from those fleeing disasters or poverty. Certainly they’ll need the same basics: food, shelter and clean water but these new refugees will also likely need to learn new trades, as well. This issue deserves attention now, before a crisis makes the situation unmanageable.