Humanity and environmental change
Jonathan Wilson
Before tackling this question it is important to note that I will be classifying certain phenomenon, most notably anthropogenic climate change as the cause of environmental change rather than environmental change itself. Furthermore, I will not be classifying the effects of natural disasters as environmental change as they generally (although not always) lead to short term, although often catastrophic, damage rather than long-term change. So, how does humanity’s response to environmental change compare to that of other species? I have identified three major responses to environmental change that a species can take. It can adapt to its altered environment (either genetically or behaviourally), migrate to a new region with an environment it is adapted to, or it can fail to respond and die out. In this essay I aim to demonstrate how these three ‘themes’ of response are also prevalent in humanity along with an almost uniquely human ability, the ability to manipulate our environment to meet our needs. Humans have migrated to escape unfavourable environmental change since prehistoric times and this strategy still continues in modern times. One of the most serious environmentally induced migrations in modern times was caused by the drought and associated famines that occurred in the horn of Africa in 2011 when seasonal rains failed and some claim it was the area’s ‘worst drought in 60 years’. 71 It was estimated to have affected over 10 million people 72 and led to 955,000 Somalis seeking refuge in Kenya, Ethiopia and Yemen. 73 However, human migration is not always caused by environmental factors. Drought is not the only reason for refugees fleeing Somali. Somali has been in a state of civil war since the collapse of its last stable government in 1991. Were there a solid central government in Mogadishu (Somalia’s capital) then those suffering due to the drought would be more likely to receive help within Somalia and so fewer people would be forced to seek help outside of Somalia by migrating.
Figure 1: The UNHCR Dadaat Refugee Camp, Kenya where thousands of Somalis have migrated to escape drought .
Figure 2: a map indicating the regions worst affected by the 2011 drought.
Similarly in Bangladesh due to a mixture of droughts and rising sea levels approximately 12-17 million people 74 have migrated from Bangladesh to India since the 1950s. This has resulted in widespread violence in certain areas due to resentment of recent migrants by local peoples (see
71 Source 17 72 Source 17 73 Source 16 74 Source 20
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