'When we were children we had dreams, then we came to Dhaka to survive': urban stories connecting loss of wellbeing, displacement and (im)mobility

This article uses storytelling methodology to investigate the connections between urban climate-induced loss of wellbeing and (im)mobility in Bhola Slum, an informal settlement in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The settlement houses Internally Displaced People from the southern coast who built and named the slum after their home - Bhola Island. The storytelling sessions revealed that loss of belonging, identity, quality of life and social value produced in people a desire to return. Nostalgic storylines of home also shaped the narratives of the children born in the slum who often referred to the island as their home. Some women felt that the move had resulted in more liberty, but also claimed that it had increased the risk of social punishment and stigmatisation. Social stigma often extended from parents to children. More women than men reported feeling unsafe, depressed and anxious. Mental and physical ill health were both common consequences of the compromised living and working conditions of the slum. Loss of health (due to injuries or disease) damaged people's wellbeing and pushed already fragile families into a downward spiral with no escape. Few empirical studies investigate ‘trapped’ populations and non-economic losses and damages in urban environments. The insights gained from this work can therefore help safeguard vulnerable populations worldwide and build more robust climate policy frameworks

'I do not like her going to the shelter': Stories on gendered disaster (im)mobility and wellbeing loss in coastal Bangladesh

The literature body on cyclone strikes in Bangladesh suggests that people sometimes fail to evacuate, and that more women than men have died in past disasters. People's reasoning and decision-making leading up to their disaster (im)mobility are strongly embedded in social structures such as gender systems. Subjective non-evacuation behaviours are founded in collective understandings and reproductions of social values. People's perceptions around these values therefore offer important empirical evidence that helps us understand who, how and why some people end up immobile or ‘trapped’ when disaster strikes. This study builds on individual and collective unstructured people-centred storytelling sessions and discourse analysis. The storytelling study captured rich empirical insights around the notions of disaster (im)mobility, and their links to the existing power and gender systems. Three thematic areas were identified including; safe and unsafe spaces for women and men, female and male knowledge, and male and female experiences of ‘internal damages’, trauma and mental ill-health. The insightful storylines of socially immobilising attitudes can support building robust climate policy and DRR frameworks that better protect our most vulnerable people across the globe

Impacts of the Global Gag Rule on sexual and reproductive health and rights in the Global South: A scoping review

The Global Gag Rule is a United States policy that blocks global health funding to foreign non-governmental organisations if they engage in abortion-related activities. It has been implemented by every Republican administration since 1984 and remains in operation at the time of writing in its most stringent and extensive form. It has been criticised for its implications for women’s bodily autonomy, its censorship of non-governmental organisations and health professionals, and for its impact on the health of populations in affected countries. To capture the effects of the policy to date, we conducted a scoping review in April 2020. Forty-eight articles met our eligibility criteria, and were analysed thematically, noting the effects on: the operations of non-governmental organisations; maternal health; sexually transmitted infections; marginalised groups; reproductive rights. We found that the policy increased the abortion rate and had a negative impact on maternal health, STIs, and the health of marginalised groups. We conclude that the policy amounts to the neocolonial co-optation of sexual and reproductive health in the Global South to advance an ideological agenda in the Global North. We urge that the policy be repealed as part of the broader project of protecting and decolonising sexual and reproductive health globally

How do population movements fit within the framework of systemic risk?

Population movements are key elements shaping today's complex and interconnected societies. Movement of people underpins the circulation of capital, knowledge, ideas, culture, values and resources with systemic benefits but it also produces diverse risk implications. The varied and complex implications of human mobility (and immobility) are still poorly understood by existing systemic risk approaches. This literature review approaches human mobility from a more comprehensive and complex standpoint to understand how it fits within a wider framework of systemic risk. In this article, we explore the complementary ways in which movements matter for systemic risk considerations, namely as: 1) a dynamic force that shapes exposure, vulnerability and resilience to disasters across places and scales; 2) a feature and consequence of disasters that has the potential to amplify, extend and prolong the impacts of hazards, and 3) a lifeline for people and societies worldwide, whose disruption has significant implications on systemic risk globally. These considerations have important theoretical consequences for the integration of population movements in systemic risk frameworks, and they propose practical lessons learned for the disaster risk reduction arena. We conclude that human mobility should not be understood as a negative impact that must be prevented and mitigated but as a positive phenomenon which enablement and protection a will lead to positive resilience outcomes and the reduction of risks

Environmental migrants, climate ‘refugees’ and sun-seeking expats

The question of how migration patterns will be influenced by environmental and climate change has received much attention within policy and academic circles. This focus can be explained in part by fears voiced by an alarmist group of migration scholars regarding uncontrolled population movements over country borders at the hands of a changing climate. This chapter explores the undercurrents driving widespread interest in the interaction between climate change and migration. In so doing, it explores how narratives around migration have been shaped by the use of certain terminology or ways to define, theorise, facilitate and problematise the movement of people. Current understanding of the interactions between the environment and human migration are characterised by a high degree of complexity and uncertainty. A wide range of methods and theoretical frameworks have thus been developed that seek to expand our understanding of its dynamics. Despite methodological and conceptual advances within the field, we propose that future research and policy must consider the loaded nature of language and the ways in which terms such as ‘climate change’ and ‘migration’ are interpreted. Care must be taken to ensure that the development of actions and policy initiatives truly serve to protect and benefit affected people, whether they are on the move, have arrived in a new destination, or are immobile and want but are unable to move

Waiting for the wave, but missing the tide: Case studies of climate-related (im)mobility and health

Climate change amplifies health risks, including through the health impacts of climate-related displacement. Yet diverse mobility responses in a warming world can also provide a pathway for climate change adaptation. This article examines the connections between climatic and environmental change, human mobility and health. It presents case studies across three countries: Fiji, Bangladesh, and Burkina Faso. All case studies used qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews, storytelling, and group discussions. The Fiji case study focuses on relocation of a coastal village exposed to erosion, flooding and saltwater intrusion; it highlights self-reported health risks and opportunities following relocation. The Bangladesh case study includes seven sites that variously experience flooding, cyclones and riverbank erosion; while residents use migration and mobility as a coping strategy, there are associated health risks, particularly for those who feel trapped in new sites of residence. The case study from a village in Burkina Faso examines seasonal labour migration to the Ivory Coast and Mali during times of drought and reduced agricultural productivity, and discusses health risks for men who migrate and for women who remain in sending communities. These case studies illustrate that there is no consistent figure that represents a 'climate migrant', ‘climate refugee’, or ‘trapped’ person. Accordingly, we argue that where planetary health looks to highlight ‘waves’ of climate displacement, it may miss the ‘tide’ of slower onset climatic changes and smaller-scale and diverse forms of (im)mobility. However, even where climate-related mobility is broadly adaptive - e.g. providing opportunities for livelihood diversification, or migration away from environmental risks - there can be health risks and opportunities that are shaped by socio-political contexts, access to healthcare, altered food sources, and living and working conditions. Responsive solutions are required to protect and promote the health of mobile populations in a warming world

Stories of Loss and Healing: Connecting Non-Economic Losses and Damages with Gendered Wellbeing Erosion in the Asia-Pacific Region

It is well-known that the climatic impacts affect women and men differently. However, more empirical evidence illustrating how, where, when and who are needed to help address gendered vulnerability. Specifically, research investigating the connections between mental health, wellbeing, and climate change can foster responses to avert, minimise and address loss and damage impacts on vulnerable populations. Few studies explore climate-induced mental health impacts, although this is a crucial area for the conceptual framing of non-economic loss and damage. Declining mental health and wellbeing is at the core of non-economic losses taking place all over the world. The existing literature body recognises the disproportionate environmental impacts on women, this study explores non-economic loss related to mental health and wellbeing for women in the Global South. The article uses empirical storytelling and narratives gathered through field work conducted in Bangladesh, Fiji and Vanuatu. The research findings described how climate change risks and extreme weather events negatively impacts women’s mental health and wellbeing, while providing proactive recommendations to address the gendered mental health consequences of climate change

A Review of Estimating Population Exposure to Sea-Level Rise and the Relevance for Migration

This review analyses global or near-global estimates of population exposure to sea-level rise (SLR) and related hazards, followed by critically examining subsequent estimates of population migration due to this exposure. Our review identified 33 publications that provide global or near-global estimates of population exposure to SLR and associated hazards. They fall into three main categories of exposure, based on definitions in the publications: (i) the population impacted by specified levels of SLR; (ii) the number of people living in floodplains that are subject to coastal flood events with a specific return period; and (iii) the population living in low-elevation coastal zones (LECZs). Twenty of these 33 publications discuss connections between population migration and SLR. In our analysis of the exposure and migration data, we consider datasets, analytical methods, and the challenges of estimating exposure to SLR followed by potential human migration. We underscore the complex connections among SLR, exposure to its impacts, and migration. Human mobility to and from coastal areas is shaped by diverse socioeconomic, demographic, institutional, and political factors; there may be 'trapped' populations as well as those who prefer not to move for social, cultural, and political reasons; and migration can be delayed or forestalled through other adaptive measures. While global estimates of exposed and potentially migrating populations highlight the significant threats of SLR for populations living in low-lying areas at or near coastlines, further research is needed to understand the interactions among localised SLR and related hazards, social and political contexts, adaptation possibilities, and potential migration and (im)mobility decision-making

Correlating heatwaves and relative humidity with suicide (fatal intentional self-harm)

Empirical evidence suggests that the effects of anthropogenic climate change, and heat in particular, could have a significant impact on mental health. This article investigates the correlation between heatwaves and/or relative humidity and suicide (fatal intentional self-harm) on a global scale. The covariance between heat/humidity and suicide was modelled using a negative binomial Poisson regression with data from 60 countries between 1979-2016. Statistically significant increases and decreases in suicide were found, as well as many cases with no significant correlation. We found that relative humidity showed a more significant correlation with suicide compared to heatwaves and that both younger age groups and women seemed to be more significantly affected by changes in humidity and heatwave counts in comparison with the rest of the population. Further research is needed to provide a larger and more consistent basis for epidemiological studies; to understand better the connections among heat, humidity and mental health; and to explore in more detail which population groups are particularly impacted and why

‘Swim, swim and die at the beach’: family court and perpetrator induced trauma (CPIT) experiences of mothers in Brazil

Gender-based violence (GBV) and Domestic Violence (DV) are prevalent in Brazil. There are growing concerns globally regarding the weaponisation of the pseudo-concept ‘Parental Alienation’ (PA) in the family courts against women. Additionally, a lack of understanding of mothers’ family court and health-related experiences indicated a need to explore this topic further. A qualitative study was conducted with thirteen mothers who are victims of Domestic Violence and have been accused of PA. Mothers reported a range of harmful health experiences, delineated here under the conceptual framework of Court and Perpetrator Induced Trauma (CPIT). Six themes are presented, which encapsulate a range of harmful actions, behaviours and circumstances (ABCs) that surround these mothers and their responses to these ABCs. Multiple physical health conditions were reported as associated with family court proceedings. This included maternity problems, musculoskeletal, autoimmune, and respiratory conditions and a broad range of mental health implications including suicide and other trauma responses. Human rights violations, the weaponisation of ‘Parental Alienation’ and inherently misogynistic and oppressive justice systems in Brazil were also reported. Urgent measures and further research are now needed to investigate causal links between harm to health and the family courts and to strengthen human rights protection for women and child victims in Brazil and beyond