Assistant Professor Farooq Sulehria (Department of Liberal Arts) has contributed a book chapter, ‘Pakistan’s climate migrants beyond mediatized fictions’, to the book titled, Environment, Climate Change and Migration in South Asia (Routledge).

Edited by Amit Ranjan,Rajesh Kharat and Pallaki Deka this book explores: ‘the challenges and inadequacies of governments and communities in protecting the environment as well as the disproportionate effect that climate change has on the poor and marginalized groups. The book also discusses the gendered experiences of climate-related migrations and policy measures which need to be implemented to counter forced displacements and environment degradation along with the legal and institutional resources which could help mitigate climate change and protect climate refugees’.

Book details: https://www.routledge.com/Environment-Climate-Change-and-Migration-in-South-Asia/Ranjan-Kharat-Deka/p/book/9781032344287

This chapter argues: Pakistan is not investing required financial resources to deal with climatic changes and related human migrations. Largely, Pakistan counts on international community. The international gaze, in turn, is often drawn to mediatized human catastrophes of immediate nature. Secondly, instead of introducing strategies and preparing the citizens to cope with climate challenges, worsening environmental crises are blamed on ‘arch enemy’ India: while floods during monsoon are described as ‘water terrorism’ by India.

Drawing on Thomas Homer-Dixon’s conceptualization of ‘environmental scarcity’ this chapter establishes a link between climate change, migration and conflict.