Climate Change-Induced Displacement and Girls’ Access to Education in Honduras

• In Event: The Intersection of Migration and Peacebuilding: Perspectives from Colombia, Venezuela, and Honduras

Proposal

Climate change poses manifold threats, from destroying ecosystems to driving climate change-induced displacement and migration—an umbrella term for the various forms of human mobility associated with a changing climate (Nielsen & Allen, 2021). The high intensity and frequency of climate disasters in some parts of the world have been associated with climate change (Acevedo & Novta, 2017). Just in Latin America, 17 million people could be internally displaced due to climate change by 2050 (Rigaud et al., 2018).
Honduras is among the most vulnerable countries to climate change-induced displacement in Latin America given its geographical location (Fromm et al., 2022). Just in 2020, almost 10 percent of the population was displaced (Fromm et al., 2022). These disasters, on top of the conflict, gang violence, and poverty are driving migration in Honduras and across borders in Central America (Angarita-Cañas, 2020; Pegram & Oakes, 2017). Hurricane Iota and Tropical Storm Eta hit Honduras in November 2020 displacing thousands of people during the COVID-19 pandemic (Fromm et al., 2022). Research on climate displacement has found that climate displacement, however, disproportionately affects women and girls. For example, girls are more likely to be held responsible for fetching water in the event of a drought, having less time to attend school. This paper examines how the access to education of girls in Honduras is impacted when they are displaced by climate disasters and in a context already hit by violence perpetrated by gang violence and drug trafficking.
Based on twenty-five semi-structured in-person interviews conducted in 2023 with members of families displaced due to the disasters Eta and Iota; representatives of non-governmental organizations who supported victims; and school administrators and teachers in schools who were severely impacted by the disasters, this qualitative study uncovers specific barriers girl climate migrants may be confronting to access education. In addition, it found that many of the areas where people displaced relocated are controlled by the maras, the Honduran gangs. This paper found that in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, climate disasters and gang violence are intertwined as families may flee their homes to prevent the maras recruit their children. The disaster deepens the socioeconomic challenges families face, which simultaneously makes children more vulnerable to joining the maras to help their parents and siblings cope with poverty. Ultimately, children displaced may end up dropping out of school as they migrate or as they enter the maras. Climate disasters drive displacement and escalate violence and poverty.
This study is framed by Kimberlé Crenshaw’s intersectionality and Martha Nussbaum’s approach to capabilities theory. The intersection of being a climate migrant with gender and socioeconomic background can create exacerbated challenges for certain people to access education. The capabilities approach has helped to identify limitations and opportunities girl climate migrants encounter. The interviews consider questions such as how climate migrants confront educational challenges posed by displacement and relocation, and what disaster response mechanisms have they had access to. This study contributes to closing the gap in how climate induced-displacement intersects with violence, conflict, education, and gender.

Author

• Sara M. Pan Algarra, Columbia University Teachers College