And these are just a fraction of the world s 22 million refugees, a group of people which if gathered together in a single place would almost equal the population of Canada or Kenya. The spontaneous movement and displacement of large numbers of people may have significant impacts on the environment. Arriving in an alien situation, refugees face hunger, fatigue, humiliation and grief. Their first concern is to look after themselves, most often to find food and shelter. Trees are felled to provide support for rudimentary shelters.
Dead wood is collected to build a fire for warmth and as fuel for cooking.
With only a few families involved, the environmental impacts are unlikely to be too serious or long-lasting. With thousands of desperate people, however, the results can be disastrous for the environment. What is bad for the environment is ultimately bad for human welfare. Environmental problems exist throughout the world, but many reach an exaggerated scale where large numbers of people are forced together through a common sense of survival. Among the most significant problems associated with refugee-affected areas are deforestation, soil erosion, and depletion and pollution of water resources.