Following a talk for the Underground organisation at Vassar College in September 2020, in which I gave a presentation on the links between modern slavery/human trafficking and the environment, I have complied a list of key resources which were personally useful to myself when learning to understand the connected nature of these social and ecological issues.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of texts around these topics in relation to the current study of modern slavery, however, they are the texts which I consider to have been the extremely useful during my education around the modern slavery-environment nexus.
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This seminal work is an interesting narrative approach into understanding the varied sectors which heavily subject workers to conditions of modern slavery, whilst also leading to the degradation of the environment. Several sectors are explored including the production of shrimp, mining, and deforestation. The book also makes the first attempt to assess the contribution of modern slavery to the release of emissions impacting climate change. Whilst some of the figures around carbon dioxide release may need refinement with further study, Bales outlines the connections between modern slavery and the environment in a seminal work which has started the further study of these intersections.
The Climate Change-Human Trafficking Nexus
International Organization for Migration (2016)
Report is accessible here.
This short report published by the IOM explores the key short- and long-term climate change impacts and the effects that they may lead to, around the increased risk of human trafficking/modern slavery. A number of specific examples of these impacts are provided for the Asia-Pacific region highlighting the impacts of tsunamis, cyclones, and drought in a number of countries across the region. Several interventions are to mitigate the risk of the human trafficking-climate change nexus are noted in regards to the wider context of natural hazards, with examples of these actions being implemented by the IOM in such cases. The report therefore provides a region-specific view (the report was produced by members of the IOM Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific) but parallels can be drawn to other geographical localities, and similar assessments for those regions would be a helpful resource in the future.
Modern slavery, environmental degradation and climate change: Fisheries, field, forests and factories
David Brown, Doreen Boyd, Katherine Brickell, Chris Ives, Nithya Natarajan & Laurie Parsons (2019)
Available via Open Access here.
Brown et al. have synthesised much of the grey and academic literature that is related to the modern slavery-environmental degradation nexus. The cyclical connections between modern slavery and the environment have been explored, and the connection to climate change has also been highlighted. Their work is also helpfully categorised into four main sectors which explore the literature related to a number of sectors, including: fisheries (including land-based processing), forests (addressing deforestation and oil palm), factories (with an extensive look at brick-making), and fields (assessing agriculture and the connections which can be made in this sector). This academic publication was one of the first addressing these links, and will hopefully be followed by other assessments in the near future which explore some of these topics further.
This paper is based on an original report which was produced by the Rights Lab and Royal Holloway in collaboration with the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner (IASC) which can be accessed here.
Perpetrators of modern slavery are devastating our environment too
Nick Grono (2015)
The article was originally published in The Guardian 13th November 2015, accessible here.
Nick Grono is the CEO of antislavery organisation The Freedom Fund. In this article he outlines the connections between environmental degradation and how this leads to the increased vulnerability of people, leading to situations of exploitation. A number of examples are provided looking at brick kilns, quarries, fishing, and logging (with additional resources provided). The article calls for further collaboration between antislavery and environmental organisations in an effort to address these complex intersections.
Whilst this article is now several years old, the points made are still relevant. Collaboration between antislavery and environmental stakeholders are still limited, and this is something which research should seek to engage with further moving forward.
Blood Bricks: Untold Stories of Modern Slavery and Climate Change from Cambodia
Katherine Brickell, Laurie Parsons, Nithya Natarajan & Sopheak Chann (2018)
Report is accessible here.
The Blood Bricks project based at Royal Holloway looked to apply a mix-methods approach with in-country fieldwork to understand the connections between modern slavery and climate change within the Cambodian brick-manufacturing sector. The report takes an interesting approach combining interviews, sector-wide mapping, and photography to explore those connections. Drought has been shown to lead to crop failures, which push people from rural environments into urban areas where global economies have seen booming development in the construction sector with many outside investors requiring resources. The bricks produced are often connected to those who have been forcibly displaced from their agricultural land and are now facing exploitative working practices in brick kilns. This study really helps to understand the complexities of the supply chain and movement into situations of vulnerabilities which face people.
Royal Holloway now have a follow-up project which is exploring more of these ideas of globalisation, linking trade, emissions and climate policy between Cambodia and Bangladesh to the UK supply lead by Laurie Parsons (you can read more about this project here). I would also recommend exploring the academic publications which have been produced following the initial publication of the report by Royal Holloway. A list of those publications are available on the project website.
Modern slavery risks set to rise as number of climate migrants surge: Human Rights Outlook 2019
Will Nichols (2019)
The article was originally published on the Verisk Maplecroft on 25th September 2019, accessible here.
This article was a recent find which explores the connection between migration and modern slavery risk which is expected to be driven in the future by the increased effects of climate change which are being disproportionately felt by communities living in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America. Whilst Verisk Maplecroft take a supply chains approach, the article does highlight nations with high risk of modern slavery and some of the environmental causes associated with these issues such as drought, water scarcity, and flooding etc. Several countries are noted as potential hotspots where climate migrants may originate from and thus where the vulnerability to modern slavery may be a priority for research in the future around these issues.
A video from their report is also linked below which explores the issues discussed in the article. A webinar recording is also included on the site which has a deeper-dive into the research findings contained in the report.
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I hope you find these resources useful and I will update the article as I come across other key texts which I think are important in the development of the study of the modern slavery-environment nexus.
If you come across other resources not on the list which you have found extremely useful which are linked to this topic please share in the comments.
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