Refugees from Afghanistan, Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Yaman, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh live in roadside tents while awaiting work permits in Jakarta, Indonesia on June 19, 2018. Anton Raharjo / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
By Ambika Chawla
When the rains never arrived in the East African nation of Somalia in 2016, nor in 2017, hundreds of thousands of rural residents were forced to abandon their lands and livelihoods due to one of the most severe droughts in decades. Then, in 2019, from September to December, heavy rains led to severe flooding there, displacing hundreds of thousands of people from their homes in rural areas and towns in the districts of Belet Weyne, Baardheere and Berdale.
<p>These climate migrants traversed barren and dusty landscapes, or traveled through torrential rains, in search of food and shelter. Many ended up in refugee camps in urban areas such as <a href="https://www.voanews.com/africa/displaced-somalis-face-overcrowding-refugee-camps" target="_blank">Badbaado</a>, a sea of makeshift tents on the outskirts of Mogadishu that is now home to tens of thousands of internally displaced persons.</p><p>The challenges they face are profound, says Ben Mbaura, national emergency response and disaster risk reduction coordinator at the International Organization for Migration (IOM), including inter clan conflict, poor sanitation, limited education and insufficient access to food. On top of that, many "do not have the necessary skills to match labor market needs, which also results in high levels of unemployment and exclusion," Mbaura notes.</p><p>The response to internal displacement like this has long been to provide emergency or short-term assistance. In recent years, however, with so many internally displaced persons living in protracted displacement, humanitarian organizations have increasingly recognized the need to empower them to move toward greater self-reliance. As a result, in 2016 the U.N. and the government of Somalia created the Durable Solutions Initiative (DSI) as a way to introduce long-term solutions for internally displaced persons in Somalia. The DSI gives these people a voice in decision-making processes that shape their future — and offers a model for other cities that are, or soon will be, in similar circumstances.</p>
<h2>Fragile Cities</h2><p>Every year, millions of people around the world are forced to abandon their lands, livelihoods and communities due to the effects of climate change. And the rate of climate-induced migration is increasing — with most taking place in the form of rural-urban migration within countries.</p><p>According to <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/infographic/2018/03/19/groundswell---preparing-for-internal-climate-migration" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a recent World Bank report</a>, "internal climate migrants" could number more than 143 million by 2050, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and South Asia. If the past is any indication, most will be forced from their homes by extreme weather events. Others will move from rural areas to cities due to slow-onset climate-related events, such as desertification.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTEyOTA1OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzOTM5NDk1N30.dq2kf2AcPTR7BPhBYhVlJgizNw0liIX22fEc_v-Asek/img.jpg?width=980" id="e337a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="03c4461f093580db8cdd8abc19deef80" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1144" data-height="1027" />
Humanitarian experts predict that the current trajectory of climate change will displace millions of people in the Global South. Source: Kanta et al. 2018. Groundswell: Preparing for Internal Climate Migration. Washington, D.C.: The World Bank.
<p>Pablo Escribano, a specialist on migration and climate change in Latin America for the IOM, says this migration will create "urban hot spots" where displaced persons converge in search of shelter, food and jobs.</p><p>Climate migrants who arrive in cities are likely to move to informal settlements, and many of these hot spots will occur in <a href="http://edge.ensia.com/here-come-the-megacities/" target="_blank">rapidly expanding cities</a> in low- and middle-income countries with weak governance and limited capacities to provide social services and infrastructure.</p><p>"In Asia, recent estimates of the increase in sea-level rise have strong implications for cities like Jakarta, Bangkok and Dhaka," Escribano says.</p><p>In Latin America, he says, Rio de Janeiro, Lima, La Paz and Mexico City will experience migration pressure from sea-level rise, melting glaciers and other climate-change effects. "Fast-growing cities in Africa, such as Lagos, Luanda and Kinshasa are also considered to be city hot spots," he adds.</p><p>Urban development expert Robert Muggah has dubbed these urban settings as "fragile cities." As the co-founder and research and innovation director of the think tank Igarapé Institute in Brazil, Muggah developed 11 indicators that determine urban fragility, including crime, inequality, lack of access to services and climate change threats.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3dee58da6ff5a484bb551c95432f5e5a"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mwHcObM4Hys?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<p>Ani Dasgupta, global director for the Ross Center for Sustainable Cities at the World Resources Institute (WRI), says fast-growing cities face multiple threats that increase the vulnerability of new arrivals.</p><p>"As cities expand, many municipal governments are overburdened. They are not able to keep up with increasing demand for basic services, like housing, jobs, electricity and transport," he says. "The climate crisis is an additional challenge on top of this. Flooding, heat waves, water shortages and more powerful storms tend to affect new migrants and already vulnerable populations most severely."</p><h2>Move Toward Self-Reliance</h2><p>The goal of the DSI is to strengthen the ability of government at all levels — local, state and federal — to help internally displaced persons integrate into society. It has mobilized funding from donors such as the World Bank, U.N. agencies and the Peacebuilding Fund (the U.N.'s financial resource for supporting peace in areas experiencing or at risk of conflict) to support initiatives that allow internally displaced persons to present their ideas for community infrastructure projects along with strategies to become self-reliant.</p><p>Teresa Del Ministro, the DSI coordinator for Somalia, says the DSI is a response to a growing global awareness of the limitations of traditional humanitarian approaches to deal effectively with internally displaced persons. "With that trend increasing worldwide, it appeared that multi-stakeholder partnerships are needed at all levels," she says.</p><p>The DSI is considered particularly innovative because it lets internally displaced persons articulate the kinds of solutions they need to move toward self-reliance.</p><p>"A participatory, locally owned approach is one of the programming principles for the DSI," says Isabelle Peter, the DSI's coordination officer.</p><p>One example is the Midnimo I project supported by the Peacebuilding Fund with the IOM and UN-Habitat as partners.</p><p>With support from Midnimo I ("midnomo" means "unity" in Somali), climate migrants and other displaced persons in southern and central Somalia met with representatives of their host communities, along with city and national government officials, to develop creative solutions to the many challenges they face. Among other things, the initiative sought to help communities define and drive their own recovery — most prominently through community action plans (CAPs), documents that lay out local priorities for community-driven recovery.</p><p>As part of Midnimo I, the IOM trained Somali government representatives to engage displaced persons in visioning exercises to help them articulate their short-term needs and present ideas on strategies to move toward greater self-reliance.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTEyOTA2MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MzQ2NDM4MX0.x7nEuGS-X3lneYb82dC22PbWNUFUJrR9cL0a9N3x07o/img.jpg?width=980" id="3a7d8" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1d93d21ff0ddadaaf6d528aad7f3f7f5" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="572" data-height="360" />
Ali Hussein camp on the outskirts of Burao, Somaliland, is home to numerous families displaced by conflict and drought. Photo courtesy of Oxfam East Africa from Wikimedia, licensed under CC BY 2.0
<p>Midnimo I was implemented in the cities of Kismayo and Baidoa, home to more than 450,000 internally displaced persons.</p><p>"Together they would come up with priorities for infrastructure investments or other types of investments. If a project didn't have funding for these priorities, the government would convene other actors and ask for their support," says Del Ministro.</p><p>According to an <a href="https://www.un.org/peacebuilding/sites/www.un.org.peacebuilding/files/documents/somalia_2018_project_evaluation_mid-term.pdf" target="_blank">evaluation report by the IOM</a>, the Midnimo I project created short-term employment opportunities, led to the construction of community infrastructure projects and contributed to the establishment of a land commission and to improved relations between authorities and displaced communities. Nearly 350,000 people directly benefited from the Midnimo I project as a result of constructing or upgrading community-prioritized schools, hospitals, water sources, police stations, prisons, airports and more, according to the IOM's Mbaura.</p><h2>The DSI in Ethiopia</h2><p>The DSI also has been implemented in Ethiopia, where a drought <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/12/ethiopia-hit-by-worst-drought-in-decades" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">that began in 2015</a> left millions dependent upon emergency food aid. The government of Ethiopia, with support from U.N. agencies, governments, donor agencies and non-governmental organizations, launched its own DSI in December 2019. As in Somalia, the focus is on long-term self-reliance.</p><p>"The scale of the displacement surprised many in the international community, and there was recognition that collectively we needed to support Ethiopia," says Hélène Harroff Atrafi, the DSI coordinator in the U.N. Resident Coordinator's Office. "In doing so, we looked at international good practices, including in neighboring Somalia."</p><p>At this point, the governance structure for the DSI is being established with the government of Ethiopia in the lead. "We have agreed on the vision forward, we have brought together all of the partners who want to work together. Now the operational rollout must begin," says Atrafi.</p><p>In the Somali region, one of 10 regions in of Ethiopia, the DSI is now at the stage of detailing the options that internally displaced families have: urban and rural relocation, return to the location of origin, and potential integration in the settlements where the displaced individuals currently reside.</p>
<p>According to the World Bank report <a href="https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/846391522306665751/main-report" target="_blank">"Groundswell: Preparing for Internal </a><a href="https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/846391522306665751/main-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Climate </a><a href="https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/846391522306665751/main-report" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Migration,"</a> the number of climate migrants in Ethiopia could close to triple by 2050, with Addis Ababa set to become an urban hot spot for climate induced migration. Smaller cities, such as Jigjiga and Deri Dawa, are also expected to receive increasing waves of climate migrants.</p><p>In February 2020, Ethiopia ratified the <a href="https://www.unhcr.org/news/press/2020/2/5e468f7d4/unhcr-welcomes-ethiopias-ratification-kampala-convention.html" target="_blank">African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Africa</a>, a legally binding instrument for protecting internally displaced persons in Africa. There is hope this will bring greater awareness about the need to support innovative, participatory initiatives for internally displaced persons there.</p><h2>Looking Forward</h2><p>Around the world, fragile city governments can partner with international humanitarian organizations, NGOs, research institutions, the private sector, U.N. agencies and other city governments to strengthen their capacities to tackle challenges at the intersection of urbanization, climate and migration.</p><p>For the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC), a think tank based in Geneva, multi-stakeholder partnerships play a crucial role in gathering information about internally displaced persons.</p><p>"We start with the people affected — internally displaced persons and host communities — and from there, we build up the agenda, collaborating with national governments, U.N. agencies, NGOs, academia and research centers," says Pablo Ferrández, a research associate with the IDMC.</p><p>Andrew Fuys, senior director for global migration at the nonprofit Church World Service, says that one of the priorities for research is to identify how the risks climate migrants face are similar to, or differ from, those of other internally displaced persons in cities so that organizations can provide the appropriate services for climate migrants.</p>
<p>Del Ministro and Peter say the long-term success of the DSI in Somalia will depend on overcoming a number of challenges. Organizers will need to ensure there are sufficient resources for community-led initiatives, overcome obstacles to coordination, and strengthen the capacities of city governments.</p><p>"Stronger capacities are needed in human resources in city planning," Peter says. "There is a need to have financial resources available. Developing the skills and knowledge of people who are equipped to deal with challenges in cities is needed."</p><p>Oana Baloi, a program management consultant for UN-Habitat in Ethiopia, emphasizes the need for city governments to gain greater access to climate-related finance opportunities.</p><p>"Despite the well-designed programmatic approach to implement durable solutions, unless a climate change adaptation strategy is delivered at the regional and local levels, we may expect further climate change–induced displacement," says Baloi. "Accessing climate financing for large scale interventions to ensure adaptation and displacement prevention remains a challenge."</p><p>Ferrández says there is also a need for decentralization so towns and smaller cities receive adequate resources to support internally displaced persons.</p><p>"Bringing efforts to achieve durable solutions from the national to municipal level also means intervening beyond areas such as Baidoa, Kismayo and Mogadishu, where the international presence is strong, to secondary cities and rural areas," he says.</p><p>With the coming years, climate-induced migration to "urban hot spots" is likely to intensify. As it does, collaborations across sectors can help fragile city governments deliver a more effective humanitarian response in times of crisis while empowering internally displaced persons to play a central role in efforts to fully integrate into society. The hope is that, when climate migrants are given a voice in decision-making processes in fragile cities they can devise solutions that will lead to a more secure future not only for themselves and the cities in which they live, but for future generations.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://ensia.com/articles/climate-migrant-urban-refugee-idp-displacement-fragile-cities/" target="_blank">Ensia.</a></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Move of Rohingya Refugees Poses Environmental and Human Rights Concerns
18 December 2020
Editor's Pick
Rohingya refugees board a Bangladesh Navy ship to be transported to the island of Bhashan Char in Chittagong on December 4, 2020. AFP / Getty Images
On December 4, about 1,600 Rohingya traveled across the Bay of Bengal in seven navy boats from Chattogram to Bhasan Char. Bangladesh plans to move 100,000 families to the island.
<p>The move poses serious concerns, both with regard to the environment and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/human-rights">human rights</a>.</p><p>Located about 18.6 miles (30 km) from the mainland, Bhasan Char is low-lying and prone to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/flooding">flooding</a>. Therefore, it has been uninhabited. The island only formed in the past 20 years as a result of silt buildup. Bhasan Char rests at the confluence of three large rivers, the Brahmaputra, the Ganges and the Meghna River, which collectively bring rich deposits of silt to the bay.</p>
<p>Bhasan Char rests in the Bay of Bengal subject to frequent cyclones, at risk of intensifying as they circle in the Bay's funnel shape. On average, three to four storms form in the basin and Bhasan Char lies in the historical path of cyclones. This year, Category 5 cyclone Amphan, one of the strongest on record, formed in the Bay of Bengal. Cyclone Amphan, as Refugees International <a href="https://www.refugeesinternational.org/reports/2020/10/5/complex-road-to-recoverynbspcovid-19-cyclone-amphan-monsoon-flooding-collide-in-bangladesh-and-india" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a>, caused great devastation not far from Bhasan Char and such super cyclones are more likely in the future. </p><p>The move of Rohingya refugees also poses serious human rights concerns. The United Nations (UN) <a href="https://bangladesh.un.org/en/103285-press-statement" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">stated</a> it "has not been involved in preparations for this movement or the identification of refugees and has limited information on the overall relocation exercise." It added, "The United Nations takes this opportunity to highlight its longstanding position that Rohingya refugees must be able to make a free and informed decision about relocating to Bhasan Char based upon relevant, accurate and updated information."</p><p>The government asserts that the movements to the island were and will be voluntary. However, Human Rights Watch "<a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/12/03/bangladesh-halt-rohingya-relocations-remote-island" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">spoke with 12 families refugees who said their names were on the list, but that they had not willingly volunteered to relocate</a>."</p><p>One refugee told Human Rights Watch, "My name appeared on the list so now the CiC [Camp-in-Charge, camp authority] has threatened me, saying that since my name is there, I must go. He said, even if I die, they will take my body there [to Bhasan Char]. I don't want to go to that island."</p>
<p>Daniel Sullivan, Refugees International, told EcoWatch, "there are troubling indications that Rohingya 'volunteers' are being coerced or misled. When I visited the camps last year, refugees told me they believed – falsely – that they would receive money or gain Bangladeshi citizenship if they volunteered to move to Bhasan Char. Other groups have reported similar misinformation today and some people on the volunteer lists say they never agreed to be relocated."</p><p>Another refugee told Human Rights Watch that he put his name on the list because camp leaders told him that those on the list would be given priority to repatriate to Myanmar and be paid 5,000 taka (US$59). But he changed his mind about relocating when he heard that those currently being detained on the island are being held in "prison-like facilities" and don't have freedom of movement.</p><p>Freedom of movement is a key right upon which the UN insists, stating "refugees who choose to move to Bhasan Char should have basic rights and services on the island, which would include effective freedom of movement to and from the mainland, as well as access to education, health care, and livelihood opportunities."</p><p>Being sequestered on an island without freedom of movement recalls the situation of refugees imprisoned on Nauru in the Pacific.</p><p>The UN also stated that any relocations should be preceded by comprehensive technical assessments to "review the safety, feasibility and sustainability of Bhasan Char as a place for refugees to live." It continued, "the United Nations is prepared to proceed with the technical and protection assessments, if permitted by the Government."</p>
<p>Bangladesh states that it has spent $112 million fortifying embankments to counter any future flooding, building housing, schools, roads, hospitals, mosques and shelters in case of cyclones. The island will be able to house 100,000 people.</p><p>Yet refugees interviewed by Human Rights Watch say they are denied freedom of movement and have no access to sustainable livelihoods or education.</p><p>Sullivan, Refugees International told EcoWatch, "Serious questions remain unanswered about the physical safety of the island and the ability to provide adequate food, health, and protection services without proper assessments and planning with UN agencies and NGOs. Some of the 300 refugees already on the island have already reported abuse by authorities and have been unable to reunite with family in the main camps."</p><p>Sullivan states, "Bangladesh should allow safety and feasibility assessments by UN agencies and by human rights groups, as Refugees International, Fortify Rights, and other groups requested earlier this year. Without appropriate assessments and adequate information for refugees about the conditions on the island, the move is nothing short of a dangerous mass detention of the Rohingya people in violation of international human rights obligations."</p><p>The refugees were sent to Bhasan Char in early December were bussed up from Cox's Bazar in coastal Bangladesh where an estimated one million Rohingya refugees live. In August 2017 armed groups attacked military outposts in western Myanmar. Allegedly, the armed groups belonged to the Rohingya. The military of Buddhist majority Myanmar began a harsh crackdown in response. An estimated 700,000 Muslim Rohingya fled. About 300,000 had fled earlier waves of the ongoing persecution in Myanmar that started in 1978 and experienced an uptick in the 1990s.</p><p>A 1982 Citizenship Law deprives the Rohingya of citizenship. Then, in 2015, during the Obama-Biden administration, the Burmese government stripped Rohingya of temporary identification cards, leading to a forcible displacement to neighboring countries.</p><p>It remains to be seen if the new <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biden-administration">Biden Administration</a> will work to end the violence unleashed against the Rohingya in Myanmar and work to broker peace to facilitate their safe return to their home country. Biden's agenda acknowledges the situation and states, "the systematic discrimination and atrocities against Burma's Rohingya Muslim minority is abhorrent and undermines peace and stability."</p><p>On August 15, 2020, Antony Blinken tweeted: "Today marks 3 years since hundreds of thousands of Rohingya were driven from their homes in Burma. A Biden administration will work tirelessly to support justice for atrocities committed, as well as peace, security, and equal rights for the Rohingya as citizens of Burma." Blinken is now Biden's Secretary of State nominee.</p><p>While the move of Rohingya to Bhasan Char is troubling, the bigger Rohingya crisis also needs to be resolved. Sullivan of Refugees International states, "While the root causes and long-term solution to the Rohingya crisis lie in Myanmar and Bangladesh deserves great credit for hosting some million Rohingya refugees, the world cannot allow Bangladesh to pursue policies that unnecessarily endanger the Rohingya further."</p>
<p><em>Tina Gerhardt is an environmental journalist. She covers international climate negotiations, energy policy, sea level rise and related direct actions. Her work has been published by Grist, The Progressive, The Nation, Sierra and the Washington Monthly.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Westend61 / Getty Images
For many people, the holidays are rich with time-honored traditions like decorating the Christmas tree, lighting the menorah, caroling, cookie baking, and sipping from the unity cup. But there's another unofficial, official holiday tradition that spans all ages and beliefs and gives people across the world hope for a better tomorrow: the New Year's resolution.
<p>It's believed that ancient Babylonians were the <a href="https://www.cnet.com/health/the-history-of-new-years-resolutions-and-celebrations/#:~:text=4%2C000%20years%20ago%20in%20Babylon%20(around%202000%20B.C.)&text=Most%20historians%20believe%20Babylonians%20were,accordance%20with%20an%20agricultural%20year." target="_blank">first people to make New Year's resolutions</a> some 4,000 years ago. Over time, the popular practice shifted in scope from making promises to the gods about repaying debt to making promises to ourselves about self-improvement. Anyone who has ever made a New Year's resolution probably included something like get more sleep or be less stressed. And though it might not immediately come to mind when you brainstorm strategies for reaching your New Year's goals, it turns out that chamomile tea could be the answer for many of them. </p><p>If you've ever asked yourself why everyone is drinking chamomile tea, we've got the answer here. Read on to learn some of the reasons why this herbal beverage is all the rage.</p>
<p><em>Josh Hall has been a professional writer and storyteller for more than 15 years. His work on natural health and cannabis has appeared in Health, Shape, and Remedy Review.</em></p>
Benefits of Chamomile Tea
<p><strong>Sleep More Soundly</strong></p><p>Pick your grandmother's brain about the best way to fall asleep, and she might tell you to down a nice glass of warm milk. But if you consult with science, research shows that chamomile might be a better option. That's because it contains an antioxidant called apigenin, which can <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995283/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">promote sleepiness and reduce insomnia and other sleep problems</a>.</p><p>Two research studies even confirmed the power of chamomile throughout the day and before bed. In one of those studies, postpartum women who drank chamomile for two weeks <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26483209" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">experienced better sleep quality than the control group who didn't</a>. Another research effort measured how fast people could fall asleep. Those results illustrated that participants who consumed 270 milligrams of chamomile extract twice daily for 28 days <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3198755/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fell asleep 15 minutes faster than the control</a>. The chamomile group also had considerably fewer sleep disruptions. </p><p><strong>May Be Able to Keep Your Gut Healthy</strong></p><p>Though the following studies used rats as the subjects, research shows that chamomile can potentially play a beneficial role in digestive health. According to that research, the anti-inflammatory properties in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24463157" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">chamomile extract may be able to protect against diarrhea</a>. Additionally, chamomile may be an effective way to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4177631/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">stop the growth of bacteria in our stomachs that contribute to ulcers</a>.</p><p><strong>Reduces Stress and Anxiety</strong></p><p>Few things are more relaxing than curling up with a good cup of tea, so it's logical that chamomile tea can serve a stress reducer. While it lacks the potency of a pharmaceutical drug, long-term use of chamomile has been shown to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27912875" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">"significantly" reduce general anxiety disorders</a>. In general, chamomile can act almost like a sedative, and many people enjoy the tea because it puts them in a calm and relaxed state almost immediately. </p><p><strong>Boosts Immune Health</strong></p><p>Vitamin C and zinc are common over-the-counter supplements that people often turn to when they're hoping to avoid becoming sick. While scientists admit that more research must take place to prove chamomile's impact on preventing ailments like the common cold, the existing studies do show promise in this area. </p><p>One study had 14 participants drink five cups of the tea every day for two consecutive weeks. Throughout the study, researchers collected daily urine samples and tested the contents before and after the consumption of the tea. Drinking chamomile resulted in a significant increase in the levels of hippurate and glycine, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995283/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">both of which are known to increase antibacterial activity</a>. Inhaling steam from a pot of freshly brewed chamomile tea may also ease the symptoms of nasal congestion.</p><p><strong>Minimizes Menstrual Cramps</strong></p><p>This one may come as a surprise, particularly to readers who have tried every possible over-the-counter treatment to reduce period pain. Several research studies have proven that chamomile tea may be able to minimize the pain and cramps that occur during menstruation. Women in that same study also dealt with lower levels of anxiety that they typically felt because of menstrual cramps.</p><p><strong>Help Diabetes and Lower Blood Sugar</strong></p><p>For people with diabetes, regulating blood sugar levels can be a matter of life or death. And while chamomile will never replace prescription-strength drugs, it's believed that it can prevent an increase in blood sugar. A 2008 study on rats showed that chamomile could have a <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf8014365" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">moderate impact on the long-term risk of diabetes</a>.</p><p><strong>Might Improve Your Skin</strong></p><p>Ever wondered why there's been an influx of chamomile-infused cosmetic products? The reason why so many manufacturers now include chamomile in their lotions, soaps, and creams is because it <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5074766/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">acts as an anti-inflammatory on our skin</a>. That means it may be able to soothe the puffiness that plagues us as we age. Those same anti-inflammatory properties can be vital in restoring skin health after we've received a sunburn. </p><p>Before discarding your used chamomile tea bags, try chilling them and placing them over your eyes. Not only will this help with the puffiness, but it can drastically light the skin color around the eye.</p><p><strong>Help With Heart Health</strong></p><p>Some of the most beneficial antioxidants we put into our bodies are what are known as flavones, and chamomile tea is chock full of them. Flavones have the potential to lower both blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which, when elevated, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4814348/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">can lead to heart disease</a>.</p>Why Everyone Is Drinking Chamomile Tea
<p>Now that you know so much about the wonders of chamomile, it shouldn't come as a surprise why the tea is so popular with people of all ages. In addition to tasting great, chamomile offers up benefits that boost the health of body parts both inside and out. As you ponder your own New Year's resolutions, think about how healthy and natural vitamins, supplements, plants, and oils can help guide you on your own personal path to improvement. Happy New Year!</p>An Organic, Eco-Conscious Brand to Try
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By Tim Radford
Ethnic conflict linked to tragic episodes of civil war, waves of refugees and even the collapse of nation states could be made more likely by climate-related disasters.
A team of European scientists say they can demonstrate, "in a scientifically sound way," a link between civil violence based on ethnic divisions and episodes of drought, intense heat or other climate-linked weather extremes.
That climate change seems to be a factor in social collapse is now fairly firmly established. Researchers have identified evidence of prolonged drought that preceded the collapse of Assyrian and Bronze Age civilizations in prehistory.
And they have also made a connection between the worst drought in almost a thousand years in the Middle East and the continuing humanitarian tragedy of modern Syria.
Repeated Warnings
There have also been repeated warnings that, without concerted international action, global temperatures driven by rising greenhouse gas emissions could rise to make life almost intolerable in regions already increasingly insecure.
The latest finding carries lessons for a planet that has yet to confront the demands of climate change.
Researchers who looked at the patterns of political disturbance and climate-related events weren't especially concerned with climate change: They were looking for connections. And they found one: a demonstrable probability that inter-ethnic divisions could be brought to flashpoint by extended periods of drought.
They report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that in the study period of 1980 to 2010, almost a quarter of all armed conflict in ethnically-divided societies could be connected to extremes of heat or drought.
"Although we do not report evidence that climate-related disasters act as direct triggers of armed conflicts, the disruptive nature of these events seems to play out in ethnically-fractionalized societies in a particularly tragic way," they concluded.
"This observation has important implications for future security policies as several of the world's most conflict-prone regions—including North and Central Africa, as well as Central Asia—are exceptionally vulnerable to anthropogenic climate change and are characterized by deep ethnic divides."
The scientists matched data from the reinsurance group Munich Re—which for decades has been recording disaster-related economic damage on a national level—with records of armed conflict.
They then used a mathematical method of coincidence event analysis to see whether a pattern emerged. And even without any accounting for climate change, there it was: a connection between ethnic bloodshed and climate calamity.
Enhancing Risk
Study leader Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, scientific adviser at the Berlin think tank Climate Analytics and researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), said: "Climate disasters are not directly triggering conflict outbreak, but may enhance the risk of a conflict breaking out that is rooted in context-specific circumstances. As intuitive as this might seem, we can now show this in a scientifically sound way."
His co-author, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, director of PIK, said:
"Armed conflicts are among the biggest threats to people, killing some and forcing others to leave their home and maybe flee to far-away countries. Hence, identifying ethnic divide and natural disasters as enhancing destabilization risks is potentially quite relevant.
"Human-made climate change will clearly boost heatwaves and regional droughts. Our observations, combined with what we know about increasing climate-change impacts, can help security policy to focus on risk regions.
"So our study adds evidence of a very special co-benefit of climate stabilization: peace."