The Challenge | The Land Where Displaced People Settle

Characterize land cover/land use at informal settlements of displaced populations using NASA satellite datasets.

Team Captain

Many people migrate every year, many are forced to. There are a lot of negative and positive impacts in migration. One of the many negative impacts I am focusing on is contaminated water and insufficient groundwater supply. The solution I came up with is:

Captain Planet

In my opinion this is a good solution because You can’t manage something if you can’t control it, you can’t control it if you can’t measure it.


The types of migrants are:

• Environmentally motivated migrants

People who migrate because they have a choice.

• Environmentally forced migrant

Must move but have a choice when to.

• Environmental refugees

Must move and abruptly due to reason such as natural disasters and other problems.



Some of the impacts or effects that take place due to migration are:

Environmental impact

A. Negative


Clearing of large tracts of land for settlement causing a decrease in tree and particular tree species (e.g. for timber and oil palm); causing soil erosion (by sun, wind and water, resulting in physical degradation of the top soil

Disturbing natural water resources and pollution- I am focusing on this impact.

Health hazards

Dumping waste, mineral extraction and sand mining

Pit sawing and hunting

Decline in agricultural land and production hence food shortages and poor nutrition

Decrease in the quantity of wood for building and energy

Loss of biodiversity (esp. natural medicines and traditional domestic products


B. Positive

Transfer of swampland development and cultivation skills from refugees to host populations

Importation of improved plant materials form Sierra Leone

Exchange of plantation management skills for perennial crops) between refugees and host populations

Transfer of entrepreneurial skills from refugees to host populations

People’s increased consciousness


My slides are available on this website:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zsq32vmso6s88yw/8 - ...

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