The Environmental Impacts of Warehousing Refugees in Camps: A Case Study of Liberian Refugees at the Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana

The Environmental Impacts of Warehousing Refugees:
A Case Study of Liberian Refugees at the Buduburam Refugees Camp in Ghana
Jenkins Macedo
Dr. Stephen Healy,
Advisor/Assistant Professor
Department of Earth and Natural Sciences
Worcester State University
Worcester, MA
Presented at:
Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting 2011 in Seattle, WA
16 April 2011
10/24/2014

Abstract
Much of the literature on refugee warehousing and their impacts on the host country’s
environment assumes that refugees are exceptional resource degraders. The dominant
conceptualization of refugees’ impacts on the host country’s environment treats refugees
as actors with destructive behaviors rather than seeing the degradation as a result of
inappropriate government policies, inefficient humanitarian assistance, and the lack of
effective plan by host countries to foster durable solution. This study challenged these
assumptions through the use of a questionnaire directed at refugees at the Buduburam
refugee camp in Ghana. The questionnaires concern the patterns of environmental
resources use among refugees and was analyzed using SPSS version 17 to run regression
and correlation tests for items pertaining to resource use with those pertaining to
environmental degradation. We hypothesized that warehousing refugees in camps
significantly influenced their impacts on the local environment of the host country. We
also hypothesized that warehousing of refugees has a significant relationship with their
inability to locally integrate in the host county. The result suggests that warehousing of
refugees in camps (M= 2.55; SD = 0.969) significantly influence (F (2, 288) = 37. 687, P-Value
= (0.000)) the relationship between resource use (Agricultural activities M = 1.42;
SD = 0.495 and firewood use M = 1.60; SD = 0.490) and environmental degradation. The
evidence also indicates that there is a significant positive relationship (R (303) = 0.121,
P-Value of (0.036), Alpha (0.05) between warehousing refugees in organized camps (M =
2.58, SD = 0.975) and their inability to locally integrate in the host country (M = 1.88, SD
= 0.839).
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WHO ARE REFUGEES?
1951 United Nations Convention on the Protection of
Refugees:
A person, who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted on
account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social
group, or political opinion, is outside the country of their nationality, and is
unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail him or herself of the
protection of that country.
Excludes climate refugees/Environmental Refugees
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
Concept was Expanded in 1967 Protocols and by Regional
Conventions in Africa and Latin America to include:
Persons who had fled war or other violence in their home country.
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Background History the Buduburam Refugee Camp, Ghana
 Established in October, 1990.
United High Commissioner for Refugees and Government
of Ghana
 Current Refugee population: 30,000
 UNHCR terminated support 2003 and 2008.
Leadership
 Camp Manager
Appointed by the Ghana Refugees Board (GRB),
Christian Council of Ghana (CCG) and the
National Mobilization Program (MNP).
 Liberian Refugee Welfare Council (LRWC)
Appointed by the Camp Manager
Head-of-Heads (HOH)
Appointed by individual tribes
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Refugees’ Life at Buduburam
Lack of Clean Water Supply Poor Housing Poor Health Facilities
Security Issues Unemployment Education
Vegetables Garden Human Rights Activists
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Proposed Solutions to the Refugee Crisis
 Repatriation
 Local Integration
Resettlement
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Buduburam Refugee Camp
United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Oct., 1990
Ghana Refugee Board
45,000 Liberian refugees who fled the 14 years civil war (1989-
2003).
Area of the camp: 10 Square miles
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METHODOLOGY
Quantitative Research
Population
30,000 refugees settled at the
Buduburam Refugees Camp in
Ghana
Data Collection
Random Sampling
 248 participants (Ghana)
Instrumentation
 Questionnaire contained 40
questions (opened and closed-end
Two Research Assistants
(RAs) assisted in data
collection
Data Analysis
 SPSS was used to run
regression and correlations
tests
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Research Questions
1. Does warehousing refugees into organized camps have a significant
relationship with their lack of local integration?
2. Is there a significant relationship between resource use (Building Materials)
and demographic characteristics such as age, sex, and household income?
3. Does warehousing refugees significantly influence the relationship
between resource use and environmental degradation?
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DDataA ATnaAlys iAs &N RAesuLltsYSIS
1. Hypothesis
oHo: Warehousing refugees into organized camps do not have a significant relationship with their lack
of local integration?
oHI: Warehousing refugees into organized camps do have a significant relationship with their lack to
integrate locally. (Claim)
Test: Correlation
Test Statistics
Warehoused Refugees (M= 7.31, SD= 5.569)
•Lack of Local Integration (M= 3.62, SD= 1.119)
(R (253) = 0.292, P (0.000), and Alpha (0.01).
Decision
I reject the null hypothesis because the P-Value (0.000) is less than the Alpha Value (0.01).
 Interpretation
The evidence suggests that there is a positive relationship (R (253) = 0.292, P (0.000),
Alpha (0.01) between warehousing of refugees in camps (M = 7.31, SD = 5.569) and lack of
local integration (M = 3.62, SD = 0.1.119).
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2. Hypothesis
oHo: There is no relationship between resource use (Building Materials) and demographic
characteristics such as household income.
oH1: There is a relationship between resource use (Building Materials) and demographic
characteristics such as household income. (Claim)
Test: Correlation
Test Statistics
Building materials used M= 2.95; SD = 1.075
Household Income: M = 5.19; SD = 3.448)
P-Value of (0.029), (R (205) = 0.152), Alpha (0.05)
 Decision:
From the test statistics presented in the above results, I reject the null hypothesis because the
p-value of (0.029) is less than the Alpha value of (0.05). Therefore, I support the claim that
there is a significant relationship between the kinds of building materials that refugee use and their
household income.
 Interpretation:
The evidence suggests that there is a significant positive relationship (R (205) = 0.152, P-Value
of (0.029)) between the kinds of building materials refugee used (M = 2.95; SD = 1.075)
and demographic characteristics such as household income (M = 5.19; SD = 3.448).
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3 Hypothesis
Ho: Warehousing refugee does not influence the relationship between
resource use and environmental degradation.
H1: Warehousing refugee does influence the relationship resource use
and environmental degradation.
Test: Regression
Test Statistics
F (2, 288) = 37.687
P-Value = 0.000
Alpha = 0.05
Decision
I reject the null hypothesis.
Interpretation
•The evidence suggests that warehousing of refugees (M= 2.55; SD = 0.969)
significantly influenced (F (2, 288) = 37. 687, P-Value = (0.000)) the relationship
between resource use (Agricultural activities M = 1.42; SD = 0.495 and firewood
use M = 1.60; SD = 0.490) and environmental degradation.
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Conclusions
Warehousing refugees significantly influenced their inability to socially
interact and subsequently integrate in the local host communities, which causes
them to rely extremely of the local environment.
90.5% of the respondents answered that they have been on the refugee camp
for more than 10 years.
80% answered that their lack of local integration was due to not being socially
accepted in most local Ghanaian communities.
The lack of social interaction with the host community is facilitated by
language barriers, the Ghanaian economy, inappropriate social, government
policies and ineffective humanitarian assistance to the refugee population.
Another 95% stated that the reason for their lack of social interactions with the
host communities was related to the lack of programs for refugees and local
Ghanaian citizens to interact more frequently. There is a disconnect between the
refugee population at the camp and local Ghanaian citizens.
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Recommendations
 Refugee camps should not be permanent, but rather temporary.
 If refugees can’t be returned to their home countries, effective plans should be
developed in consultation with all stakeholders including the refugee population to find a
durable solution.
 UNHCR and partnered agencies MUST not abandon refugees as is the case with most
‘warehoused refugees.’
 Humanitarian assistances should be targeted towards the provision of skills through
education and economic empowerment through microfinance ventures or revolving
funds.
 Development Assisted Integration seems to be an effective mechanism to prepare
refugees, while they anticipate to either be locally integrated in the host country,
repatriate to their home countries or if possible resettled to a third country.
 UNHCR and partnered agencies should continue to support the most vulnerable
population in refugee settings (women, children, the elderly, those with either physical or
mental disabilities).
 Development assistance should be culturally specific and relevant to the refugee
population.
 Programs/projects to engage both the host and refugee communities should be
developed to promote social interactions, engagement and to minimize/reduce social
stigma against refugees and host communities.
 Refugees MUST be actively involved in all matters concerning their protection and
security.
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