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Cited by 26Transboundary Water Resource ManagementEnvironmental Impact and SustainabilityWater-Energy-Food Nexus Studies

Food demand displaced by global refugee migration influences water use in already water stressed countries

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Bertassello, Leonardo, Müller, Marc F., Wiechman, Adam, Penny, Gopal, Tuninetti, Marta, Müller-Itten, Michèle C.·2023·Nature Communications
DOI 10.1038/s41467-023-38117-0PMC PMC10205736
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Abstract

Millions of people displaced by conflicts have found refuge in water-scarce countries, where their perceived effect on water availability has shaped local water security discourses. Using an annual global data set, we explain the effects of refugee migrations on the host countries’ water stress through the food demand displaced by refugees and the water necessary to produce that food. The water footprint of refugee displacement increased by nearly 75% globally between 2005 and 2016. Although minimal in most countries, implications can be severe in countries already facing severe water stress. For example, refugees may have contributed up to 75 percentage points to water stress in Jordan. While water considerations should not, alone, determine trade and migration policy, we find that small changes to current international food supply flows and refugee resettlement procedures can potentially ease the effect of refugee displacement on water stress in water-vulnerable countries.

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  • Migration and displacement under climate-induced water stress represent a core empirical domain within climate security and governance research because population movement links environmental pressures to measurable institutional strain.

    “Migration and displacement under climate-induced water stress represent a core empirical domain within climate security and governance research because population movement links environmental pressures to measurable institutional strain (Bertassello et al., 2023).”

    From Climate Security, Water Governance, and Resilience How Climate-Induced Water Stress and Migration Challenge State Capacity (2026) · cites this paper as Bertassello et al., 2023

    The Introduction describes conflict-driven refugee migration into already water-stressed countries and identifies overburdened local infrastructure as a possible water-security consequence. The paper measures effects on host-country water stress, not institutional strain, and does not establish that the migration was induced by climate-related water stress or that it is a core domain of climate-security research. No page numbers are provided in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Bertassello, L., Müller, M. F., Wiechman, A., Penny, G., Tuninetti, M., & Müller-Itten, M. C.
Affiliations
  • University of Notre Dame (US)
  • Politecnico di Torino (IT)
Corresponding author
Müller, Marc F.
ORCID
Venue
Nature Communications
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2023-05-23
Volume
14
Issue
1
Pages
2706-2706
ISSN
2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/s41467-023-38117-0
PMC
PMC10205736
OpenAlex
W4377940575
Cited by
26
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 4
FWCI
8.94
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Nature Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Research Square (acceptedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PORTO@Iris (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
National Science Foundation (ICER 1824951, EAR 214296)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Transboundary Water Resource Management
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Environmental Engineering › Environmental Impact and Sustainability
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Water-Energy-Food Nexus Studies
Keywords
refugee migration, water stress, water footprint, food demand, water security, water scarcity, refugee resettlement, international migration policy, Jordan
MeSH terms
Dehydration, Food, Head, Humans, Public Policy, Refugees

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