The IOM's general meeting in November defined "climate refugees" in a broader sense to include people who have resettled within a country. The organization called for building a new international framework designed to support climate refugees separately from refugees who have been forced to leave their homes or countries because of war or to escape political persecution.

Massive funds are needed to save human lives and restore infrastructure.

Last year, the World Bank played a central role in establishing the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility. Sixteen countries in the Caribbean region joined the plan, under which countries are asked to pay insurance premiums of 200,000 dollars to 4.5 million dollars a year. When struck by a hurricane or other natural disasters, the countries will be entitled to receive up to 125 million dollars in insurance immediately after the events--even before actual damage has been verified. The system is designed to enable affected countries to deal swiftly with the problems.

A similar system currently is under consideration for the Asia-Pacific region.