by Daniel Silva y Poveda, IOM Madagascar Chief of Mission
Nature is essential to Madagascar’s identity. Mention the country and it will undoubtedly evoke discussions about its wildlife, natural richness or unique flora. Madagascar’s unique biodiversity is shaped by its origins: the prehistoric break-up of the Gondwana’s supercontinents some 165 million years ago.
Yet, Madagascar’s environment is gravely imperiled. The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) reports that Madagascar has already lost 80 per cent of its natural forest cover and continues to lose an estimated 200,000 hectares annually to deforestation. If forests continue to shrink at such a fast pace, all of Madagascar’s forests could be lost within the next 40 years.
Supporting the Mongolian National Emergency Management Agency to Improve Disaster and Climate-Change Preparedness
in Rural Mongolia
Agriculture, namely livestock husbandry, is a key sector of Mongolian economy, accounting for more than 30 per cent of GDP and approximately one-third of jobs in the country. Mongolian rural families are typically herders and have maintained their traditional pastoral practices of herding for centuries. Climate hazards such as dzuds have always been a risk factor present within the Mongolian herder lifestyle. A unique cyclical, slow onset disaster to Mongolia, a dzud consists of a summer drought followed by a deterioration of the weather conditions in winter and spring during which shortage of pasture and water leads to the large-scale death of livestock. As one herder from Khuvgsul aimag (province) said, ‘dzuds have always been part of our life’.
Rural life in Mongolia is dependent on nature and the environment. Even though herders are experienced in strategies to prepare and overcome these natural hardships through their tradition and customs, in recent decades the climate of Mongolia has changed dramatically, outstripping herder’s adaptive capacity. These changes in climate have brought desertification, decreasing availability of water sources and disappearances of grass on traditional pasture lands. They are threatening the traditional way of livestock breeding on which most of rural Mongolia relies. In 2015 and 2016, a severe dzud destroyed almost 80 per cent of Mongolia’s wheat crop and fodder, and affected 41 per cent of Mongolia’s rural herder population', explains Mr. Badral Tuvshin, the head of the Mongolian National Emergency Management Agency. In part, it is these increased incidences of dzuds that are forcing herders to travel greater distances in search of better pasture or that are drawing rural populations to migrate to urban centers. The volume of this unplanned migration from rural to urban areas is now contributing to overcrowding and environmental damage in urban areas.
In response to the increasing impact of climate change in Mongolia, the IOM Mongolia team, supported by the IOM Development Fund, has started a project aimed at using IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) tool - normally used for fast-paced emergency situations - to monitor population movements caused by slow onset disasters and climate change. Working with the Mongolian government’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the 18 month project aims to build the capacity of NEMA to track climate change and disaster-related migration to enable an improved and better coordinated response. Mr. Pär Liljert, Chief of Mission and Special Envoy of the Director General to China and Mongolia, explains, “this project is assisting the Government to collect evidence and data on current migration flows and needs at soum (district) level, which will serve as the basis for a Plan of Action to address climate change and disaster-related migration in Mongolia.”
The project is also seeking to address existing data gaps and challenges. Whilst Mongolia has a good registry system in general, accurate monitoring of people’s movement in the world's most sparsely populated country is difficult. Recently, during field testing of DTM by a joint team of IOM and NEMA, one local soum officer said, "We found DTM is a useful tool not only for disaster preparedness plan but it will give positive impacts in rural development actions too, such as when there is a big flow of seasonal movement of workers, students and others in rural areas of Mongolia”. This project has been developed and implemented with the support of Australian Volunteers International.
Assessing the Climate Change, Livelihood, Migration and Conflict Nexus
in the Lake Chad Basin
Since 2009, the Lake Chad Basin (LCB) has been the theatre of major terror attacks, abuses and kidnappings perpetrated by the insurgency group Boko Haram causing the displacement of over 2 million people throughout the region. In 2015, at COP21, Nigerian President Mohamadou Buhari claimed that an estimated 5 million people had been displaced due to climate change throughout the Lake Chad Basin, and that this displacement and the vulnerabilities surrounding it were one of the root cause of the Boko Haram crisis.
Lake Chad is the primary water body for land-locked Chad and Niger as well as an important source of livelihood for the estimated 246 million inhabitants of the Lake Chad Basin. In the 1920s the Lake spanned over 25’000 square kilometers. In 2015, the lake covered a mere 2’500 square kilometers. The population around the Lake has continued to grow steadily, with the population doubling within 26 years, thus causing an additional strain on the decreasing resources and livelihood opportunities provided by the Lake.
In an effort to support the governments of Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria in proposing adaptation and mitigation strategies to address the underlying causes of this crisis, the UN Migration Agency (IOM) across these four countries have partnered to conduct a study on the link between climate change, livelihoods, migration and conflict. This study consists of two phases: a desk research phase to collect existing data and exchange with key informants, followed by the use of the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) tool to gather quantitative data through household surveys and focus group discussions on climate induced displacement in the region.
This 12-month long project will culminate in a final report, presenting the study’s findings and both policy, and humanitarian and development recommendations. The report will be presented at a meeting in the Lake Chad region planned for October 2018. This project is funded by the IOM Development Fund (IDF).
Building Capacity on Planned Relocation in Viet Nam
Viet Nam is highly exposed to natural disasters, and several regions experience frequent flooding, landslides, and cyclones, with significant impacts on human security, livelihoods and assets. Planned relocation of communities at risk forms part of the response by the Government of Viet Nam to reduce communities’ disaster risk and increase resilience and quality of life in rural areas. According to the Department of Cooperatives and Rural Development in Ha Noi, more than 71,000 households living in areas at high-risk have been supported by the Government (Decision No. 1776/2012/QĐ-TTg, 2015) to relocate to safer areas between 2006 and 2013, and another 32,100 households were expected to be relocated between 2013 and 2015. In the context of climate change and expected increases to the frequency and severity of extreme events, it is important to explore and understand the benefits and challenges of planned relocation as an adaptive response.
In 2018, IOM Viet Nam and the Institute of Sociology (IOS), Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, released a new report: ‘Planned Relocation in the Context of Environmental Change in Hoa Binh Province, Northern Viet Nam: An Analysis of Household Decision-making and Relocation Outcomes’. The study explored project implementation, household decision-making processes and relocation outcomes for 406 households in the Hoa Binh Relocation Project, including those who have relocated, those who wish to move, and those who have chosen to remain or are undecided. Its findings show the potential for relocation to contribute to improved quality of life and new opportunities for relocated communities. Existing policies in Viet Nam provide important support that can help relocated households transition successfully to new, safer locations. However, the implementation of the current project also shows the complex nature of household decisions on relocation and the practical challenges encountered in helping families to address the multiple factors which impact relocation outcomes.
Following the research study, IOM developed a training manual: ‘Planned Relocation for Communities in the Context of Environmental Change and Climate Change’, which provides guidance for provincial and local-level leaders on the planning and implementation of relocation projects in the context of environmental change. The manual identifies key concepts surrounding the complex issues of migration, environment and climate change, as well as practical tools and guidelines for application in a local context. It provides a community empowerment approach to planning and implementing relocation programmes at provincial and local levels.
Comprehensive Energy Planning in Critical Settings:
From Emergency to Development
12 April 2018
Milan, Italy
On 12 April, the international conference 'Comprehensive Energy Planning in critical settings: from emergency to development' was held by Politecnico di Milano and Cooperazione Internazionale (COOPI) in Milan with the support of the European Union Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO). At the concluding event of the SET4food project (Sustainable Energy Technologies for Food Security in humanitarian context), more than twenty speakers from various international organizations, NGOs, and academic institutions contributed to a discussion on the foremost challenges of energy access in displacement and critical development settings, as well as the need for integrated approaches in establishing efficient management for energy and resources including water, food and land. The conference offered the opportunity to circulate the results and tools developed by the SET4food project during its first, and second phase, as well as honoring the three most influential projects in the SET4food Humanitarian Energy Award.
The first discussion, co-presented by IOM, the Moving Energy Initiative and Practical Action, focused on the relevance of energy in displacement settings and the importance of developing the Global Plan of Action for Sustainable Energy Solutions in Situations of Displacement (GPA). A second session examined various contexts and perspectives to provide a comprehensive approach to energy, food and water planning. This was followed by an overview on methods to increase resource flexibility through effective partnerships and interventions.
The GPA is an initiative by eight partners including IOM, UNHCR, UNTAR, GIZ, UN Foundation, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, the Moving Energy Initiative, and Practical Action. Under the greater framework of the 2030 Agenda, the GPA strives to develop a strategic plan to improve the energy situation in displacement settings by increasing the access to energy for all displaced people until 2030, mainstreaming renewable energy technologies in the humanitarian and development spheres and improving energy efficiency.
For more information on the SET4food project please see: www.set4food.org
IOM Presents Policy Brief on Energy for Displaced People
18 April, 2018
New York, USA
The Energy for Displaced People: A Global Plan of Action for Sustainable Energy Solutions in Situations of Displacement, Berlin, was held on 15-16 January with the support of the Foreign Office of Germany. During the conference, United Nations agencies, NGOs, civil society groups and representatives from Member States and the private sector initiated a process to develop a Global Plan of Action for Sustainable Energy Solutions in Situations of Displacement (GPA) with a vision that every person affected by conflict or natural disaster have access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy services by 2030.
Based on the outcome of the Berlin Conference, IOM co-authored Policy Brief 17 on energy in situations of displacement as part of the collaborative efforts of the GPA to bring attention to the consideration of energy access in displacement areas. The policy brief was co-written by The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), International Organization for Migration (IOM), United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), UNEP-DTU, Die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, UN Foundation, Practical Action, Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (GACC) and Moving Energy Initiative. IOM contribution to the policy brief was provided in the framework of IOM’s environmental sustainability programme, which aims to enhance the environmental performance of the Organization.
Climate Change is already Impacting People
and Leading to Environmental Migration
Interview by Anne-Sophie Garrigou,The Beam with Sieun Lee, IOM MECC Programme Officer
Disaster and climate change will not automatically lead to a surge of environmental migrants. By reducing exposure to risks and by building resilience, and putting preventive measures in place, it is possible to reduce the number of people affected and those who will be forced to move due to environmental factors.
As citizens, the main responsibility and important step is to reduce environmental footprint and go climate neutral. This can be done in many creative ways - reducing use of plastics, carpooling, using more economic shower heads to reduce use of water, etc! Helping to reduce the impact of climate change will ultimately lead to reducing the impact on people living in at-risk areas.
