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Environmental Migration Portal Newsletter
Knowledge Platform on People on the Move in a Changing Climate
September 2017
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Migration, Environment and Climate Change (MECC) Updates
Harvey and Irma Are Part of a Global Humanitarian Challenge

First it was Harvey, and then came Irma.
Both were destructive.

Images and footage coming from Texas were heartbreaking. Hurricane Harvey wreaked havoc in the Lone Star State leaving thousands of homes abandoned, covered by several inches of water. Cars were destroyed and highways immersed in floods of water. Residents fled to safety on inflatable boats or by feet, wading through knee-deep and even waist-high water.
 
For several years now, IOM, the UN Migration Agency has been a first-responder to scenes devastated by natural disasters around the world and has, unfortunately, witnessed too often their disastrous and deadly effects.
 
Disaster-induced displacement is a global phenomenon. Currently, extreme rainfall has led to devastating floods and landslides across Nepal, India and Bangladesh killing nearly 1,200 and displacing millions. Three weeks ago as well, the West African nation of Sierra Leone was hit by floods and mudslides killing nearly 500 people, with over 600 missing and leaving about 4,000 people homeless.
Read on
Hurricane Displacement Portal
© ICIMOD 2017
 

Regional Knowledge Forum on
Human Mobility in the Context of Climate Change Adaptation, Disaster Risk Reduction, and Sustainable Development Goals in the Hindu Kush Himalaya


14-15 September 2017
Kathmandu, Nepal

The Ministry of Population and Environment (MoPE) of Nepal, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Nepal Institute of Development Studies (NIDS), Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD) along with IOM co-hosted a regional knowledge forum in Kathmandu, Nepal from 14 to 15 September 2017. The Knowledge Forum brought together 30 policymakers and experts from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal and Pakistan to support the integration of human mobility into national policies regarding climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Over the course of two days, participants exchanged state-of-the-art knowledge on human mobility and the environmental trends within the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region, and shared their practices and experience in managing displacement and migration in the context of disasters and climate change. Due to the fact that, the relationship between human mobility and climate change remains in the fringe of policy discourse among HKH countries, the Knowledge Forum aimed to identify existing knowledge gap and provide feasible solutions to better mainstream human mobility in climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and SDGs related national policies.

As a co-organizer of the Knowledge Forum, IOM brought in its wealth of research and expertise on migration, environment and climate change, and shared its experience from country and regional offices, represented by Mr. Paul Norton, the Chief of Mission of IOM Nepal and Ms. Michiko Ito, IOM Myanmar, as well as by representatives from IOM Pakistan, IOM Nepal and the Regional Office for Asia and Pacific.

The Knowledge Forum concluded with recommendations to integrate human mobility into national policies: improving inter-agency coordination at all levels; focusing on mainstreaming human mobility into relevant policies rather than creating new ones; strengthening institutional capacities through training workshops; and creating a regional platform to share good practices.

As a next step, IOM will work with ICIMOD and partners to organize national consultations on Human Mobility in the Context of Climate Change Adaptation, Disaster Risk Reduction, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the selected countries. The first national consultation will be held in Islamabad, Pakistan in October 2017.
 
© IOM 2017
 
IOM Southern Africa Regional Training Workshop on
Migration, Environment and Climate Change

Pretoria, South Africa
22-23 August 2017
 
IOM's Migration, Environment and Climate Change Division at IOM Headquarters in cooperation with the Regional Office for Southern Africa in Pretoria organized a two-day capacity building workshop for IOM staff in the Southern Africa region. This is the second internal workshop for IOM staff of country missions - the first was held in 2016 in Asia.  

The workshop brought together 13 participants from 11 countries and provided an overview of the migration-environment nexus, IOM’s institutional approach, human mobility in key policy processes such as the UNFCCC, and an introduction to IOM's environmental sustainability initiatives, with the aim to support the region on developing activities and policies on MECC. Southern Africa is the most under-researched region and lacks data on the links between human mobility in the context of disasters and climate change. The workshop also provided space for participants to share experiences on environmental migration projects developed in the region. Currently IOM is implementing a regional project in Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique and Namibia, which aims to build evidence and capacities of policymakers to address environmental migration. 

This training workshop is in line with IOM's objective to build internal capacities on migration, environment and climate change and to support the development of programmes and activities worldwide.  
 
Disaster and Climate-induced Displacement and Mobility –
Challenge of the 21st century

Berlin, Germany
31 August 2017
 
Key findings from the MECLEP global research project were presented for the first time to German audience during the ninth seminar of the Migration and Development Debate Series organized in Berlin. The seminar entitled “Disaster and Climate-induced Displacement and Mobility – Challenge of the 21st century”, addressed questions regarding knowledge and data gaps on the displacement and migration of people in the context of disasters and climate change.
 
Taking place at the German Federal Foreign Office, keynote speakers Atle Solberg (Head of Coordination Unit, Platform on Disaster Displacement) and Susanne Melde (Senior Analyst at IOM´s GMDAC) provided insights from their work.

Mr. Solberg presented the Platform on Disaster Displacement, a follow up to the Nansen Initiative to support the implementation of the Nansen Protection Agenda. He made the distinction between different types of disasters, while pointing to the gaps in international law to protect the rights of people displaced in the context of disasters. He concluded that protection gaps may be addressed by strengthening the use of practices that have already proved effective and by promoting policy coherence.
 
Ms Melde presented the final results from the MECLEP global research project which highlights the importance of sharing examples of policies that link migration and the environment, and of good practices such as locally-driven and rights-based planned relocations.
 
In the role of the discussant, Prof. Felicitas Hillmann from the Leibniz Institute for Research on Society and Space, debated the effects of climate change in the context of complex humanitarian and development challenges.

The Migration and Development Debate Series is organized by IOM’s Global Migration Data Analysis Centre (GMDAC), the German Federal Foreign Office and Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, in Berlin, bringing together policymakers, experts and government representatives to discuss and debate current migration and development issues.
Participation de l’OIM Maroc au Sommet Climate Chance Agadir 2017

Dans le cadre de la dynamique insufflée par les négociations internationales sur le changement climatique et dans le contexte de la présidence marocaine de la COP22, l'association Climate Chance a choisi le Maroc en tant que pays hôte, et plus particulièrement la Région du Souss- Massa, pour co-organiser la 2ème édition du Sommet annuel du Climate Chance 2017. L'évènement, qui a eu lieu du 11 au 13 septembre à Agadir, a fait la part belle à la thématique des migrations environnementales que l'OIM Maroc, soutenue par la Division Migration, Environnement et Changement climatique (MECC) de Genève, a activement contribué à mettre en lumière.
Read on (French)
Interview with RFI (French)
Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction
Words into Action on Disaster Displacement
Questionnaire for government officials
 
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 (Sendai Framework) is a roadmap that will chart the global course of disaster risk reduction (DRR) policy and programming over the coming years. During the consultations and negotiations that led to the Sendai Framework’s finalization, strong calls were made to develop practical guidance to support implementation, ensure engagement and ownership of action by all stakeholders, and strengthen accountability in DRR. To this end, a series of Words into Action (WiA) documents are under development to provide practical guidance on specific issues to help States implement their commitments under the Sendai Framework.
 
As part of these efforts, the Norwegian Refugee Council is working with UNISDR, the state-led Platform on Disaster Displacement, IDMC, IOM and UNHCR to draft a Words into Action guide to support the integration of disaster displacement and other related forms of human mobility into regional, national, sub-national and local DRR laws, policy and plans by 2020.
 
Your answers to the questionnaire will help ensure that the Words into Action guide is a useful resource for drafting DRR laws, policies and plans that effectively avoid, reduce, anticipate, and respond to disaster displacement risk, and ultimately help displaced people recover from disasters and find a durable solution.
Answer the Questionnaire

Research Database Updates
Reducing Displacement Risk in the Greater Horn of Africa

 
Search the database

Upcoming Events
UNHCR ExCom Side Event - Addressing Disaster Displacement and Climate Change: Opportunities in Partnership
4 October | Geneva, Switzerland

Our Ocean
5-6 October | Malta

Human Rights Council - Intersessional Panel Discussion on Human Rights, Climate change, Migrants and Persons Displaced Across International Borders
6 October | Geneva, Switzerland

Impacts World 2017: Climate Change and Human Migration
12 October | Potsdam, Germany

"Münchner Klimaherbst 2017": Climate Change and Migration
12 October | Munich, Germany

Platform on Disaster Displacement - Advisory Committee Workshop
23-24 October 2017 | Geneva, Switzerland


UNFCCC COP23 Events 

Climate Related Human Mobility: Connecting the Dots to Implement the Paris Agreement
8 November 2017 | Bonn, Germany
Co-organized by IOM and UNHCR

Adaptation in Motion
14 November 2017 | Bonn, Germany
 
See events
BRINGING STORIES OF MIGRATION TO THE WORLD
 
Cinema and Migration. It’s a magical bond that began over a century ago when filmmakers, many of whom were immigrants themselves, began making movies about a world on the move. Their films brought the dramatic, poignant and comic stories of migrants to diverse audiences, through a language of images and emotions that were meaningful to every culture.

The Global Migration Film Festival was launched by the UN Migration Agency (IOM) in this spirit. The festival features new films that capture the promise and challenges of migration for those who leave their homes in search of a better life and the unique contributions migrants make to their new communities.

IOM’s first Global Migration Film Festival in 2016 took place in 89 countries. Some 10,000 people attended 220 screenings at cinemas, universities, cultural institutions and other venues. The festival hosted 13 feature films and documentaries and nearly 200 short films about and by migrants, as well as dozens of post-screening discussions and side-events.

This year’s festival will take place from 5 – 18 December 2017 in countries and venues to be announced later this year. All screenings will be free of charge.

Learn more about categories, awards and how to submit films here.
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