Migration, Environment and Climate Change (MECC) Updates
The Task Force on Displacement (TFD) delivered its recommendations for integrated approaches to avert, minimize and address displacement related to the adverse impacts of climate change. The recommendations are based on the results of the TFD two-year Workplan and were submitted to the Executive Committee (Excom) of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in September 2018. The Excom welcomed the document and on its basis formulated recommendations that will be brought to the consideration by Parties at the Katowice Climate Change Conference in December 2018.
Southern African States Address Environmental Migration
13 September 2018, Pretoria, South Africa
Southern African States held their annual meeting of the Migration Dialogue for Southern Africa (MIDSA) early September in Pretoria. At this occasion, senior ministerial officials from all sixteen Member States of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) discussed the forthcoming Migration Policy Framework for the SADC Region. The exchanges covered thematic areas of the regional policy, which is expected to include considerations of the relationship between migration and climate change.
A session was dedicated to Migration, Environment and Climate Change and Forced Displacement. chaired by the Government of Madagascar and with expert participation from IOM, Mr. Bogdan Danila, Senior Regional Emergency and Post-Crisis Specialist, and from UN Environment, Ms. Cecilia Kinuthia-Njenga, Regional Programme Coordinator. Discussions showed that climate change is adding new dimensions to existing hazards and vulnerabilities in the region and that countries will need to expand the traditional understanding of risk. While climate change projections for the region are particularly acute, the negative effects of hazards and environmental change on society and on displacement are not inevitable. Through joint efforts between countries, concrete measures and policies reducing disaster risks, promoting development, strengthening communities’ resilience and facilitating migration as a voluntary strategy coupled with effective climate change mitigation efforts, the region can adapt and avoid catastrophic scenarios.
Workshop for the Development of Guidelines to Protect Persons
Displaced Across Borders in the Context of Disasters 30-31 August 2018, Santiago, Chile
Representatives of countries within the South American Migration Conferences (SACM) met in Santiago to discuss the forthcoming Guidelines to protect persons displaced across borders in the context of disasters. The meeting was supported by the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD) and included the participation of IOM, UNHCR, OHCHR as well as the South American Network on Environmental Migration (RESAMA).
During the two-day workshop, participants discussed latest updates on environmental migration, including the finalized text of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration and research outcomes from OHCHR and UNHCR-PDD. The discussion focused on the content of the draft Guidelines, which will enable an enhanced protection for persons displaced by disasters in the region. The Guidelines are still under review and will be presented to SACM countries for further improvements.
The UNFCCC hosted an additional negotiation session at UNESCAP in Bangkok, bringing together government delegations, UN agencies and civil society members. The aim was to move forward on the completion of the work programme under the Paris Agreement ahead of the 24th Conference of Parties (COP) in Katowice, Poland.
In the opening ceremony, speakers noted the importance of the Bangkok Climate Change Conference to compensate for lack of progress in the COP negotiations and the need to agree on the Paris “rulebook” - the implementation guidelines for the Paris Agreement. They also emphasized that delegations should aim for ambitious outcomes, clarity and streamlined text ahead of the December meeting. The agenda of the conference covered key issues such as the transparency framework for action and support; finance, including replenishment of the Green Climate Fund; development of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) registry and established common timeframes; and finally, the upcoming IPCC report.
While some progress was made during the conference to discuss these agenda items, summarized in the Paris Agreement Work Programme compilation, significant work remains for Katowice. In particular, countries must arrive at an agreement acceptable to both developed and developing parties and also agree on other points related to finance and NDCs.
Data to Link Climate Change and Livelihoods in the Lake Chad Basin
To provide innovative data on displacement and movement and in an effort to maximize protection of vulnerable populations, IOM offices in West and Central Africa have been conducting a regional study on the nexus between climate change, livelihoods, conflict and migration in the Lake Chad Basin region (Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria) since November 2017.
In July and August 2018, the second phase of this project, a household data collection exercise took place across 15 riparian districts reaching over 4,000 households. The results of this exercise show that 100% of respondents perceived a change in the climate and the environment (rainfall patterns, temperature and ecosystems) over the course of the past decade. This change, combined with the conflict dynamics in the region, which range from armed conflict perpetrated by the Boko Haram insurgency, to agro-pastoral strife to communal and ethnic clashes have led to both a change in resource availability and to a change in livelihoods in 99% of respondent perceptions.
The analysis of the trends and their link to migration and displacement is ongoing. A quantitative report will be available in October 2018 though IOM's DTM Portal and the final study is expected to be published by November 2018.
Governments Agree on Measures to Help
Migrants Fleeing Degrading Lands
by Mariam Traore Chazalnoël, IOM MECC Division
Article published on the UNCCD Knowledge Hub
The preamble of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM) offers the first indication that issues of land are seen as important. It acknowledges the principles of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). In the past few years, states that are party to the UNCCD have considered and examined the linkages between migration and land management. For instance, at the last UNCCD Conference of the Parties (COP13) held in Ordos, China, in 2017, a ministerial roundtable analyzed the potential implications for peace and security arising from migration in the context of land degradation. That session of the Conference signaled political will to address these questions when it adopted a decision on migration titled, “The positive role that measures taken under the Convention can play to address desertification/land degradation and drought as one of the drivers that causes migration.” ...
Environmental Migration and Indigenous Peoples: What Is at Stake?
by Mariam Traore Chazalnoël, IOM MECC Division, and
Francesca Carini, IOM Development Team
Despite their minimal ecological footprint, indigenous peoples and communities are disproportionally vulnerable to climate change impacts. Many indigenous communities live in areas that are particularly exposed to climate change and environmental degradation, such as small islands barely above sea level, tropical forests threatened by deforestation or polar regions affected by global warming.
The adverse effects of climate change, such as persistent droughts, changing rain patterns, wildfires, coastal erosion and sea level rise, have a profoundly negative impact on the daily lives and psychological wellbeing of indigenous communities. These impacts range from disrupting hunting and agricultural practices to jeopardizing traditions and cultures, which in turn can directly or indirectly lead to migration out of the affected areas. ...
As Hurricane Florence Hits North Carolina, the Relationship between Climate Change and Severe Storms is Put in the Spotlight
Hurricane Florence made landfall near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, on Thursday 14 September, as a Category 1 storm, with sustained wind speeds of 90mph. While the hurricane downgraded from Category 4 to Category 1 before making landfall, it is recorded as the rainiest hurricane having impacted the Carolinas. As the hurricane slowed down and rainfall continued, river systems have overflown causing massive flooding. The impact of Hurricane Florence has brought into focus the scientific discussion around the impact of climate change on severe storms in the region. Records show an increase in the number of severe storms since the beginning of the 20th century. A recent study conducted in the wake of Hurricane Florence concluded that rainfall amounts over the Carolinas increased “by over 50% due to climate change and are linked to warmer sea surface temperatures and available moisture in the atmosphere.” Such conditions could exacerbate the drivers of migration and displacement in the region.
