Human Mobility in a Changing Climate: Time for Action is Now

By IOM Director General William Lacy Swing

With some one billion people on the move around the world, we are confronted daily with human tragedies brought about by major migration movements. The imminent and long-term effects of climate change compound these tragedies.

Climate change is impacting a record number of people, forcing them to migrate either within their own countries or across international borders. The effects of climate change -- intertwined with those of wars, social unrest and entrenched poverty -- exacerbate human insecurity at the global level.  Least developed countries are most affected as they have fewer resources with which to adapt.

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From Papua New Guinea, a Climate Migrant’s Story

Already in her 70s, Rufina Moi was forced to leave the Carteret Islands, Papua New Guinea, two years ago. A number of factors influenced her decision to leave behind her home, with the main one being land degradation: the declining area of land available to cultivate due to high population growth and sea-level rise. Losing her land presented problems she felt she could only deal with by leaving.

In addition to the decline in cultivable land, poor access to government services was a major push factor for Rufina to move as she highlighted the remoteness of her home and the associated poor transport networks. Since she relocated to Buka, Rufina has not returned to the island, although she has expressed her undying desire to one day return to her homeland.

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© IOM/Alessandro Grassani 2015
Migration as an Adaptation Strategy to Climate Change

By Dina Ionesco and Mariam Traore Chazalnoel

Increasingly, as attention is being devoted to the human mobility and climate nexus, we hear more and more calls from various actors – from states to civil society and academia to design and implement policies for climate adaptation that include a migration component. The sheer diversity of viewpoints on this topic reflects the universality of this concern and brings to the fore very tangible questions: what are the linkages between migration and adaptation and what can be concretely done to bridge climate and migration policy to support national adaptation efforts to climate change?

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Ahead of COP21 Intended Nationally Determined Contributions Take Stock of Human Mobility Questions

What are INDCs?

Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) are very much talked about as we approach the opening of COP21, one of the largest global conferences ever held. INDCs form the basis of states’ engagement to support the expected legally binding global climate agreement; and the submitted contributions reflect national commitments to achieve global climate objectives on reducing CO2 emissions.

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Quote of the day

"Turning migration challenges into opportunities for all requires good migration governance; a broad, durable consensus among a wide constituency; coherent, coordinated policies among partners."  – IOM Director General William Lacy Swing. More here.

Videos

President of Kiribati speaks on Climate Change Migration at the #IOMCouncil2015 On the occasion of his country becoming a member state of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), President Anote Tong of Kiribati, last week, addressed the 106th IOM Council in Geneva, Switzerland. In his keynote address, President Tong outlined the stark reality facing his nation due to climate change. Watch his address here.   Share on

Environmental Change, Natural Disasters and Human Mobility in Haiti The film captures some of the environmental challenges that Haiti is facing. It shows the measures people have taken to adapt to the changing environment. These include changing their housing materials, changes in agricultural practices, remittances invested in adaptation measures, and moving to other areas in Haiti or to other countries. Watch the video here. Share on

Regional Maps Showing Migration, Environment and Climate Change

The increase in global average air and sea temperatures, the prevalent melting of snow and ice, the intensification and high variability of extreme weather events, the acidification of the oceans, and the rising average global sea levels all bear witness to climate change.

Climate change affects all regions of the world, but its regional and local impacts are uneven, and hard to predict accurately. The local effects and vulnerability of populations will depend greatly on local exposure, development and adaptive capacity, future demographic and economic changes, as well as on mitigation and adaptation policies that will or will not be undertaken in the coming years.

The following maps illustrate some of the most prominent regional changes that are already taking place around the globe and their impacts on humans and ecosystems. The observed and emerging patterns of the changing climate already affect human mobility across the globe through slow-onset processes of environmental and ecosystem change, and through sudden-onset extreme weather events, exacerbating socio-economic vulnerabilities.

To view the maps and find more information, go to: http://environmentalmigration.iom.int/maps

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