The Environmental Migration Portal Newsletter is produced as part of the "Migration, Environment and Climate Change: Evidence for Policy" (MECLEP) project, funded by the European Union, implemented by IOM.
IOM's Human Rights-Based Approaches to Environmental Migration
IOM’s approach to migration, environment and climate change is based on the recognition that human rights-based strategies are central in addressing environmental migration. Multi-pronged legal approaches are needed to tackle the diverse manifestations of environmental migration. IOM’s approach has been developed institutionally since 2007, with the 2011 International Dialogue on Migration devoting attention specifically to legal and human rights-based approaches in the context of climate change, environmental degradation and migration. This body of work will be brought in the preparations towards the Global Compact for Migration.
The full use of all existing bodies of laws and instruments, both hard and soft law (humanitarian, human rights and refugee law, instruments on internal displacement, disaster management, legal migration and others) should be considered in the context of migration in relation to environmental and climate change. Developing regular migration strategies in response to environmental factors and developing solutions for those already on the move, include temporary authorization to stay and temporary protection for environmental migrants.
Human rights instruments, including resolutions passed at the United Nations Human Rights Council can guide States in resolving some of the challenges created by the impacts of climate change. The rights to life, shelter, food, water and self-determination are particularly relevant in the context of climate change, environmental degradation and migration.
IOM promotes and encourages human rights-based approaches in its Migration, Environment and Climate Change (MECC) Capacity Building Programme for States to develop comprehensive policies and action plans to provide protection to environmental migrants.
Migration, Environment and Climate Change: Evidence for Policy in Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean
Capacity Building Workshop in Madagascar 21 - 23 February 2017 Antananarivo, Madagascar
Countries in Southern Africa and the Indian Ocean are affected by a wide variety of climate impacts, due to the diversity of landscapes and ecosystems of the region. In parallel, various forms of migration are occurring within these countries, from forced migration in reaction to sudden-onset disasters to permanent, temporary or circular migration directly linked to slow-onset environmental events, such as desertification or coastal erosion. Policymakers in the region increasingly demand more evidence on the interlinkages between climate change, environmental degradation, natural disasters and human migration. In response to expressed needs, the IOM Internal Development Fund (IDF) is supporting four countries in the region (Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, and Namibia) through a regional project with a view to foster better understanding and awareness, build the evidence base and reinforce the capacity of policymakers and practitioners across different sectors, in order to inform the formulation of related national and regional policy and operational planning.
In the context of this regional project, the Ministry of Environment, Ecology and Forests and IOM organised a two-and-a-half-day capacity building workshop in Antananarivo, Madagascar, on 21-23 February 2017. The event was opened and closed by the new Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment, Ecology and Forests. The workshop brought together participants working in different governmental sectors, including water, mines, disaster risk reduction and management and conservation among others, along with civil society, research entities and international organizations representatives. The workshop allowed to define priorities in order to inform the development of the nationwide migration, environment and climate change evaluation exercise, scheduled to take place later in 2017.
1st Ocean and Climate Initiatives Alliances Meeting 22 February 2017
Paris, France
The 1st meeting of the Ocean and Climate Initiatives Alliance took place at the UNESCO in Paris on 22 February. The Ocean and Climate Initiatives Alliance was launched at the UNFCCC COP22 in Marrakech in 2016 with the support of the UNESCO, as a follow up to the work of the Ocean and Climate Platform (OCP), a network of research institutes, think tanks and NGOs advocating for better inclusion of issues around changes in the ocean in climate change negotiations and policies. IOM and OCP have established a close collaboration following the COP21 in Paris in 2015 to promote together solutions to address migration and displacement linked to the degradation of marine ecosystems and coastal areas, particularly in Small Island Developing States. Dina Ionesco, Head of the MECC Division, presented on the links between ocean, climate change and human mobility.
IOM and OCP have jointly produced an infosheet on Ocean, Environment, Climate Change and Human mobility, available in Englishand French.
Global High-Level Panel for Water and Peace
Refugees and Access to Water: Challenges and Responses
Think-Tank Roundtable
3 February 2017
Geneva, Switzerland
The Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace was launched on 16 November 2015 in Geneva with the aim to develop a set of proposals to strengthen the global architecture to prevent and resolve water-related conflicts, and facilitate the use of water as an important factor of building peace.
A one-day senior expert roundtable and conference on Refugees and Access to Water: Challenges and Responses was convened by the Geneva Water Hub on the 3rd of February 2017 in Geneva. The aim of the two roundtables was to identify challenges and possible responses associated with access to water and sanitation for displaced populations in order to reduce the risk of tensions due to water pressures and sanitation on the local environment. Following the closed sessions, the public conference Refugees and Access to Water presented the results of the roundtable discussions. The recommendations of the roundtables will contribute to the input paper for the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace.
Policy Brief Series Issue 1 | Vol. 3:
The changing climates, cultures and choices of Mongolian nomadic pastoralists
by Jasmine Neve, Rachael Diniega, Sumiya Bilegsaikhan, Benoit Mayer
Mongolia’s harsh climate and the dependence of the nation’s rural population on animal husbandry make it vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Mongolia is already experiencing dramatic rural-to-urban migration as a result of multiple factors, including declining livelihood opportunities in rural areas, a phenomenon exacerbated by environmental changes and natural disasters such as drought and dzud. Ongoing climate change is expected to present a growing challenge to the traditional pastoral way of life of many in Mongolia and likely to continue to impact human mobility.
This newsletter has been produced with the assistance of the European Union. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of IOM and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union or of IOM.
