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 © IOM 2017
 

Regional Dissemination Meeting of ‘Assessing the Climate Change,
Environmental Degradation and Migration Nexus in South Asia’
15 January 2017
Dhaka, Bangladesh

The Regional Dissemination Meeting of the ‘Assessing the Climate Change, Environmental Degradation and Migration Nexus in South Asia’ project funded by the IOM Development Fund was held on 15 January at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The meeting was organized by IOM Dhaka in collaboration with Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of Bangladesh. Mr. Istiaque Ahmad, Secretary in Charge of the ministry graced the occasion as chief guest.

IOM country missions in Bangladesh, Maldives and Nepal implemented the regional research project to assess the climate change, environmental degradation and migration nexus in South Asia and the assessment report (see also section below on MECC publications) which includes research findings of the three countries were shared at the meeting along with Plans of Action and a Regional Strategy Framework. These outcomes were presented at the regional dissemination meeting to the representative of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), government officials of the three countries, UN agencies, development organizations and CSOs in South Asia. The meeting engaged and enhanced dialogue amongst key stakeholders to address the challenges and leverage opportunities related to climate migration in South Asia.

The video ‘Born Under a Changing Sky’ filmed by IOM in the three South Asia countries was premiered which depicts the reality of climate migrants and their adaptation challenges. 

On 24 January, the Institute of Migration of Finland organized a seminar on “Migration and environmental change” in Turku, Finland. It was the first in a series of seminars. Key note speakers included Prof. Jukka Kähykö of the University of Turku who spoke about global environmental change, and Emeritus Prof. Roger Zetter of Oxford who spoke about including rights in the discourse on environmentally displaced people with the example of Bangladesh. He highlighted how most people affected by erosion lost their land and have to work on the large land holdings of the rural elite who is able to diversify environmental risks. Not including rights language questions will likely undermine adaptation strategies if political economy and socio-cultural determinants of livelihoods are left aside.

IOM’s Susanne Melde presented the comparative findings of the MECLEP project. A panel discussion with representatives of the Finnish Red Cross, Finn Church Aid, Finland’s largest humanitarian organization and Greenpeace Finland highlighted challenges in the current anti-immigrant and refugee debates in the public domain. Among other topics the need for action at global level was discussed, with a specific reference to the advances as part of the Global Compacts on Migration and Refugees (for background information see here).

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 © IOM 2017
 

IOM MECC Publications

Effects of Climate Change on Human Mobility in the Pacific and Possible Impact on Canada