1. Safe, Orderly and Climate Resilient Migration: Challenges and Opportunities Nansen Initiative Regional Consultation in South Asia   Climate Change, Disasters and Human Mobility in South Asia and Indian Ocean Khulna, Bangladesh, 3-5 April Sarat Dash, Chief of Mission

2. Climate Change and the Movement of People
Migration-Environment Nexus
Frequency and Intensity
Livelihoods , Health and Food Security
Shrinking Natural Resources
Breakdown of Social Norms
The migration-environment nexus is not a new issue: the environment has always been one of the major drivers of migration. However, climate change significantly increases its current and future relevance.
How is climate change expected to affect the movement of people?
 Climate change is expected to affect the movement of people in at least four ways:
 1) greater frequency and, potentially, greater intensity of weather-related natural disasters – both sudden and slow-onset – leading to a higher risk of humanitarian emergencies and increased population movements;
 2) the adverse consequences of warming, climate variability and of other effects of climate change for livelihoods, health, food security and water availability which can exacerbate pre-existing vulnerabilities;
 3) rising sea levels that may make coastal areas and low-lying islands uninhabitable; and
 4) competition over shrinking natural resources exacerbating tensions and potentially leading to conflict and, in turn, displacement.
Mixed Migration:
Environmental stress is always mixed with other causes, which may include economic constraints or opportunities, social networks, political context, etc.
Factors fostering mobility are not only numerous, but also intertwined/ interdependent:
For example: Environmental change can generate health problems or food insecurity, which may in turn foster migration. In such cases, identifying the „primary‟ cause of migration is probably impossible, as all causes may mutually reinforce each other. Multiplier effect: Climate change is unlikely to trigger migration in wealthy and democratic societies.
Societies have always had to adapt to changing environmental contexts – a multifaceted process of technological, organizational, institutional, socio-economic and cultural nature that is likely to be just as complex as climate change itself.

3. Environmental Migrants: Definition
Definition of the environmental migrant according to IOM (2007, 94th Council)
“Persons or groups of persons who, for compelling reasons of sudden or progressive change in the environment as a result of climate change that adversely affect their lives or living conditions, are obliged to leave their habitual homes, or choose to do so, either temporarily or permanently, and who move either within their country or abroad.” 3

4. An Adaptation Strategy Increased vulnerability Mobility dimensions
What Happens….
An Adaptation Strategy
Increased vulnerability
Mobility dimensions
Coping and Security
State Capacity to maintain stability
Climate change migration as an adaption strategy from society
Increased vulnerability (gender, experience of displacement, poverty etc.)
Mobility dimensions
Temporary displacements (less than three months), short term migration (three months to one year) and long term migration (more than one year)
Short- vs long-distance/ internal vs. international
Voluntary vs. forced migration/ reactive vs. proactive
Ranging from a few hours spent in a temporary shelter in fear of a hurricane to the relocation of whole communities whose land has disappeared following sea-level rise.
Most authors argue that, at present, temporary and short-term patterns of migration are predominantly associated with environmental change. The temporality of migration also has to do with the nature of environmental processes: slow onset phenomena such as desertification or sea level rise are likely to be associated with long term migration, whereas sudden disasters such as tropical cyclones will generate temporary displacement.
Debates on the climate change–migration nexus often seem to focus overwhelmingly on international migration, and particularly on flows from the „South‟ to the „North‟. But this bias tells more on Western fears than on actual trends, as there is evidence that most migration triggered by environmental factors concern internal migration.
The often-used notion of „environmental refugee‟ conveys the idea that people are forced to leave their home because of the natural environment. But the more or less constrained nature of migration is open to debate. It is indeed extremely difficult to capture the decision-making process among potential migrants and to understand why, how and when people decide to leave. This also points to the above-mentioned social dimension of vulnerability, as people‟s strategies depend upon their resources and opportunities. Finally, the possible interventions of governments in moving people (in the case of resettlement schemes for example) further contribute to challenge the distinction between forced and voluntary movement.
Coping and security: Migration, competition over natural resources and other coping responses of households and communities faced with climate-related threats could increase the risk of domestic conflict as well as have international repercussions.
State Capacity to maintain stability: State/Societies have always had to adapt to changing environmental contexts
- Statelessness: There are implications for rights, security, and sovereignty of the loss of statehood because of the disappearance of territory.
- International conflict: There may be implications for international cooperation from climate change’s impact on shared or undemarcated international resources.

5. Standards Policies Preparedness Cooperation What is needed…. Standards
Definition of the environmental migrant according to IOM (2007, 94th Council)
“Persons or groups of persons who, for compelling reasons of sudden or progressive change in the environment as a result of climate change that adversely affect their lives or living conditions, are obliged to leave their habitual homes, or choose to do so, either temporarily or permanently, and who move either within their country or abroad.”
In order to assist the environmental migrants we need in place
Standards
Policies
Preparedness
Cooperation

6. Responding to Climate Change and Migration: Recommendations
Tackle potential population movements in a proactive way, instead of waiting until the situation is dire.
Bolster humanitarian action with adequate resources to meet the growing challenge of climate change
Develop policy coherence at national, regional and international levels
Strengthen linkages with other relevant policy domains
Act before it is too late. The slow-onset nature of most environmental changes and of climate change allows for a window of opportunity to tackle potential population movements in a proactive way, instead of waiting until the situation is dire.
Bolster humanitarian action with adequate resources to meet the growing challenge of climate change, including measures to ensure adequate assistance and protection for people on the move as a result of environmental factors.
Develop policy coherence at national, regional and international levels by mainstreaming environmental and climate change considerations into migration management policies and practice, and vice-versa. This includes making reference to the migration and displacement consequences of climate change in any future climate change agreements at international level to raise this issue in the consciousness of policy- and decision-makers.
Strengthen linkages with other relevant policy domains, especially disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and sustainable development to reduce the vulnerability of populations in the long term. Policymakers also need to factor climate change and altered population distributions into their poverty reduction, rural development and urban planning policies.

7. Responding to Climate Change and Migration: Recommendations (cont.)
Recognize the potential of migration to serve as an adaptation strategy to climate change.
Plan for orderly relocation, sensitive to local contexts
Engage directly with local populations and vulnerable and affected communities.
Recognize the potential of migration to serve as an adaptation strategy to climate change, above all through migration’s contribution to sustainable development. For example, temporary and circular migration at early stages of environmental degradation can help households diversify their livelihood base and generate extra income through remittances.
Plan for orderly relocation, sensitive to local contexts, in areas that are expected to become uninhabitable to avoid a crisis situation and to ensure sustainability of the move.
Engage directly with local populations and vulnerable and affected communities to boost livelihood resilience and prepare for potential migration. 7

8. Safe & Orderly Migration Benefits All