IIED: Shift needed to end alarmism over climate-related migration

Policymakers must radically alter their views of migration and see it as a vital adaptation to climate change rather than an unwanted consequence or a failure to adapt, according to research by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) that was presented this week.

Cecilia Tacoli, a senior researcher at IIED, will make the call in a speech at a meeting of population and climate change experts organised by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and IIED.

“There is growing concern that climate change will force hundreds of millions of people to migrate, but many policymakers see this purely as a problem when in fact it can be a key part of the solution,” says Tacoli, whose paper will be published later this year in the journal Environment and Urbanization. “There is a real risk that alarmism about migration will result in policies that fail to protect the most vulnerable people.”

Tacoli will present research that challenges many misconceptions about the duration, destination and composition of migrant flows. One common concern, particularly in wealthy countries, is that large numbers of poor people will attempt to migrate there permanently to escape impacts of climate change.

Tacoli points out that short term and short distance movements are more likely to increase and that the poorest and most vulnerable people will often find it impossible to move as they lack the necessary funds and social support.

She warns that because most governments and international agencies tend to see migration as a problem that needs to be controlled, they are missing opportunities to develop policies that can increase people’s resilience to climate change.

These include policies that promote access to non-farm jobs in small rural towns and a more decentralised distribution of economic opportunities.

“Predicting the impact of climate change on migration is extremely difficult,” says Tacoli. “Rather than trying to influence the direction, type and volume of migration, policymakers should aim to accommodate changes in migration patterns that are linked to environmental and economic trends.”

To do so, they should first of all focus on increasing the capacity of local governments and institutions in small towns to support local economic development, provide basic services and regulate equitable access to natural resources.

The links between climate change and population will be the focus of the UNFPA’s State of World Population 2009 report, to be published on 18 November.

Jose Miguel Guzman, Chief of Population and Development Branch of UNFPA, says that population dynamics are crucial to understanding the process and impacts of climate change. “Closer consideration differentiated population dynamics will produce more effective mitigation and adaptation responses by broadening the policy options, generating better emissions scenarios and improving the identification and targeting of vulnerable populations.”

The United Nations Population Division and UN-HABITAT are collaborating with IIED and UNFPA on the 24-25 June meeting in London. The meeting will bring together experts on population and climate change for analysis of the policy implications for the United Nations’ response to climate change. Many other international entities, such as the secretariat for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, and the International Organization for Migration, will also be represented at the meeting.

Other speakers will cover topics such as urbanization and greenhouse-gas emissions, climate-related disasters and displacement, and the links between population, health and climate change. A panel of United Nations agencies will discuss how to deliver as one at the global and country level.

contact:

Mike Shanahan, Press officer
International Institute for Environment and Development
3 Endsleigh Street
London WC1H 0DD
Tel: 44 (0) 207 388 2117
Fax: 44 (0) 207 388 2826
Email: [email protected]
www.iied.org