Discussion Spaces

Last year, the Solidarity Center released a report examining the intersection of climate change, its impacts on livelihoods, and migration in Bangladesh. The results of this research provide examples of the devastating impacts of climate change on low wage workers. More than 80% of Bangladesh’s southwestern coastal region has been affected by high levels of salinity from rising sea levels, substantially impacting livelihoods. In just 2 years, rice production dropped by 100,000 tons, contributing to food shortages and economic vulnerability. Climate devastation is pushing already precarious low wage Bangladeshi workers further into the informal economy or forcing them to migrate. 

The ILO estimates that 2 billion workers worldwide work in the informal economy outside of formal labor protections, including the ability to form or join unions. The majority of workers in the informal economy are women; and migrants and workers with disabilities are disproportionately represented, as are other already marginalized populations, compounding vulnerability.

The very nature of informal economy employment leaves workers less resilient to economic shocks, which we know are and will continue to be worsened by environmental degradation and climate change. With more frequent and intense weather events, and rising sea levels, more workers will be forced to find alternative forms of employment, including migrating through precarious migration channels for jobs where workers are more likely to be exploited.

Migrant workers, including those who were forced from their homes due to climate catastrophes, often end up in jobs that expose them again to the violence of climate impacts, such as extreme heat. The explicit and deliberate lack of labor law, social, and other legal protections for migrant workers in destination countries strips workers of their most basic rights. 

We know that the countries and communities most impacted by climate change also contributed least to the problem. As such, it is imperative that wealthier countries develop coherent long-term strategies to address climate displacement and ensure access to decent work for workers affected by climate change. 

• At present, agriculture, rural development and climate change policies and programmes rarely consider migration, and seldom acknowledge the positive contribution that migration can make to climate change adaptation.  

FAO has been supporting national and local governments: i) to integrate migration considerations into climate and environmental policies and programmes from a rural livelihoods perspective; and ii) to foster multi-sectoral collaboration and policy coherence in the areas of migration, agriculture and climate change.  

FAO and IOM developed a Toolkit on Integrating Migration into Rural Development Interventions that aims at supporting rural development actors to understand how migration can be reflected in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of development programmes with a rural focus. The Toolkit is organized around three sub-sectors, one of which is ‘climate change adaptation and resilience’.  At country level, the Toolkit has been adapted to Kenya and tailored to the country context through a participatory process that involved a variety of stakeholders at national and local level and in close collaboration with the Kenya National Coordination Mechanism on Migration (NCM).  

FAO is also developing a global guide on integrating migration into NAPs and NDCs from a rural livelihood perspective aimed at providing concrete tools and recommendations to enhance the integration of rural migration considerations into these processes and into climate action, in general.  

• Research gaps related to the linkages between slow-onset climate events and migration still exist. It is crucial to better understand how climate change shapes human mobility and migration decisions in the context of gradual environmental changes in order to fully address the climate-migration challenges.  

FAO is conducting a study in Zimbabwe to generate empirical evidence on the linkages between gradual environmental change, rural livelihoods and migration to support evidence-based policies and programmes and foster holistic approaches to address the climate-migration challenges.  

1. Working with rural populations to address the adverse drivers of migration in the context of climate change - To support migration as adaptation to climate change, and to ensure that migration is a choice and not a necessity. This entails creating alternatives in rural areas, to enable adaptation in place. Scientific evidence shows that not everyone who is exposed to and impacted by climate change has the desire or means to move.  For example, FAO works closely with climate affected rural communities and promotes the sustainable use and management of natural resources, as well as helps create climate-resilient livelihoods and green employment opportunities in rural areas. FAO’s work in this area is tailored to the specific needs of rural youth and women, recognizing that they often face constraints regarding their involvement in agricultural activities, as well as regarding their need or desire to migrate.  

Progress can be assessed by tracking and evaluating the following: 

• Green jobs opportunities in rural areas are generated. 
• Rural livelihoods resilience is strengthened (e.g., % uptake of climate adaptive practices) 
• The capacities of extension services and rural stakeholders to support the development of green agribusinesses and the uptake of climate adaptive practices are strengthened.  
• Access to early warning systems and meteorological information is inclusive and improved. 
• Climate change, migration and agriculture policies, projects and programmes consideration of the specific needs and/or aspirations of rural youth, women, different ethnic and religious minority groups is strengthened. 

• Climate adaptation and mitigation programmes integrate migration considerations from design to impact evaluation to avoid the risk of unintentionally disrupt migration patterns and causing displacement.  

2. Recognizing and supporting the role of migration as adaptation - Governments need to explicitly recognize the role of migration as positive adaptation and where it is necessary, governments should facilitate the movement of people by creating safe and regular pathways for those who choose to or need to move in the context of climate change. This includes raising awareness about the role of migration as adaptation and building capacity for the improved integration of migration considerations into rural development, agriculture and climate policies and programmes.  

Progress can be assessed by tracking and evaluating the following: 

• Positive narratives pertaining to migration in policy documents, statements etc. are increased.  
• Migration considerations in climate adaptation planning at national and sub-national levels - in NAPs, NDCs, urban planning, national planning documents and other relevant policies are strengthened. 
• Migration considerations in disaster risk reduction plans, programmes and interventions are strengthened.  
• Policies that facilitate movement and protect the rights of migrants are enhanced
• Diaspora awareness is raised on investment opportunities in climate-resilient rural livelihoods and their capacity is harnessed through mentoring and coaching for young entrepreneur wishing to set up green businesses.  

• Knowledge about the linkages between migration and climate change adaptation is increased through empirical research.  
• Climate, migration and agricultural stakeholders’ knowledge and capacity to address the climate-migration challenges and harness the potential of migration for climate change adaptation are enhanced.  

The Solidarity Center proposes three recommendations, and key to all is that workers and their communities must have a meaningful say in driving climate solutions:

1.)    Climate adaptation planning and implementation must include the development of sustainable decent work options to promote greater resilience for communities, particularly from future shocks.  We must focus on long-term planning and not just reactive short-term solutions to ensure that climate adaptation and resilience measures make migration a choice and not a necessity.  

2.) As governments take on the mandate of the global compact to enhance better regular migration pathways, these pathways must account for projected climate displacement. As the climate crisis worsens, we cannot wait to develop a plan to integrate climate migrants into our societies and economies. 

3.)    All workers must be brought under full labor protections in line with international core labor standards. The freedom of association, right to organize and collectively bargain, and centering worker agency is crucial particularly for migrants regardless of their status, as they seek access to decent work in the face of extreme climate impacts.

• Migration should be fully part of the climate adaptation discourse and climate action, in general. Climate adaptation and mitigation policies and programmes need to consider migration in order to: i) address specific needs of migrants since migration can increase exposure to climate change; ii) reduce the risk of unintentionally cause displacement and/or affect migration patterns and; iii) recognize and harness the potential of migration as climate adaptation strategy.  

• Policy frameworks that promote regular migration pathways (e.g., seasonal migration) are needed in order to maximise the benefits of migration for climate change adaptation and resilience. There is increasing evidence that well planned and well-managed migration is an important adaptation and risk diversification strategy, especially for rural households that rely on climate-sensitive resources.  

• In order to harness the positive contribution of migration to climate change adaptation it is of critical importance to create enabling environments in areas of origin, transit and destination and recognize gender-specific needs. This will require improved coherence and coordination between sectoral policies and programming, as well as enhanced collaboration between policy actors at sub-national, national, regional and international levels.  

• More research is needed to understand the climate-migration-adaptation nexus and inform policies and programmes to address adverse drivers of migration while harnessing the potential of migration to reduce vulnerability to climate change.  

• In terms of preventive measures, it is necessary to better incorporate migration and displacement into anticipatory action. Anticipatory action interventions should assess and take into account the situation and specific vulnerabilities of migrants and displaced populations, who may lack the basic means to access accurate information on early warning (due to legal, linguistic, cultural and a host of other barriers) and are often disproportionately impacted by environmental degradation and/or natural disasters. This includes: understanding contextual realities of migration and displacement contexts and how past hazards impacted the lives and livelihoods of migrant, displaced and host communities; ensure that anticipatory action interventions are tailored to the needs of migrant, displaced and host communities; during the evidence gathering and learning process, ensure that representatives of migrant and displaced communities are involved in the beneficiary interviews (conducting separate focus-group discussions, if needed).