Repository of Practices
Primary GCM Objectives
GCM Guiding Principles*
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Dates
2023 - 2024
Summary
Objective:
Support evidence-based policies on environmental migration in Mexico by creating innovative tools and methodologies to collect data and information on the nexus between human mobility, disasters, the adverse effects of climate change, and environmental degradation.
Main beneficiaries:
Migration Policy, Registry, and Identity of Persons Unit (UPMRIP); National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI); Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT); National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC); National Population Council (CONAPO); State Governments of Chiapas and Tabasco; Municipal Government of Tapachula.
Key activities:
1. Assessment of the existing framework for data collection on migration, the environment and climate change in Mexico: IOM elaborated a compendium of existing research on the environmental migration nexus in Mexico, realized an internal analysis of national frameworks and capacities for data collection on environmental migration in the Government of Mexico with recommendations for improvements, and systematized the information needs of key multisectoral governmental stakeholders.
2. Development of the first national methodology for data collection on migration, the environment and climate change: Alongside the World Bank, IOM developed a methodological package, including conceptual framework, qualitative and quantitative data collection tools to characterize the nexus between migration and environment, including a quantitative, representative, household-level survey tool in communities of origin to understand how migration and mobility is already playing a role as a mechanism to respond to adverse environmental and climate impacts on household wellbeing.
3. Pilot of the methodology: The World Bank carried out a pilot of the qualitative methodology in the state of Tabasco while IOM carried out a pilot of the quantitative methodology in rural agricultural communities in Tapachula, Chiapas, in April and May 2024. The findings, which were presented to the Government of Mexico, revealed a correlation between negative impacts of changes in the climate and/or exposure to environmental hazards and an increased probability of recent emigration as well as increased plans and desires to migrate among surveyed households. Resources: International Migration Capacity Building Program (IMCBP) funding, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
Collaborators
Main Implementer
International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Partners
Government of Canada
World Bank
Benefit and Impact
This project represented the first effort to bring together numerous governmental sectors at all three levels (local, state, and federal) to collectively conduct research and evidence gathering on the migration, environment and climate change nexus in Mexico. This initiative also marked the first time in Mexico that IOM signed a formal agreement (MoU) with the Government of Mexico (specifically, the state of Chiapas), to collaborate in the response to multi-level challenges of environmental migration.
While government actors are the main beneficiaries of the initiative (having gained access to innovative tools to collect empirical evidence on a historically under-studied phenomenon), it is expected that this initiative will also generate significant positive impacts for communities affected by the climate crisis where migration and displacement due to climate change and environmental processes is expected to increase in the coming decades.
By possessing timely, accurate, granular, disaggregated, and up-to-date information on these phenomena, governmental and non-governmental actors will be better equipped to design initiatives which build the resilience and adaptive capacities of at-risk communities, including population groups that are often in situations of particular vulnerability, such as women and children, persons living with disabilities, the elderly, and persons of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC). Given that IOM will now provide direct assistance and capacity building in many of the communities where the tools were piloted, there is a direct connection between data and action.
IOM plans to pilot the quantitative component of the methodology in additional communities in Mexico between 2024 and 2027, targeting not only agricultural communities but also other contexts, including coastal areas, and areas that are recovering from recent disasters. IOM will also support the continued institutionalization of the methodologies to ensure ownership and longer-term sustainability in the Government of Mexico.
While government actors are the main beneficiaries of the initiative (having gained access to innovative tools to collect empirical evidence on a historically under-studied phenomenon), it is expected that this initiative will also generate significant positive impacts for communities affected by the climate crisis where migration and displacement due to climate change and environmental processes is expected to increase in the coming decades.
By possessing timely, accurate, granular, disaggregated, and up-to-date information on these phenomena, governmental and non-governmental actors will be better equipped to design initiatives which build the resilience and adaptive capacities of at-risk communities, including population groups that are often in situations of particular vulnerability, such as women and children, persons living with disabilities, the elderly, and persons of diverse sexual orientation, gender identity, expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC). Given that IOM will now provide direct assistance and capacity building in many of the communities where the tools were piloted, there is a direct connection between data and action.
IOM plans to pilot the quantitative component of the methodology in additional communities in Mexico between 2024 and 2027, targeting not only agricultural communities but also other contexts, including coastal areas, and areas that are recovering from recent disasters. IOM will also support the continued institutionalization of the methodologies to ensure ownership and longer-term sustainability in the Government of Mexico.
Key Lessons
1. The lack of clear legal and statistical definitions of key terms (e.g. environmental migrant / migration; climate migrant/migration) hinders the ability to design policies and programs to respond to the phenomenon and leads to a lack of consensus between actors. IOM aimed to overcome this challenge by providing operational definitions of key concepts for the purposes of project activities.
2. The capacity to collect and systematize information on the migration-environment nexus is limited by a lack of clarity in terms of institutional responsibilities, the lack of clear funding mechanisms, and inadequate coordination spaces. IOM established a steering committee with the government to ensure meaningful cross-sectoral follow-up.
3. The topic of migration, the environment and climate change transverses nearly every sector, including agriculture, labor, social development, gender, migration, civil protection, and more, and requires a multi-disciplinary and intersectional approach. Experts from all these areas in government, civil society, and academia were consulted in the design process to avoid conceptual omissions or oversights.
4. Significant advocacy still needs to be done at all levels of society to make more visible the linkages between environmental phenomena and migration and displacement and prioritize the urgency of addressing the adverse environmental drivers of migration, to provide assistance and protection to environmental migrants, and ensure safe, orderly, and regular pathways for environmental migrants.
To incorporate the lesson in related or future practices, IOM will link the activity to various national policy instruments, including positioning the project as an example of advancements in commitments to respond to climate displacement made in the Government of Mexico’s most recent Nationally Determined Contribution (2022), which is set to be updated in 2025.
2. The capacity to collect and systematize information on the migration-environment nexus is limited by a lack of clarity in terms of institutional responsibilities, the lack of clear funding mechanisms, and inadequate coordination spaces. IOM established a steering committee with the government to ensure meaningful cross-sectoral follow-up.
3. The topic of migration, the environment and climate change transverses nearly every sector, including agriculture, labor, social development, gender, migration, civil protection, and more, and requires a multi-disciplinary and intersectional approach. Experts from all these areas in government, civil society, and academia were consulted in the design process to avoid conceptual omissions or oversights.
4. Significant advocacy still needs to be done at all levels of society to make more visible the linkages between environmental phenomena and migration and displacement and prioritize the urgency of addressing the adverse environmental drivers of migration, to provide assistance and protection to environmental migrants, and ensure safe, orderly, and regular pathways for environmental migrants.
To incorporate the lesson in related or future practices, IOM will link the activity to various national policy instruments, including positioning the project as an example of advancements in commitments to respond to climate displacement made in the Government of Mexico’s most recent Nationally Determined Contribution (2022), which is set to be updated in 2025.
Recommendations(if the practice is to be replicated)
1. Compose a multi-disciplinary team with expertise in quantitative and qualitative research, as well as knowledge across topics related not only to migration but also on climate change, disasters, protection, labor, agriculture, and other resource-intensive sectors.
2. Possess or establish close working relationships with local authorities in the locations where data collection and research is being conducted.
3. Conduct thorough security and risk assessments prior to field work with emergency contingency plans for field teams.
4. Maintain strong government buy-in at all levels.
5. Ensure significant time for planning and advocacy with authorities.
6. Take every precaution to ensure data protection and privacy of research participants and uphold the principles of “do no harm”.
7. Consult best practices on environmental migration research and data collection from other countries and contexts and modify to the local situation.
2. Possess or establish close working relationships with local authorities in the locations where data collection and research is being conducted.
3. Conduct thorough security and risk assessments prior to field work with emergency contingency plans for field teams.
4. Maintain strong government buy-in at all levels.
5. Ensure significant time for planning and advocacy with authorities.
6. Take every precaution to ensure data protection and privacy of research participants and uphold the principles of “do no harm”.
7. Consult best practices on environmental migration research and data collection from other countries and contexts and modify to the local situation.
Innovation
- This project represented the first time that statistics, migration, population, and environmental authorities all came together in Mexico to work on a project related to the migration, environment, and climate change nexus.
- This project is the first ever effort to establish an institutional framework in the government of Mexico to research the migration, environment and climate change nexus.
- This is one of a very limited range of projects that successfully united municipal, state, and federal governmental authorities in one effort to address migration topics.
- This project is the first to put forth a clear set of criteria to the government of Mexico to define the most likely “hotspot” or priority communities of origin of environmental migrants.
- This project facilitated the first ever signature of an agreement between IOM and the government of Mexico (state of Chiapas) to address the migration, environment, and climate change nexus.
This initiative is sustainable given that it was designed in close coordination with and validated by a wide range of government institutions and thereby also reflects the technical preferences and requirements of these actors, increasing the likelihood for institutionalization. Additionally, the methodologies have been designed to be replicable in other locations and contexts, and IOM plans to scale up implementation of migration, environment and climate change household surveys in other priority locations across Mexico in the coming years.
- This project is the first ever effort to establish an institutional framework in the government of Mexico to research the migration, environment and climate change nexus.
- This is one of a very limited range of projects that successfully united municipal, state, and federal governmental authorities in one effort to address migration topics.
- This project is the first to put forth a clear set of criteria to the government of Mexico to define the most likely “hotspot” or priority communities of origin of environmental migrants.
- This project facilitated the first ever signature of an agreement between IOM and the government of Mexico (state of Chiapas) to address the migration, environment, and climate change nexus.
This initiative is sustainable given that it was designed in close coordination with and validated by a wide range of government institutions and thereby also reflects the technical preferences and requirements of these actors, increasing the likelihood for institutionalization. Additionally, the methodologies have been designed to be replicable in other locations and contexts, and IOM plans to scale up implementation of migration, environment and climate change household surveys in other priority locations across Mexico in the coming years.
Additional Resources
Practice Additional Images
Date submitted:
16 October 2024
*References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).