Nepal - IOM and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation in the field of labour migration and remittances in climate change adaptation in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region.

Under the agreement, ICIMOD and IOM Nepal will work together over the next three years to better understand the role of labour migration and remittances in climate change adaptation in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. Efforts will include joint research, policy briefs, and capacity enhancement, as well as promoting and sharing climate change adaptation and migration-related tools, methods and technologies.

The MOU signing ceremony was also attended by Nepal’s Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Women Children and Social Welfare and the Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the National Planning Commission.

“IOM believes that migration, climate change and the environment are interrelated. Environmental factors have long had an impact on global migration flows, as people have historically left places with harsh or deteriorating conditions. Such migration can have positive and negative effects on both the local coping capacity and the environment in areas from which these migrants originate, as well as in their temporary or permanent destinations,” said IOM Deputy Director General Laura Thompson.

“On the positive side, migration can be an adaptation strategy to climate and environmental change and is an essential component of the socio-environmental interaction that needs to be managed. Migration can also be a coping mechanism and survival strategy for those who move. It can also open up opportunities for employment,” she added.

“Migration for work is a traditional livelihood strategy across the Hindu Kush Himalayan region,” said ICIMOD Director General Dr. David Molden. “Migrant workers contribute to the development and adaptation of their families and communities in the face of climate and environmental change.”

“To maximize benefits of migration and reduce risks for migrant workers, their families, and the communities they come from, policies must acknowledge the potential of migration in supporting adaptation and livelihoods. There must be an accessible institutional arrangement for the better use of remittances and skills,” he added.

Today, an estimated 105 million people are working in a country other than their country of birth. Labour mobility has become a key feature of globalization and the global economy, with the World Bank projecting that international migrants from developing countries will remit USD 435 billion to their home countries this year. In Nepal remittances accounted for 29 percent (USD 5.55 billion) of the country’s 2013 GDP. 

For more information please contact

Ariani Soejoeti

IOM Nepal

Tel. +977 9803493760 

Email : ahsoejoeti@iom.int

Or

Nira Gurung

ICIMOD

Tel. +977-1-5003222

Email: nira.gurung@icimod.org