Mr. Chairman, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen,

I am taking the floor to address the theme of climate change
from a migration perspective. While climate change and millions on
the move internally and across borders are now both acknowledged as
two of the great geopolitical challenges of our times, the causal
link between them, while sometimes recognized, has yet to be
quantified

The relationship between the environment and migration is now
beginning to attract increasing attention. Recent reports indicate
that by 2010 we will see an additional 50 million environmental
migrants; environmental migrants being persons or groups of persons
who, because of sudden or progressive changes in the environment
affecting adversely their livelihoods, have to move from their
habitual homes to temporary or durable new homes, either within
their country or abroad.

If disaster response has been high on the agenda of the
international community in recent years, comparatively little
attention has been paid to the long-term migration consequences of
predictable environmental forces, such as global climate change,
the greenhouse effect, deforestation, desertification, drought,
river erosion and other relatively predictable climatic and
environmental trends. These changes will put at risk the
inhabitants, of coastal regions, islands, and areas susceptible to
drought, as well as permanently alter the livelihoods and
lifestyles of those who live in such areas or who depend on plant
and animal species or particular natural environments that are in
jeopardy. Migration, not just linked to great natural disasters
– tsunami and earthquakes – but also to gradual climate
change, is already uprooting communities and transforming cultures
at an alarming rate. 

 

Mr. Chairman,

To advance international cooperation on these matters, IOM has
recently organized an expert workshop in Bangkok in collaboration
with UNFPA on the topic of Environment and Migration, bringing
together environment and migration experts from the scientific and
policy communities of every continent to discuss implications of
the relationship between migration and the environment, some of
which I would like to share with this audience:

• Fundamental questions about how we deal with environmental
  change are “Fight or flight”? Is migration the only
  appropriate response to environmental influences? Governments
  committed to the MDGs have an obligation to help vulnerable
  potential environmental migrants meet the additional challenges
  posed by climate change through provision of alternative coping
  strategies, livelihood creation and resource conservation
  strategies. In other words, helping them to stay and fight.
  
  
  
• Depending on the context, migration can be both a coping and
  adaptation mechanism. Often it is inevitable but it is nonetheless
  often perceived as a “problem” rather than a
  solution.
  
  
  
• In the context of migration induced by either sudden or long
  term environmental changes, internal migration is most common and
  usually most permanent. Long term environmental changes are more
  likely to cause permanent migration than sudden catastrophes.
  Rarely are the causes linear – usually there a multitude of
  environmental, social and economic – that cause migration.
  Often socio-economic factors mediate between the two: poverty and
  general socio-economic status can determine a person’s or the
  community’s vulnerability to environmental events and
  processes.
  
  
  
• The scale of migration resulting from gradual changes is likely
  to be far greater than the displacement resulting from individual
  catastrophic events.
  
  
  
• Comprehensive approaches to dealing with migration and the
  environment issues need to include better quality data and better
  analysis, increased awareness, appropriate legislative frameworks
  and humanitarian aid and institutions with the capacity to respond
  the long term and sudden changes.

Furthermore, the experts identified specific steps and gaps
which urgently need addressing to enhance further work on these
issues, including:

1. A database and compendium on existing policies related to
   migration and the environment, especially strategies to stabilize
   communities and livelihoods in environmentally sensitive areas;
   
   
   
2. Mapping the world’s most environmentally sensitive
   regions, to identify factors influencing human mobility – the
   decision to stay or to leave – at micro level. As the impact
   of climate change spread, micro-solutions may hold the key to
   future population stabilization.
   
   
   
3.  Increased inter-disciplinary dialogue that bridges the
   gap between environmental scientists and policy makers in the filed
   of migration management, creating a common language to address what
   may become on the 21st century greatest human challenges; and
   
   
   
4. Action-oriented research: pilot projects at the local scale
   with appropriate evaluation mechanisms.

In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, Governments must be equipped to
address both the effects of extreme weather events, such as
hurricanes, and of the more gradual, but no less potentially
harmful changes like species extinction or global warming of our
planet. The relationship between migration and environment will
have implications in every State, but will certainly affect some
countries more due to their geography or level of
development.  Because this problem is anticipated only to
worsen, it must be addressed in an immediate and effective
manner.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.