Introduction

It is a pleasure and privilege to welcome you to this expert
panel discussion on climate change, human migration and
displacement.

We are grateful to the United Nations University, and to the
membership of the Climate Change, Environment, and Migration
Alliance (CCEMA) for hosting this important event and for
assembling such a distinguished panel of speakers.

While the deliberations of this panel will no doubt be of great
interest to the audience here today, it is our intention that the
conclusions support on-going efforts to raise awareness of human
mobility within the context of the UNFCCC process in Copenhagen and
beyond.

This meeting brings together a unique group of actors who
represent a wide spectrum of disciplines and organizational
affiliations with the goal of identifying new and innovative ways
to address this complex issue.  

The objectives of our session today are threefold

I. Increasing Awareness

The first objective is to increase awareness about the impact of
climate change on human migration and displacement.

While our subject matter in not new, it has indeed acquired a
new sense of urgency over the past few years, due in large measure
to an elevated understanding of the consequences of climate change
for human mobility. We already know that the numbers of storms,
droughts and floods have increased threefold over the last 30 years
and that those most affected are vulnerable communities
particularly in the developing world.

Moreover, forecasts of the numbers of people who will likely
move due to climate change and environmental degradation by 2050
vary from 25 million to 1 billion.

Members of the CCEMA have played an important role in raising
the visibility of this issue and will no doubt continue to be at
the forefront of this evolving field.

For it part, IOM has carried out relevant programmes in more
than 40 countries, from the Pacific Islands of Federated States of
Micronesia where we have worked with local partners to put in place
disaster preparedness systems in vulnerable communities; to Latin
America and the Asian and African continents, where we have
assisted affected by hurricanes, severe flooding and drought.

We have also sought to enhance our knowledge base through
various research publications, including a forthcoming volume
entitled, Migration, the Environment and Climate Change: Assessing
the Evidence due to be released in the coming month.

II. Identifying Key Patterns in
Research

A second objective is to identify patterns from empirical
research that will deepen our understanding of the nexus between
climate change, human migration and development.

While migration is increasingly cited as one of the consequences
of climate change, there is still uncertainty as to how, and to
what extent, environmental factors influence human migration.

Through improved research capabilities, we stand a better chance
of bridging the gaps in our policies and programmes.

III. Distinguishing Emerging Policy
Issues

A third objective is to distinguish the policy issues that will
guide our future research and programmes.

Both migration and the environment are complex issues influenced
by, and impacting on, a variety of other policy fields, such as
development, health, humanitarian assistance, human rights and
others.

It is also important to bring approaches together. For example,
in climate change discussions, the environmental community
continues to place emphasis on mitigation measures.  Whereas
in the migration community, the emphasis is on adaptation
strategies.

Though attention to adaptation measures is growing, migration is
still not included in such scenarios. Migration is most often seen
as a failure to adapt, rather than as one of several adaptation
strategies. On the migration side, we have also not yet fully
integrated environmental and climate change considerations into
migration management policies and programmes.

Therefore, future policy responses require us to think outside
the box beyond our own specialized fields so that our approaches to
this complex global issue are comprehensive and holistic.

III ½ Partnership and
Cooperation

A priority I will call 3 and a half, is partnership and
cooperation.

Addressing the challenge before us requires unprecedented
collaboration among international organizations, civil society,
private sector, academia and Governments.

The current members of CCEMA, representing as it does a diverse
range of actors, is an important vehicle or advancing the linkages
migration and the environment, particularly as they relate to
research, policy and operations.  IOM takes great pride in its
collaboration with the CCEMA.

There is much knowledge and expertise assembled in this room and
I am anxious to hear your views on how we can work together to our
common challenge.