1. Introduction
The 2022 Working Group II Report of the Sixth Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) presented a bleak reality; the rise in extreme weather and climate events have exposed millions to acute food insecurity and water insecurity; and will continue to do so at an alarming rate.[1] In parallel, a record number of people are on the move. These drivers of migration are influenced by worsening climate change and environmental degradation and are likely to become even more destructive in the coming decades. Furthermore, these drivers also impact food security. Populations’ ability to grow food of sufficient quality and quantity is closely connected to climate variability and their capacity to make a decent living by selling food at adequate prices.
Against this backdrop, this paper will highlight some of the key issues pertaining to the migration, climate change and food security nexus, from the perspective of the International Organization of Migration (IOM), the only agency of the UN system that works on all dimensions of the migration, climate change and food security nexus from both policy and operational perspectives.
2. Unpacking the human mobility, climate change, and food security nexus
The migration, climate change and food security nexus is complex. Sudden and slow-onset events and processes linked to climate change shape human mobility and food security. Desertification, sea-level rise, extreme heat, and extreme weather events pose risks to livelihoods, water availability and resilience, all of which jeopardize food security and sustainable development contributing to different types of human mobility.
2.1. Food insecurity as a driver of migration
Food security is one of the many socio-economic and environmental factors that impact the decision to migrate. Furthermore, this migration can take several forms, with some forced into displacement and others migrating – at least to an extent – voluntarily in search of better economic opportunities. People may also cross borders or stay within their own countries, or migrate in a circular way, for various periods of times or forever.
Existing data reveals that millions of people are forced each year into displacement due to the combined impacts of climate change and food insecurity. Food insecurity may also drive people to voluntarily migrate in response to or in anticipation of food insecurity, in search of areas where food security is better assured. For instance, rural-to-urban migration in the Kyrgyz Republic is linked to the devastating impacts of climate change on agriculture and farming livelihoods.[2] The current trends of migration from rural to urban areas are influenced by a multitude of factors, including the uncertainty of income and the risks associated with food insecurity, which often prompts farm households to adopt migration as a coping mechanism.[3] Poor rural households, especially those residing in developing countries, often resort to sending family members to urban areas to pursue non-agricultural employment, as a means of managing the risks associated with seasonal hunger and extreme poverty.[4] Additionally, displacement caused by environmental disasters, such as floods or coastal erosion, has become commonplace in many nations. For communities where livelihoods heavily depend on vulnerable water and marine resources, migration can sometimes be considered a collective strategy.[5] For example, for Small Island Developing States (SIDS), planned relocation or resettlement may be necessary as climate change impacts threaten the physical viability of SIDS and their entire national economies.[6] At the same time, food insecurity might reduce some of the resources necessary to migrate, such as financial means linked to declining agricultural, farming or fishing livelihoods, resulting in trapped populations that are unable to migrate. On the other hand, those with improved food security may have the resources to cope with compounding crises or climatic events, allowing them to remain in their areas of origin. Food insecurity can also aggravate the situation of people already on the move, including displaced populations and migrants in transit who are often food insecure and need humanitarian assistance.
As climate change and food insecurity worsens, regions and communities with existing vulnerabilities and people with pre-existing inequalities will suffer disproportionately. Rural populations, landlocked or import dependent countries, those in fragile and conflict-affected contexts and humanitarian operations will bear the brunt of natural resource scarcity, commodity scarcity and rising food costs. Looking towards the future, it is already clear that millions of people will be on the move due to climate impacts and their spillover effects. If no widespread policy interventions are adopted to step up climate mitigation and adaptation measures in vulnerable regions, the World Bank projects that 216 million people could become internal climate migrants by 2050.[7]
2.2. Key datapoints
Climate change, disasters, and food insecurity have been found to shape migration patterns globally. The combined impacts of climate change and food insecurity are leading to acute crises, that, combined with the lingering effects of pandemic, economic instability, rising food prices, can compound risks for communities already under severe stress, leading to protracted crises. In 2022, disasters alone led to 36.2 million internal displacements.[8] For example, in the East Asia and Pacific region, approximately 10 million people were internally displaced by floods, storms and geophysical hazards in 2022.[9]
Disasters directly linked to food security, such as intense drought, that contribute to famine episodes, also lead to migration and displacement. In 2022, 2.1 million people were displaced because of drought in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia.[10] As of November 2022, IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix estimates that 1.8 million people have been displaced by drought in the Horn of Africa, with five million people living in drought-affected areas, and 260,000 migrants moving to and from the area (e.g. Fig. 1).[11] Drought-induced displacement is increasing the vulnerability of an already vulnerable population as they move to urban areas in search of assistance. Between 2021 and 2022, the number of internally displaced people in 22 countries that had food crises grew from 45 to 51 million.[12] In the Horn of Africa, more than 1.5 million people have been displaced due to drought – with more than one million displaced in Somalia since January 2021.[13]
Figure 1. Horn of Africa Drought 2022: Human Mobility Snapshot (January-December 2022)
According to the 2023 Global Report on Food Crises, nearly 53.2 million people were internally displaced in 25 countries and territories identified as food crises.[14] Nearly 670 million people, or eight per cent of the global population, will be facing hunger in 2030.[15] Sub-Saharan Africa remains one of the most vulnerable regions to the impact of climate change and a region predicted to have the greatest number of internal climate migrants by 2050, an estimated 86 million people.[16]
2.3. Migration – both a challenge and an opportunity
Migration in the context of climate change and food insecurity clearly presents challenges for states and communities. However, migration already represents hope in some contexts. Research shows that migration can boost the capacity of people and communities to adapt to adverse climate impacts.[17] The IPCC recognizes that increasing adaptative capacities can reduce climate displacement’s negative impacts and improve migrants’ degree of choice.[18] On one hand, increasing adaptive capacities can help to avert, minimise and address climate-related displacement. At the same time, safe, orderly and regular migration, within and between countries, can support adaptation.
Migration can also act as a powerful driver of development and resilience building in the face of climate change and food insecurity if enabling conditions are in place. Safe, regular, and orderly migration can provide a mean for livelihood diversification, increase household savings via financial remittances, and lead to the acquisition of new adaptive skills, while reducing pressures on natural resources in climate-vulnerable and food-insecure communities of origin.
Key message: The evidence is clear; climate change and food insecurity are shaping contemporary migration patterns at a time when there are more people migrating than at any time in recorded history. Migration is often a challenge to be managed, but it can also provide opportunities to countries, communities and individuals when enabling conditions are in place.
|
Furthermore, the role of migrants as key contributors to global food security should be better acknowledged. More than a quarter of the global farm work is done by migrant workers.[19] Food systems in countries of destination rely heavily on migrant workers, who contribute to the global food supply and global food security through their agricultural labor.
3. Effective actions to respond to the needs of food insecure migrants and displaced people
As food insecurity continues to worsen, it is essential to develop solutions addressing the complexities of the migration, climate change and food security nexus. IOM promotes a comprehensive approach to this nexus, grounded in human rights for the benefit of both migrants and societies. When well-managed migration becomes a safe and accessible choice, it can help people adapt to environmental and climate change.
To this end, supporting inclusive multilateral and cross-sectoral collaboration and developing innovative migration responses is key to make humane and orderly migration part of the solution to address food insecurity. This entails working across the Humanitarian, Development and Peace Nexus (HPDN) to provide solutions in the following areas: 1) addressing the environmental, climate, and security factors that compel people to leave their places of residence; 2) building the resilience of communities through adaptation, preparedness and disaster risk reduction measures; 3) providing effective and timely humanitarian and recovery assistance; and 4) implementing peacebuilding and community stabilization activities to manage risks associated with climate change and unplanned population movements.
In addition, investments in sustainable agriculture, water management, and renewable energy sources can help build resilient and adaptive communities, reduce poverty and inequality, and promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
To address the complex relationship between migration, environment, and climate change, the IOM has strengthened its efforts through the Migration, Environment, and Climate Change Strategy 2021-2030. IOM’s work in disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and sustainable livelihoods reflects its dedication to supporting communities worldwide and providing durable solutions. Existing programming provides a wealth of knowledge and best practices on how to address different dimensions of the migration, climate change and food security nexus.
Anticipating and identifying needs: As overlapping crises cause forced migration and displacement, innovative approaches are needed to identify emerging needs in displacement contexts to improve preparation and to adequately address the needs of the affected population. For example, in acute humanitarian crises, IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM)[20] is used to identify and address data gaps on the food security status of displaced populations to better understand and respond to the food security needs of vulnerable communities. Furthermore, in displacement settings, providing sources of clean water and energy are imperative to ensuring basic needs are met. IOM DTM is piloting an Energy Module to help provide a snapshot of displaced and affected communities’ energy needs and guide the development of the humanitarian response across sectors concerned with the clean energy transition including, camp coordination and camp management (CCCM), food security, shelter & non-food items, protection, water, sanitation and hygiene. This data would be useful to identify and prioritize locations with urgent sectoral needs.
Encouraging joined-up coherent action: In Latin America and the Caribbean, IOM co-leads the Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants (R4V) with UNHCR. The R4V platform, present in 17 countries and coordinating the response of 192 partners, is an example of how to work jointly and through a coordinated sectoral approach while allowing for a flexible response based on vulnerability that effectively adapts to a crisis context. As part of the R4V Response, the Refugee and Migrant Response Plan (RMRP) ensures close cooperation and coordination with local and national authorities, academia, and the private sector to expand initiatives for immediate and urgent food needs using approaches that factor gender and age considerations.[21]
In Somalia, competition for scarce natural resources, particularly water, is driving violent conflict. Environmentally fragile communities are forced to relocate and compete with other communities for control over declining ecological yields as a result of climate change and environmental deterioration, which further depletes already scarce water resources. Through a multi-sectoral and collaborative approach, IOM, the United Nations Environmental Programme and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute are working together to reduce environmentally-induced displacement and conflict in Somalia’s Galmudug state. Activities include tangible investments in water infrastructure and innovations for water and energy capture, such as construction of a solar-powered borehole, as well as infrastructure support and agro-pastoral livelihood opportunities for women.
Working directly with affected communities: Climate change acts as a ‘threat multiplier’, not directly causing conflict but interacting with other political, economic, social and factors, including food insecurity, to exacerbate drivers of conflict and fragility.[22] In West and Central Africa, transhumance is an important livelihood and economic activity that drives rural development in the region, but climate change, demographic changes and resource scarcity are exacerbating political insecurity leading to conflict and affecting traditional transhumance routes.[23] IOM developed the DTM Transhumance Tracking Tool (TTT) as a localized approach to conflict resolution. The TTT provides event alerts, due to conflict or disaster, as well as prevention alerts due to unexpected livestock movements to understand existing and potential conflicts.[24] Using a localized alert system, a large network of informants across the region share and receive movement and conflict information that is provided to regional stakeholders for the development of tension reduction interventions.
In Senegal, the Casamance violence has impacted Kolda, one of Senegal’s poorest regions. While the region was traditionally fertile and provided many opportunities for farming, climate change and environmental degradation have depleted local soils, endangering the livelihoods of local communities dependent on the agriculture sector. In 2019, IOM implemented a pilot project in partnership with the NGO Trees for the Future (TREES) to train returned migrants in agroforestry and sustainable agricultural practices.[25] Following the TREES Forest Garden Approach, returnees worked on a demonstration farm where they cultivated fruits and vegetables as well as learned new income-generating practices.
Supporting migrants to be part of the solution: To address food insecurity, durable solutions that focus on prevention, adaptation, and long-term resilience are needed to build the adaptative capacity of affected populations. Financial remittances can contribute to household food security in many ways, including supporting the purchase of consumable goods, diversifying household income, and funding the purchase of production inputs.[26] Social remittances, such as innovative ideas and practices, can support the acquisition of new adaptive skills such as climate-smart agriculture in communities of origin.
Key message: Understanding and addressing the nexus between migration, environment, climate change, and food insecurity through programmatic action across the HDPN is necessary to reduce the negative impacts of these factors on lives and livelihoods. Governments, international organizations, civil society and migrants themselves must work together to develop comprehensive and evidence-based policies that protect human rights and address the root causes of migration in this context. |
In Tajikistan, IOM is centering women in the solution. Climate change will greatly affect Tajikistan’s rural population, which is dependent on the agricultural sector, by intensifying drought and severe water shortage. At the same time, out-migration is a defining characteristic of Tajikistan’s society and the remittances sent home are important to the national economy and support the livelihoods of families staying behind. IOM is supported the women staying behind respond to the impacts of drought and severe water shortage by leveraging savings, predominantly from remittances, for household adaptation planning. To guide future policy and programming on climate change adaptation in Tajikistan, an action research study was conducted to understand the best capacity building initiatives to boost climate change adaptation in their households.
4. Looking ahead
The overlapping crises we are witnessing around the world are undermining the international community’s ability to deliver the promises of Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, to reach the climate mitigation and adaptation objectives collectively agreed upon under the Paris Climate Agreement and the advance the implementation of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. Yet, it is a global responsibility to respond to current challenges linked to climate change, food (in)security and migration, and to prepare for future challenges on the horizon, including by promoting the positive role of migration and migrants.
To this end, states will need to prioritize actions across the HDPN based on whole-of-society approaches. This paper identifies five concrete actions, echoed from the report of the 2022 International Dialogue on Migration – Overlapping Global Crises: The Impacts of Food Insecurity and Climate Change on Migration and Displacement,[27] that have the potential to create transformational changes for countries and societies.
- Identify communities-based action to adapt to changing food-related livelihood options, including through skills development, social protection measures, and financial investments including through partnerships with the private sector.
- Explore the possibilities to expand legal pathways to provide safe and legal migration options to those experiencing the twinned acute impacts of food insecurity and climate crisis.
- Leverage the added value of existing knowledge to better understand and respond to the interconnections between rural livelihoods, food security and migration.
- Systematically integrate the voices of migrants in the development and implementation of policy and programmatic responses and ensure that these responses are fully informed by migrants’ experiences.
- Assess the impacts on vulnerable people, especially women, who often bear the brunt of food insecurity but also hold the key to solutions; and young people, who will be forced to take up the legacy we leave behind.
References:
Causse, C., D. Mokhnacheva and G. Camus.
2016 Ocean, Environment, Climate Change and Human Migration. In: Ocean and Climate Scientific Note, Second edition. ocean-climate.org. Paris.
Clement, V., Rigaud, K.K., de Sherbinin, A., Jones, B., Adamo, S., Schewe, J., Sadiq N., Shabahat, E.
2021 Groundswell Part 2: Acting on Internal Climate Migration. World Bank, Washington, DC.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
n.d. A Battle Plan for Ensuring Global Food Supplies During the COVID-19 Crisis.
2015 Climate Change and Food Security: Risks and Responses. Rome.
2022 The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2022. Rome.
FAO, International Fund for Agricultural Development, International Organization for Migration and the World Food Programme
2018 The Linkages between Migration, Agriculture, Food Security and Rural Development. Rome.
FAO and WFP
2022a Hunger Hotspots FAO-WFP Early Warnings on Acute Food Insecurity June to September 2022 Outlook. Rome.
2022b Hunger Hotspots FAO-WFP Early Warnings on Acute Food Insecurity October 2022 to January 2023 Outlook. Rome.
Food Security Information Network and the Global Network Against Food Crises
2023 2023 Global Report on Food Crises: Joint Analysis for Better Decisions. Rome.
International Displacement Monitoring Centre
2023 Global Report on Internal Displacements 2023: Internal Displacement and Food Security. Geneva, pp. 5, 12.
International Organization for Migration
n.d. Mainstreaming Environmental Dimensions into Reintegration Support to Reduce the Effects of Climate Change on Migration in West Africa. Website (accessed 11 June 2023).
2017 Making Mobility Work for Adaptation Environmental Changes: Results from the MECLEP global research. (Melde, S., F. Laczko and F. Gemenne, eds.). IOM, Geneva.
2021a Exploring the Climate Change – Conflict – Mobility Nexus. IOM Migration Research Series, No. 70. (Zingg, S.). IOM, Geneva.
2021b West and Central Africa – Transhumance Tracking Tool – Mapping of Herders Stranded Along the Central Transhumance Corridor. IOM Global Data Institute Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM). IOM, Geneva.
2022a Horn of Africa Drought 2022: Human Mobility Snapshot (January-December 2022). IOM Global Data Institute Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM). IOM, Geneva.
2022c Director General Opening Remarks, Second Session of the International Dialogue on Migration 2022, on “Overlapping Global Crises: The Impacts of Food Insecurity and Climate Change on Migration and Displacement” 24-25 October 2022.
2023a Chad – Transhumance Tracking Tool Dashboard 3. IOM Global Data Institute Displacement Tracking Matrix. Geneva.
2023b Overlapping Global Crises: The Impacts of Food Insecurity and Climate Change on Migration and Displacement. IOM International Dialogue on Migration Series, No.34. Geneva.
Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela Website (accessed 24 May 2023).
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
2022a Chapter 5: Food, Fibre, and Other Ecosystem Products. In Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. (K.R Bezner, T. Hasegawa, R. Lasco, I. Bhatt, D. Deryng, A. Farrell, H. Gurney-Smith, H. Ju, S. Lluch-Cota, F. Meza, G. Nelson, H. Neufeldt, and P. Thornton). Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, pp. 713-906.
2022b Summary for Policymakers. [H.O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, M. Tignor, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem (eds.)]. In Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Ibid. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York, pp. 3-33.
Terry K. and A. Rai.
2023 Amid Record Drought and Food Insecurity, East Africa’s Protracted Humanitarian Crisis Worsens. Migration Policy Institute. Washington DC.
Weldemariam, L.F., P. Sakdapolrak and A. Ayanlade.
2022 The Impact of Migration on Food Security in Tigray, Northern Ethiopia: The Role of Migration Patterns and Remittances. Erdkunde: Archive for Scientific Geography. University of Bonn, 76(4): 271-288.
WFP and IOM
2021 Migration, Food Security and Nutrition in the Kyrgyz Republic. Rome and Geneva.
[1] IPCC, 2022a.
[2] WFP and IOM, 2021.
[3] FAO et al., 2018.
[4] FAO, 2015.
[5] Causse et al.,2016.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Clement et al., 2021.
[8] IDMC, 2023.
[9] Ibid.
[10] Ibid.
[11] IOM, 2022a.
[12] FSIN, 2023.
[13] Terry and Rai, 2023.
[14] FSIN, 2023.
[15] FAO, 2022.
[16] Clement et al., 2021.
[17] IOM, 2017.
[18] IPCC, 2022b.
[19] FAO, n.d.
[20] IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix gathers and analyses data to share timely and critical multi-layered information on the mobility, vulnerabilities, and needs of displaced and mobile population targeting emergency responders and decision makers.
[21] The Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela, accessed 24 May 2023.
[22] IOM, 2021a.
[23] IOM, 2021b.
[24] IOM, 2023a.
[25] IOM, n.d.
[26] Weldemariam et al., 2021.
[27] IOM, 2023b.