MIGRATION, AGRICULTURE AND CLIMATE CHANGE A GROWING AND COMPLEX GLOBAL PHENOMENON
KEY MESSAGES
CONTEXT OF MIGRATION, AGRICULTURE AND CLIMATE CHANGE•
Climate change is a cause of rural migration and intensifes other socio-economic drivers of migration, such as rural poverty and food insecurity.
Short- and long-term effects of climate change have signifcant impacts on agricultural productivity, rural livelihoods and, indirectly, migration fows.
Climate change impact on migration is through increases in the frequency and intensity of weather and climate risks. These climate-related risks can be sudden-onset events (e.g. tropical storms, heavy rains, foods and droughts) or slow-onset ones (e.g. sea-level rise, salinization and desertifcation).
Migration in the context of climate change has multiple causes. The combination of climate-related risks with socio-economic drivers increases the vulnerability of agriculture, leads to loss of livelihoods and triggers migration.
Internal migration is one of the coping strategies adopted in response to the threats of weather and climate extremes.
Seasonal migrants, in particular, tend to return to their places of origin and rebuild their livelihoods.
ADDRESSING MIGRATION CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES UNDER CLIMATE CHANGE•
Migration can be an adaptation strategy to climate change. Safe, orderly and regular migration can contribute to agriculture development, economic growth, food security and rural livelihoods.
Poorly managed migration can increase vulnerability to climate risks, heighten pressure on scarce natural resources, and exacerbate tensions between migrants and host communities on land tenure and resource rights.
Migration can increase the resilience of vulnerable populations, especially in climate-sensitive rural areas.
Migrants can help create decent employment and inclusive social protection systems by transferring remittances, technology, knowledge and skills.
Investing in sustainable agriculture should be central to the response to climate and migration challenges as it promotes the adaptation to and mitigation of climate change.
Migration is a growing and complex global phenomenon.
Climate change drivers and risks such as tropical cyclones, heavy rains and foods, droughts and desertifcation, and sea-level rise are among the causes of migration from rural areas.
Climate change is causing or contributing to an increase in the frequency and intensity of these events and their adverse effects.
Most migration, including migration in the context of climate change, has multiple causes.
The convergence of climatic risks with other socio-economic stressors increases vulnerability and contributes to the loss of livelihoods.
This situation can trigger migration from rural areas.
In developing countries, the agriculture sectors (crops and livestock, fsheries and aquaculture and forestry) absorb 26 percent of the total damage and losses from climate-related disasters.
These impacts aggravate food insecurity and intensify migration around the world.
Between 2008 and 2015, an average of 26.4 million people were displaced annually by natural-hazard-induced and climate-related disasters – and this trend is rising.
Today the total number of international migrants, including those displaced by climate-related natural disasters, is 40 percent higher than in 2000, with numbers expected to exceed 400 million by 2050.
It is diffcult to accurately estimate the number of migrants as a result of climate change.
Given the complex drivers of migration, estimates of climate-related migration vary greatly.
This is due in part to a lack of data and the diffculty in isolating climate change as a driver of migration.
Overall, migration associated with climate change is growing, and more likely to be in the form of internal mobility within a country.
THE GLOBAL RESPONSE – TRANSLATING COMMITMENTS INTO ACTION
Global agendas and frameworks recognize the positive contribution of migrants for climate risk reduction, resilience building, food security, poverty reduction and economic growth.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development emphasizes the need for international cooperation to enable safe, orderly and regular migration and so ensure this positive contribution.
Migrants driven by necessity rather than by choice will probably experience increased
Migration – when a choice and not a necessity – can play an important role as an adaptation strategy to climate change.
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