Written by: Aisha Ould Habib
In an era of rapid transformations and increasing challenges, the issues of migration and climate change emerge as major axes that pose major challenges to Arab societies.
Climate change has a devastating impact on Arab populations and communities, their jobs and livelihoods, which is why it is important to talk about the increasingly severe impact of climate change-induced migration and displacement, especially on children and women.
These challenges directly threaten the food security and livelihoods of millions of people, exacerbating the problem of migration and displacement.
This paper, prepared by ESCWA for the United Nations, provides a comprehensive analysis of the mutual impacts of climate change and migration in the region, in addition to presenting a set of important recommendations that can be adopted to build a robust and comprehensive approach to managing the nexus.
The paper examines the problem of migration and displacement due to conflicts and disasters in the Arab region, particularly from rural to urban areas and international migration, resulting from the effects of climate change. These patterns and trends affect the lives of millions.
The paper provides important data on disasters. Floods contributed 58% of the total number of people displaced by disasters between 2010 and 2019, while in 2020, 2 million new internally displaced people were recorded due to natural hazards in the Arab region.
The number of undernourished people reached 54.3 million in 2021, and 53.9 million were classified as severely food insecure.
The paper adds important details about environmental stress, which has exacerbated climate events such as drought, sea level rise, floods and desertification, a risk multiplier and another negative driver of migration.
It can affect agricultural production and the livelihoods of rural people, due to unpredictable changes in rainfall and temperature patterns.
Urban expansion, land degradation and competition over dwindling natural resources can also exacerbate conflicts and threaten peace and stability in the region, leading to further displacement and forced migration.
The impacts of climate change undermine people's enjoyment of a range of human rights including the rights to life, self-determination, decent work, development, health, food, water, sanitation, adequate housing and a range of other cultural rights.
In the field of policies: challenges and priorities
The paper discussed the most important initial challenges in the field of policies, which are:
1. Migrant workers
There are few government plans that address the need for, or potential for, skilled migrant labour mobility into green jobs. This requires just mobility to environmentally sustainable economies and societies to integrate migrant workers and enable them to contribute to low-carbon economies. Just mobility can ensure that migrant workers have access to decent work opportunities and contribute to the transition to a green economy through their work in environmentally friendly sectors.
Rising temperatures also increase the risk of heat-related occupational illnesses and injuries, making heat stress more common in terms of duration, frequency and severity.
2. Women
Women in the Arab region cause less greenhouse gas emissions than men due to their traditional, socially defined roles, but they suffer more from the impacts of climate change, especially when they own small assets.
Women are also doing more unpaid care work as climate crises worsen. The water-energy-food-insecurity nexus disproportionately affects women.
3. Children
Children are also highly vulnerable to climate and environmental risk factors as well as other risks, such as abuse and exploitation, and are more likely to engage in hazardous work and drop out of school, because the education sector does not provide a global policy framework to meet children’s needs and uphold their rights when navigating the context of climate change.
4. Food security
The worsening heat waves, droughts and famines in the Arab region threaten the sustainability of agricultural activities and thus food production. Climate change affects agriculture and food security in the Arab region. Rural populations, who depend directly on climate-sensitive natural resources for their livelihoods and income, are disproportionately affected. Structural causes of vulnerability, such as poverty, inequality and marginalization, undermine the ability of smallholder farmers in the region to adapt to climate change.
5. Urban expansion
More than half of the population in the Arab region lives in cities and informal settlements, in addition to political conflicts, dependence on fossil fuels and climate-sensitive livelihoods, which has led to migration from rural to urban areas. The increase in the number of migrant populations poses significant challenges related to urban expansion, especially in large cities.
Service providers in urban areas often find it difficult to meet the needs of both resident populations and incoming migrants, which can lead to gaps in access to basic services and housing security.
The expansion of informal settlements into climate-sensitive areas such as floodplains increases the exposure of communities to environmental hazards.
The report includes a set of practical and informed recommendations that can be adopted to develop effective strategies for managing the climate change and migration nexus in the Arab region:
Policy Recommendations
Awareness and advocacy:
This is done by raising policy makers’ awareness of the impact of climate change on human mobility, supporting the integration of human mobility considerations into national climate change adaptation and just transition policies, improving the management of rural-urban migration by including it in urban and development plans, and encouraging the participation of ministries of public works and urban planning in national dialogues on migration.
Data and research:
Strengthen investment in collecting and analyzing data on population movements resulting from disasters, including migration and displacement, enhance support for scientific research on the link between climate change and migration, conduct studies on the relationship between slow climate change and migration, and expand the network of climate change researchers and encourage them to assess the link between climate change and mobility in the region.
migrant workers
Establish employers’ obligations to prevent violations of migrant workers’ rights, including occupational heat stress, and mitigate the risk of abuse. Create and support labour mobility pathways that enable climate-affected populations to access decent work opportunities in green, alternative and sustainable fields.
Intensifying efforts to support a just transition to environmentally sustainable and inclusive economies and societies, through comprehensive social dialogue, skills development and green job opportunities.
Help governments, private sector actors and workers’ organizations in the region discuss, design and implement skills mobility initiatives to build a skilled workforce and achieve a just transition to green economies.
Studying the links between climate change, just transition and labour mobility, by working with governments, UN agencies and national stakeholders, including social partners, civil society organisations and academia.
· A gender, age and disability perspective
Calls on States to integrate climate impacts on migrants into national development plans and to include migration governance in their policies. Efforts include child protection, gender equality and the needs of persons with disabilities in resilience and adaptation plans.
Conducts gender- and age-sensitive climate impact reviews and individual needs post-disaster, taking into account response and recovery measures, migration and development programmes, with a focus on inequality, provides guidance for gender-sensitive budgeting for women affected by climate risks, and organises trainings for gender-sensitive budgeting for climate change adaptation and human development programmes.
Protecting food security:
Develop comprehensive solutions to build resilience to climate change in resource-based rural livelihoods, while addressing negative drivers of migration and displacement. Strengthen linkages between rural and urban food systems, recognizing their interdependence, thereby enhancing food security for both rural and urban households, including migrants and their families.
Maintaining food security during crises by ensuring coverage of protection plans
Social inclusion and benefits for migrants, regardless of their migration status. Address all dimensions of food insecurity, including availability, access, utilization and stability of food supplies, for vulnerable migrant populations, especially children. Promote the adoption of farm-to-table strategies for sustainable production and consumption in national and local development plans.
· Institutional development
Integrate climate change adaptation measures into public policies, strategies and plans, particularly those affecting migrants. Integrate climate change issues into migration governance frameworks, employment policies and sectoral policies. Ensure that climate change and migration policies comply with human rights and labour rights obligations. Invest in disaster risk reduction and local adaptation measures for environmental risk management and land use. Invite local authorities to participate in the formulation of public policies, strategies and plans related to migration and climate change.
The full report can be accessed here. Link:
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