Progress report for
Migration, Environment and Climate Change: Evidence for Policy
Achievement at a glance
The project has advanced all three of its main components (research, capacity-building, knowledge sharing) and produced the following deliverables in the selected SIDS:I. National Assessment Reports (reviews of existing evidence and policies on migration, environment and climate change);
II. Household surveys and case study reports in migrant destination areas vulnerable to environmental change (finalized for PNG and Haiti; Dominican Republic in drafting stage; Mauritius survey to begin in June 2016);
III. Training Manual on Migration Environment and Climate Change and Policymaker trainings;
IV. National policy consultations.
Challenges faced in implementation
Country-specific social and political risks such as changes in the governments in the pilot countries and political uncertainty before/after elections have delayed the approval process for some activities. However, the gap in time has been used to front-load all necessary preparations so that activities can begin immediately once government approval is received.Violent clashes that have occurred between the community of IDPs from Manam Island and the local population in Madang Province in PNG have affected the feasibility of the household survey in that area. Only qualitative interviews were conducted with those who provided informed consent.
Environmental risk factors such as monsoon/hurricane seasons in the pilot countries have been taken into consideration and appropriate months to conduct surveys have been discussed with the MECLEP focal points and a Technical Working Group, in order to avoid risks of halting or delaying survey implementation.
Next Steps
The immediate next steps will primarily entail collating and finalizing the findings from research undertaken in the remaining pilot countries, notably to:-Finalize the case study report from the Dominican Republic and develop the report on Mauritius.
- Continue developing Policy Briefs useful for all SIDS.
-Increase outreach and communication channels and enhance the Environmental Migration Portal content.
- Develop a final comparative report covering all countries included in the project.
Beneficiaries
The MECLEP project has been carried out in six countries, of which 4 are SIDS.
Actions
Local populations affected by environmental change: empirical evidence will contribute to accurate policy advice. A better understanding of the environmental migration causes, processes and consequences will contribute to higher livelihoods quality.Broader policy and research community interested in the implications of environmental change on migration: will have access to up to date information, comparative analysis, policy briefs and literature review summaries.
National/local government officials and civil society organizations: the outputs of the project will allow governments to implement environmental migration policies based on empirical knowledge, guaranteeing a greater success and potentially greater acceptance of the policies amongst local populations.
Research institutes working on issues of migration and/or environment: new research networks, tools, methodologies and findings are available, research gaps have been found and need further development.