New research showing how climate change is reshaping global migration patterns will be revealed during a major conference exploring the issues this month.
Climate change is already altering where people live and work across the world – from rural communities to rapidly growing cities. Now new findings highlight how governments can respond, suggesting migration may need to be integrated into climate adaptation planning rather than treated simply as a problem to prevent.
The conference, Mobility in Adaptation to Climate Change, takes place at the Wellcome Collection in London on May 19-20 and will bring together leading scientists studying migration and climate change.
Sixteen papers will be presented over the two days on every aspect of migration and climate change, by researchers from Africa, Asia and Europe.
The event is organised through a collaboration between UK-based researchers at the University of Exeter and the University of East Anglia (UEA), working with partners across Asia including India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
The research is part of a £5 million UK–Canadian programme funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Canada’s International Development Research Centre, examining whether migration can serve as a successful adaptation to climate change.
Key findings to be discussed during the conference include:
- Climate change is altering migration patterns across south Asia – from the high mountains of Nepal and Bhutan to the coasts of India and Bangladesh. Rural areas are losing populations through migration to cities. But government actions are helping to build capacity to cope.
Dr Amina Maharjan, from The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, says: “When mobility is supported, it reduces risk, secures livelihoods, and strengthens agency. When it is not, it increases precarity and inequality.”
- Migrants are moving into climate risk hotspots – migration to cities across South Asia exposes people to rising heatwaves and chronic heat.
As cities expand, from Bengaluru to Dhaka, they need to protect new migrant populations that disproportionately work in highly-exposed sectors – from construction to transport. Public health providers are now offering mobile clinics, reaching 6000 migrant workers in multiple languages across Kerala state in India, for example.
Dr Chandni Singh, from the Indian Institute for Human Settlements, says: “Safe destinations are as important as safe journeys. New measures can make cities safe, secure and resilient.”
Global research by Prof Halvard Buhaug tests for the presence of an ‘urbanisation bomb’ – the idea that migration to cities causes more conflict through ethnic tensions and scarce services and resources. His team from the Peace Research Institute Oslo largely dispels this myth – pointing to the need for integration of migrant populations to successfully avoid conflict.
- Climate-related displacement has limited legal protection – yet Italy, Finland, and Cyprus have explicit legal provisions that may allow protection in cases of displacement linked to environmental disasters.
In her research, Prof Raya Muttarak of the University of Bologna highlights 124 cases in Italy since 2018 where protection has been allowed and shows that new science attributing climate change as impacting current weather could be the basis for more claims.
- Movement from Pacific Island nations are increasingly being influenced by China – for the past 50 years the dominant flows have been from island countries to Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
Now China seeks greater influence in the region: there is increasing movement of people between the Pacific and China. Australia seeks to counter China in part through a range of seasonal and permanent visas, and recent US immigration policies are affecting migration options for Pacific island communities.
Prof Jon Barnett from the University of Melbourne argues that this ‘mosaic’ presents more risks than opportunities for adaptation for small island countries in the Pacific.
The conference organisers are Prof Neil Adger (University of Exeter), Dr Chandni Singh (Indian Institute for Human Settlements), Dr Amina Maharjan (The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development) and Dr Mark Tebboth (UEA).