Developing Indicators on Displacement for Disaster Risk Reduction

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) are working together in partnership with key governmental and non-governmental counterparts to develop a tested set of standard displacement-related metrics and indicators that will strengthen the ability of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) actors to integrate displacement in their work and better understand and measure the impact.

The activities under this indicators pilot are being actively carried out in 2 phases:

 I. Publication of two reports (completed)

1. A “State of the Art” report, mapping existing data sources, approaches and efforts. IOM and IDMC drafted this report through a consultative process involving specialists on data and programming on displacement, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.

   The report highlights the relevance of “displacement”, and the need for its better integration into DRR conceptualizations. Even if “displacement” is well reflected in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), it is still largely absent from global monitoring efforts on DRR. There are currently no standardised measurements and indicators to capture the relevance of displacement implications for DRR planning and implementation. A better understanding of displacement can provide the DRR community with a strong people-centered marker of disaster risk and its impacts, allowing for the improved identification of where, and what, efforts are required to reduce vulnerability that is associated with (or revealed by) displacement. This will also allow the leveraging of the life-saving, protective nature of mobility in the face of a hazard, while minimising related individual risks and collective costs.

   This report lays the foundation for this work: by highlighting existing data collection practices and methodologies, proposed research and analysis approaches, and data gaps. The report attempts to indicate possible ways forward for the management of displacement-related data, and its integration in DRR programming design, implementation and monitoring work, in support of relevant policies and operations. The report provides evidence and analyses used to develop a list of pilot indicators on displacement for DRR which will be shared separately in a shorter synthesis report which will be shared for public consultation in the coming weeks.

2. An “Indicators” synthesis report, with a list of pilot metrics and indicators on displacement for DRR.

• The disaster displacement indicators were made available for public review to ensure no important aspect was overlooked in expert consultations to date. Comments were collected through 11 November 2022 and received comments were reviewed and integrated.
• This version presented during the High Level Meeting of the Sendai Midterm Review in New York from 17-19 May 2023 is still a working document. Additional comments and suggestions are welcome.

II. Pilot implementation of the indicators (ongoing)

Under funding from the German Federal Foreign Office, pilot implementation of the disaster displacement indicators is ongoing in Mozambique, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines between IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix teams and host government National Disaster Management Authorities and other relevant government counterpart entities. Initial findings should be available in late summer/early autumn 2023. 

Collaborating Partners

American Red Cross
Badan Nasional Penanggulangan Bencana 
Center for International Earth Science Information Network 
Florida Atlantic University
Georgia State University-Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies 
Platform on Disaster Displacement 
South American Network for Environmental Migrations
United Nations Development Programme
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction 
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 
University of Sussex

Contact

For more information please contact Nicholas Bishop: nbishop@iom.int and Sylvain Ponserre: sylvain.ponserre@idmc.ch and Lorenzo Guadagno: lorenzog@unops.org