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 are intended to:

• Strengthen State ownership of displacement data and displacement impact to ensure the integration of displacement within public policy formulation and local development programming through enhanced collection, reporting and analysis.
• Innovate ways to manage displacement-related data and integrate it into the design and implementation of relevant policies and programming.
• Analyze existing displacement-related datasets and data collection systems in the context of disasters to understand better gaps and present opportunities for system strengthening to understand the impacts of disaster displacement better.
• The initiative seeks to promote more granular reporting on disaster impacts into the new second-generation Disaster Loss Tracking System and enable greater resource allocation to climate-vulnerable states.

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

 I. Inception phase- coordination, development of indicators (completed)

• Literature review of existing methodologies, research and datasets.
• Development of the indicators through a series of public consultations involving government, UN, NGO/CSO and academic DRR stakeholders and partners.
• Presentation of the indicators at global forums, including the Global Dialogue Platform for DRR in 2022, COP27 and UNDRR expert technical forums.
• A “State of the Art” report was published , 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.
• 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 was presented during the High Level Meeting of the Sendai Midterm Review in New York from 17-19 May 2023

II. Pilot implementation of the indicators (2023-present)

• Following this process and in order to initiate the piloting phase, IOM country offices complated an analysis of existing available data sets and systems in the four pilot countries.
• Technical discussions then commenced and were followed by multi-stakeholder national-level consultations.
• Initial location/hazard-specific field-based data collection and analysis.
• Data compilation and review with gap identification. Assessment of success factors, lessons learned and actionable recommendations.
• Inclusion of Indicators within the Global Status of Multi-hazard Early Warning Systems 2023 report launched at COP 28 in December 2023.

Under funding from the German Federal Foreign Office, the first phase of piloting implementation of the disaster displacement indicators was completed in 2023 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 pilot findings will be made available in Q2 2024. 

IOM Country Offices, in partnership with host government National Disaster Management
Authorities, other relevant government counterparts and project partners, dialogued, disseminated and piloted the indicators. The pilot process sought to respond to national priorities and needs with pilot country governments defining priorities, location and hazard types for analysis and data collection. The pilot process adopted a mixed-method approach, including:

• Extensive review processes of existing datasets from government entities, UN partners, Red Cross and NGOs were completed to gain insight into data availability and gaps.
• During this process, engagement at the national level was considered crucial across all pilot countries in establishing cross sectorial links spanning DRR, health, social affairs, urban planning, humanitarian assistance and national statistics offices.
• In Indonesia, Bangladesh, Mozambique, and the Philippines, the review processes involved technical discussions and reviewing historical and current data sources, followed by national-level consultation processes wherein existing data collection efforts were assessed against the Disaster Displacement Indicators.
• Limited piloting of the indicators occurred, focusing on specific hazard types, recent historical events and targeted geographic locations and administrative levels. All activities were determined in close consultation and agreement with government counterparts.
• Across pilot countries, it was found that a wide range of departments collect and monitor data relevant to the Disaster Displacement Indicators. This reality emphasizes the importance of data governance standardization processes, strengthening data sharing and storage across sectors and ensuring harmonization across national, provincial and district-level efforts.

 II. Way Forward

During 2024, IOM and IDMC plan to follow up with government counterparts from the initial pilot countries on expectations and demand for a continuation of piloting efforts based on initial findings. Under new funding sources, IOM and IDMC will actively seek to extend piloting to additional country sites in Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas. Prospective countries include Fiji, South Sudan, Turkey, Malawi, DRC, Burundi and Tanzania.
Current and future outcomes will contribute to enhancing the resilience of local populations in climate-vulnerable areas, achieved prospectively through improved access to new climate financing inclusive of the new Loss and Damage Fund established at COP28.

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

Sylvain Ponserre: sylvain.ponserre@idmc.ch

Lorenzo Guadagno: lorenzog@unops.org