9AM-10AM GMT / 10AM-11AM WEST (Lisbon time) / 11AM - 12AM CEST

Online event on Zoom. Register here.

The adverse effects of climate change, disasters, and environmental degradation on the ocean impact communities and societies all over the world, and increasingly reshape human mobility patterns.

Extreme events such as cyclones and storm surges, which are related to changes in the ocean-weather system, continue to contribute to the displacement of millions of people, and to trap many others who do not have the basic means to move, such as the elderly, the disabled, and other vulnerable groups. The 2019 IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate indicates that 680 million people live in low-lying coastal areas. Low-lying coastal areas and small islands have been identified as regions of particular concern as many large coastal agglomerations are exposed to submersion, water logging and flooding. Sea-level rise, ocean acidification, loss and degradation of marine biodiversity and ecosystems, aggravate the vulnerability of coastal communities dependent on the ocean limited marine resources and fragile ecosystems. In Casamance in Senegal, communities have highlighted complex challenges they are facing with the salinization of cultivation areas, loss of beaches, mangroves, housing and economic infrastructure, and also the gradual abandonment of dominant economic activities such as seaside tourism and fish trade. As an option of last resort to such challenges, some coastal and insular States have already taken forward planned relocation of impacted coastal communities. In Fiji, the government has identified 48 villages as requiring partial or full relocation due to climate-related circumstances, and there are over 800 communities likely to be at risk. At the same time, regular migration pathways can facilitate for communities access to safer environments and alternative livelihoods. In Peru, fisherpersons populations use migration as a coping mechanism for adapting to the climate-related variability of halieutic resources. Migration can also play an important role in addressing adverse drivers and advancing the sustainable use of coastal resources. The skills and knowledge of migrant workers can fill key labour market needs in the needed transition to a blue economy, whilst supporting training and re-skilling of local communities in emerging economic sectors.

The event is organised by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in the context of the 2022 UN Ocean Conference. It aims at understanding the interlinkages between human mobility and the ocean in a changing climate, from current risks and impacts to solutions.

OBJECTIVES OF THE EVENT:

• Better understand the dynamics of human mobility in the context of disasters, climate change and environmental degradation in relation to the ocean;
• Better understand the responses to related challenges;
• Better understand how the dynamics and responses should inform law and policy processes, including on adaptation and Loss and Damage at the upcoming COP27.

MODERATOR:

• Dr. Guigone Camus, CEA Saclay and Ocean & Climate Platform

PANELISTS:

• Ms. Sanjula Weerasinghe, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
• Ms. Cristelle Pratt, Department of Environment and Climate Action at the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS)
• M. Iddrisu Amadu, Department of Fisheries and Aquatic studies, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
• M. Manuel Marques Pereira, International Organization for Migration (IOM)
• Dr. Maxine Burkett, US Secretary for Oceans, Fisheries and Polar Affairs
• Prof. Filipe Duarte Santos, National Council for the Environment and Sustainable Development (CNADS)

You can register here.

For more information:

Ms.Christina Ninfa Daszkiewicz, Project Officer, Migration, Environment and Climate Change (MECC) Division, International Organization for Migration

Ms. Ijeoma Chukwuma, Senior Project Assistant, Migration, Environment and Climate Change (MECC) and Free Movement and Migration (FMM), International Organization for Migration

Related Documents:

You can find the flyer here.

You can read more about IOM's work on migration and oceans here.

You can read the outlook on Ocean, Environment, Climate Change and Human Mobility here.

More information to come.