Side-Event at the International Migration Review Forum

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What are some of the pathways through which climate-related mobility may, under certain conditions, link with fragility and conflict? In a world where climate and conflict-related fragilities are shaping millions of lives and informing diverse mobility dynamics, it is essential to find ways of translating knowledge into effective action. While there is no direct link between climate and conflict, and the need for context-specificity may complicate a generalized theory of how the climate security-mobility nexus operates, it is essential to examine how research and interventions can be leveraged for climate-resilient peace.

In a recently launched position paper, CGIAR FOCUS Climate Security identified four broad pathways through which climate security and mobility interact. Displacement can be induced by rapid-onset environmental events, creating conflict risks in destination areas. Climate change can also create or exacerbate natural resource scarcity, due to slow-onset impacts, which can result in competition over dwindling resources at both origin and destination. Relative abundance of resources may also contribute to this relationship, with favourable climatic conditions facilitating in-migration, and economic development, to influence clashes occurring between groups and individuals vying for control. Furthermore, migration can escalate resource stress and governance challenges, especially in host communities, with two weak governance acting as a compounding factor. The final pathway recognizes conflict as a result of pre-existing tensions and migratory patterns interacting with climate variability and extremes. Because there is no direct, inherent link between climate-related mobility and conflict, FAO and CGIAR FOCUS Climate Security have convened a group of experts from the UN system, civil society, and academia to discuss entry points for policy and programming that addresses their complex relationship. Representing a variety of geographies, the panel will focus on practical interventions to address the political, social, economic, and environmental drivers of conflict, with a specific focus on human mobility across multiple climate-vulnerable contexts.

The discussion will be oriented around the following key questions:

1. Can you speak about the complexity of the non-linear linkages between climate related mobility and conflict? Why is this important to understand in the context of climate security responses?
2. How can researchers and humanitarian-development practitioners work in closer alignment to fill evidence gaps and translate knowledge into impact?
3. How can a balance be struck between recognizing the legitimate potential (human) security implications of climate-related mobility whilst avoiding over-securitized discourses and policy responses?
4. How might migration/mobility-related policy and programming be better aligned with climate action and peace-oriented solutions?

Opening Remarks

• Shenggen Fan, CGIAR System Board Member
• Shukri Ahmed, Deputy Director, Office for Emergencies and Resilience, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

Introduction of panellists

• Mark Leon Goldberg, Editor, UN Dispatch, Host, Global Dispatches Podcast

Panel discussion

• Vally Koubi, ,Professor and Senior Scientist Center for Comparative and International Studies (CIS), Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH)
• Bina Desai, Head of Programmes Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC)
• Pablo Escribano, Regional Thematic Specialist: Migration, Environment and Climate Change, International Organization for Migration (IOM)
• Marisa O. Ensor, Adjunct Professor Institute for the Study of International Migration Georgetown University

Moderator: Mark Leon Goldberg