In coordination with the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), a European Union (EU)-funded three-day IOM training workshop on migration, environment and climate change policy took place in Nairobi from 10 to 12 August. The training workshop was co-funded by the IOM Development Fund and was facilitated by several national experts, the MECLEP partner Bielefeld University, the MECLEP team as well as the regional IOM office in Nairobi. 

For details, please see the workshop flyer (EN)

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In coordination with the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), a European Union (EU)-funded three-day IOM training workshop on migration, environment and climate change policy took place in Nairobi from 10 to 12 August. The training workshop was co-funded by the IOM Development Fund and was facilitated by several national experts, the MECLEP partner Bielefeld University, the MECLEP team as well as the regional IOM office in Nairobi. 

In recent years the increased intensity and varying frequency of natural disasters and environmental degradation pose a high risk for the displacement of the populations. It presents new challenges in managing migration and forced displacement resulting from these environmental and climate changes. Kenya has been facing some of these natural disasters such as floods, landslides, storms as well as drought. Almost a quarter of land in Kenya faces severe to very severe threat of desertification. Pastoralists are one of the most affected groups as the land resources shrink and rain-fed agriculture becomes untenable. Urbanization places additional pressure on the environment and the resources. In Kenya the urbanization rate for the next 5 years is predicted at 4.15 per cent.

The workshop provided a fora for discussions on how to develop viable and specific solutions and policies to transform such voluntary and forced movements into well-managed human mobility that would enhance the resilience of individuals and the communities. During the workshop, a Training Manual on Migration, Environment and Climate Change specifically developed for the MECLEP project was tested and validated. The manual is a facilitator’s guide providing a step-by-step roadmap on how to integrate human mobility into environmental policies, climate change and adaptation strategies. Its standardized but adaptable curriculum, which integrates group discussions and exercises, is based on state-of-the-art migration and environment knowledge and practices. This participatory training tool will be available in several languages to respond to the global demand for trained experts and will allow IOM to deliver regular workshops at the request of Member States.

The workshop precedes the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which will take place in Paris in December 2015. The Convention will address integration of human mobility into the expected Paris Agreement.

Training Modules

1. Concepts : The migration and environment nexus by Susanne Melde (IOM Geneva) 

2. Disasters and mobility by Robert Odhiambo, Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist (IOM RO Nairobi) and Susanne Melde (IOM Geneva) 

3. Mobility and slow processes of environmental change by Benard Oppa (NEMA) and  Dr. Jeanette Schade  
   (Bielefeld University)

4. Data issues by Dr. Jeanette Schade (Bielefeld University) and Dr. George Odipo (Population Studies and Research Institute (PSRI), University of Nairobi)

5. Legal perspectives by Patrick Bonyonte (Kenya National Commission on Human Rights) and Paola Pace (IOM RO Nairobi) 

6. Regional focus by Dr. John Oucho (AMADPOC) and Petra Neumann (IOM RO Nairobi)

7. Policy frameworks and options / Integrating mobility into national climate change by Susanne Melde (IOM Geneva)