IOM organized a regional capacity building workshop for Eastern Caribbean countries on migration, environment and climate change implemented on behalf of GIZ under the BMZ funded Global Programme “Sustainable Management of Human Mobility in the Context of Climate Change”  and in cooperation with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS Commission).

The workshop enabled the participation of migration, climate change, and disaster management policymakers and practitioners from nine OECS countries, namely Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Martinique, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, along with relevant regional organizations.

Discussions during the meeting focused on the concept and trends of environmental migration and the impact of sudden and slow onset events in the Caribbean, a region which experiences hurricanes and at risk of sea-level rise. Participants had the opportunity to explore the legal and political frameworks shaping environmental migration and defined priorities for a regional plan of action to better address this issue in the Eastern Caribbean. Participants identified gaps and opportunities mainly to enhance data collection and management on environmental migration and for better regional coordination.