Mainstreaming environmental dimensions into reintegration support to reduce the effects of climate change on migration in West Africa

Lead Agency: International Organization for Migration (IOM)
Donor: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development of France
Location: Dakar, Senegal; West Africa; and Global level
Duration: 19 months

This project is an innovative response to international policy commitments to address the environmental drivers of migration, such as those made in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate change[1] and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular migration (GCM) in 2018,[2] and international commitments made by EU and African States at the Valletta Summit on migration (2015), to “improve cooperation on return and sustainable reintegration.” This project also supports the implementation of the recommendations of the Nansen Initiative Protection Agenda and the work of the Platform on Disaster Displacement.

The objectives of the project, which links IOM’s work on reintegration with its work on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, are to (i) facilitate the reintegration of returning migrants through the development of reintegration initiatives that contribute to climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction; and (ii) to reduce forced out-migration resulting from the negative impacts of climate change.

The project focuses on West Africa through a regional component and a national component through a pilot project in Senegal. In addition, the project has an important global component, which focuses on the development of global guidelines that seek to provide practical, non-binding guidance to policymakers and practitioners to promote reintegration as an opportunity for addressing climate change and other environmental challenges in countries to which migrants return.

The project is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development of France, as part of its contributions to IOM’s programme of work on Migration, Environment and Climate Change, in particular the implementation of the Paris Agreement, of the recommendations of the Nansen Initiative Protection Agenda, and of the workplan of the Platform on Disaster Displacement.

The main outcomes of the project:

• Global component:

- The “Guidance for mainstreaming environmental and climatic considerations into reintegration programming” developed together with the ORION Project (Operationalising an Integrated Approach to Reintegration) funded by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.

- The webinar "Introducing environmentally sustainable reintegration: a two-fold strategy".

• Regional component: 

- The Climate-resilient Reintegration of Returning Migrants - Technical workshop in Rabat, Morocco on 3-4 July 2019.

- Regional conference organized by KAS and IOM on African Climate Perspectives on Migration.

• National component (pilot project in Senegal): 

- Study on job opportunities for returnees contributing to adaptation to climate change.

- Sensibilisation workshop organized by Trees for the Future.

- Final report of the NGO Trees for the Future on the pilot project on agroforestry.

Climate Change and COVID-19 impact Agriculture and Youth Mobility across West and Central Africa