Mitigating risks, creating opportunities

ADB is undertaking a regional project designed to generate policy options for addressing climate-induced migration in Asia and the Pacific. Solid analysis and greater knowledge development and sharing on climate-induced migration are essential to inform policy makers of the issues at stake.

The ADB project will improve the understanding of climate-induced migration, and stimulate policy debate on how to tackle the anticipated movement of millions of people due to changing weather patterns in the coming years. The ultimate aim is to encourage the adoption of responsible, foresighted policies and practices that improve management of human displacement due to climate change, and where practical, enable communities to stay where they are.

Asia and the Pacific: At the center of change

Confronting the challenges imposed when families and communities are uprooted and forced to migrate as a consequence of extreme weather events requires government policy that both mitigates risks and creates opportunities for affected people. This means not only looking at ways to reduce human suffering and economic loss as a consequence of disasters, but to also provide people living in precarious locations with a better chance of enjoying a sustainable livelihood with access to food, water and social services.

While large-scale climate-induced migration is a gradual phenomenon, communities in Asia and the Pacific are already experiencing the consequences of changing environmental conditions including eroding shorelines, desertification, and more frequent severe storms and flooding.

Events

Regional Conference on Policy Responses to Climate-Induced Migration in Asia and the Pacific (Manila, Philippines)

Researchers' Workshop on Climate Change and Migration in Asia and the Pacific (Manila, Philippines)

Philippines Country Workshop on Climate-Induced Migration (Manila, Philippines)

Second Adaptation Forum (Bangkok, Thailand)

Key Resources

• Policy Options to Support Climate-Induced Migration
• Geneva Policy Dialogue on Climate-induced Migration in Asia and the Pacific: Synthesis Report
• Accounting for Health Impacts of Climate Change