Migration, Environment and Climate Change

Latin America and the Caribbean is a region highly exposed, vulnerable, and strongly impacted by climate change, environmental degradation, and disasters, a situation amplified by structural inequality, dependence on natural resource-based economies, and high population density in exposed areas. 

The reduction in water availability affects livelihoods, land degradation, and sudden or gradual climate risks, among others, which interact with other factors (economic, political, and social), influencing human mobility patterns. The increasing frequency and severity of droughts, tropical storms, hurricanes, and heavy rains that cause landslides and floods have amplified internal movements. According to the IDMC, the Americas recorded 2.1 million new internal displacements due to disasters in 2023. 

Climate models indicate that some dry regions will become even more arid in the coming decades, increasing pressure on livelihoods. Rising sea levels and coastal erosion reduce habitability and affect activities such as fishing and tourism. The IPCC suggests that migration and displacement related to climate change are likely to increase in the coming decades. 

Current projections linked to climate change highlight the need to advance with strategies for adaptation, risk management, land-use planning, and the establishment of safe, orderly, and regular pathways to promote resilient communities and prevent forced or vulnerable mobility. 

The International Organization for Migration (IOM), as the leading intergovernmental agency in the field of migration, has been at the forefront of operational, research, advocacy, and policy efforts to place environmental migration at the heart of international, regional, and national concerns, in cooperation with its Member States, observers, and partners. 

IOM's activities in this area are framed within the Institutional Strategy on Migration, Environment, and Climate Change 2021-2030. The Institutional Strategy defines three strategic objectives: (a) formulating solutions to facilitate the movement of people; (b) formulating solutions for people on the move; (c) and formulating solutions so that people do not have to migrate. 

In this regard, IOM has been implementing research, capacity-building, policy development, and operational support activities in the region to improve the approach to environmental and climate migration. It collaborates with a wide range of partners in this area, including governmental entities, civil society organizations, academia, regional processes, and intergovernmental and United Nations agencies. 

IOM's Mandate

Since 2007, Member States have requested that IOM address the dynamics related to migration, environment, and climate change within its governing bodies. In early 2015, a Division entirely dedicated to Migration, Environment, and Climate Change (MECC) was created to address the nexus between migration, the environment, and climate. 

This institutional change formalized IOM’s engagement in this area, making it the first international organization to establish an institutional unit fully dedicated to this issue. 

IOM's Vision

IOM recognizes the need to increase national, regional and international efforts to address the challenges to human mobility associated with environmental factors and climate change. IOM's vision in this area is that contemporary migration governance, policies and practices should reflect the significance of environmental factors, disasters and climate change on human mobility. Environmental factors should be integrated into all areas of migration management, such as prevention, preparedness and response to displacement, border management, labor migration and integration, and return and reintegration.

IOM Objectives

IOM's objectives related to migration, environment and climate change are:

• To avoid forced migration resulting from environmental factors to the extent possible.
• To provide assistance and protection to affected populations when forced migration actually occurs in situations of environmental and climate change, and to seek durable solutions to their situation.
• Facilitate migration in the context of climate change adaptation and enhance the resilience of affected communities.

Sustainable development is recognized as an integral part of this approach, implemented through measures for disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and environmental sustainability.