Environmental Migration

The impactful work of the IOM and Migration, Environment and Climate Change (MECC) program, an initiative dedicated to raising awareness among governments and local communities about the critical intersection of climate change, disasters, and migration.

Climate change is a significant driver of the increasing frequency and severity of dzud in Mongolia, which has had a detrimental impact on the livelihoods and food security of herders, causing forced migration and exacerbating the vulnerabilities of households.

The 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly known as COP29, was the 29th United Nations Climate Change conference, held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November 2024. The conference concluded with an agreement on plans for finance to mitigate the effects of climate change and help developing nations transition to more sustainable energy sources. Rules and a UN registry were agreed to facilitate and record international trading of carbon credits.

Thousands of Somalis are displaced to Dolow region due to drought and conflict. While IOM and partners are providing range of services and support to the displaced, many more are arriving daily who live in makeshift shelters, in wait of support.

The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC was the 28th United Nations Climate Change conference, held from 30 November to 12 December at Expo City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

People in shelters due to their migratory route or the effects of climate change in Honduras.

A compilation of visibility products for IOM's 70th Anniversary. For queries, contact avteam@iom.int

Documentation of IOM programmatic works in Nigeria in the time of COVID-19 pandemic. (Please find more information in the individual photos and videos)

Home to 7.2 million people as well as over 800 spoken languages, Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a country that ranges greatly in traditions, lifestyles, agriculture, transportation, and local markets. One of the country’s strongest traits is that of tradition and the knowledge and values that is passed down from generation to generation. Over the centuries, humans have been faced with various types of hazards, most of which turned into disasters. For many living in the Pacific nation, disasters are simply a fact of life in both natural and man-made varieties. Additionally, PNG ranks in among the top 6 nations worldwide with having the highest percentage of its population exposed to a multitude of hazards. To make matters worse, large swaths of the pacific nation are extremely isolated making access a top issue for locals as well as responders in the event of a disaster.

Category Five Hurricane Dorian was the worst disaster to ever hit landfall in the Bahamas. The storm struck in August 2019 and affected more than 70,000 people. As residents of the hurricane-struck island of Abaco begin to return and rebuild their homes, IOM is working with the government and partners to help remove debris, assess and track the needs of affected populations and search for dignified housing solutions for the displaced.

Due to a major drought in 2017 in Mauritania, people in the Hodh El Chargui region are receiving a humanitarian assistance.

IOM Global Solar Lantern Initiative

The heavy rains that began in January 2017 have caused severe flooding in communities and urban areas across Peru with several locations devastated by mudslides and falling rocks. This has left 124,000 people affected and 97 fatalities to date, according to the Government.

The Udayapur District in Nepal is one of the regions in the country vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Families have lost their houses and livelihoods due to flooding and farm lands and plantations have been affected by changes of rain patterns. IOM’s “Assessing the evidence: environment, climate change and migration in Bangladesh” published in 2016 describes Nepal as a country that suffers mainly from riverine flood, Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), landslide, rainfall variation, temperature rises and heat waves.

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) in 2015 describes Bangladesh as one of the most-at-risk countries in South Asia and highlights the danger of future climate change impacts. Bangladesh was ranked 1st on the 2014 Climate Change Vulnerability Index and fifth on the 2015 Global Climate Risk Index. IOM’s research on “Assessing the evidence: environment, climate change and migration in Bangladesh” in 2010 concludes that sudden-onset (floods, cyclones and riverbank erosion) and slow-onset natural hazards (such as coastal erosion, sea-level rise, salinity intrusion, rising temperatures, changing rainfall and drought patterns) have an impact on migration in Bangladesh. Kniveton et al. (2013) estimate that around 9.6 million people, excluding temporary and seasonal migrants, will migrate due to climatic factors between 2011 to 2050 in the country. Though Bangladesh has made significant achievements in different sectors, like primary education, maternal health, child mortality and poverty reduction, climate change, disasters and environmental degradation still threaten development outcomes and investment.

In Papua New Guinea, the prolonged El Niño induced drought conditions have had adverse impacts on the agricultural food production system. IOM continues to undertake agricultural recovery support activities, which include drilling boreholes, capacity building on water conservation, drought adaptation, and conservation agriculture/farming; distribution of agricultural kits, and planting materials.

A collection of portraits of migrants from everywhere IOM works to help make migration humane.

IOM is continuing to support the Malian Government in responding to the emergency caused by floods that hit the capital Bamako on the 28th of August. It is reported that the floods left 37 dead and affected some 2,133 families or 20,000 people. As part of the response, IOM has already handed over 500 non-food (NFI) relief kits containing sleeping mats, blankets, mosquito nets and kitchen supplies to the Malian Government to help the worst affected families.

The response to a severe drought in the Marshall Islands is entering its second phase, as initial deliveries of emergency food supplies, principally funded by USAID. IOM’s rapidly-established air and sea bridges have delivered an estimated 45 metric tons (100,000 pounds) of food to 677 households on islands over 400 miles (640 km) from Majuro, one of the farthest-flung capitals on the planet.

Filipinos have been severely affected by the recent typhoon Bopha in which hundreds of people died and are still missing. The International Organization for Migration wants to encourage private individuals to support the emergency response at this time of national calamity.