Session 5.1

Supporting climate migrants comes in many forms. Administrative solutions focus on what funding can accommodate; this is limited by donor commitments, institutional capacity, and cooperative buy-in. However, this support is most often crafted by outsiders looking in from the vantage point of the neo liberal aid paradigm. But potential migrants are not a monolith. Their needs and wants vary, as well as their solution preferences. Much of what is offered is not in consultation with those being displaced.

This talk focuses on lessons learned from working in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Islands. It will use a decolonizing lens to interrogate the well-intentioned narrative that has guided institutional response, informed by years of field work. Response narratives can unintentionally project Western developed anxieties onto migrants which are often in opposition to local voices who highlight ingenuity, care, and determination against the precarity of their situation. Institutional capacity is only as good as its reflection of the needs of those on the ground. Local autonomy needs to lead efforts of support

because potential migrants are agents of their own destiny. Their loss is great, and technocratic solutions tend to minimize these very personal, emotional, and cultural costs of relocation.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, the increase in both extreme weather events and slow-onset processes is driving people to move in search of safe and dignified living conditions, while entire communities are being forced to consider planned relocation processes as an adaptation measure to the climate crisis. In the face of this situation, which will intensify in the coming years, local and national governments lack the mechanisms, instruments, and resources to support and manage human mobility processes in the context of climate change.

To address this complex scenario, the International Organization for Migration (IOM), with the technical support of La Ruta del Clima (LRC), carried out a project during 2024–2025 focused on the creation of a costing tool for two dynamics—planned relocations and disaster displacement—linked to human mobility in the context of climate change in the Latin American region. 

This tool is positioned as an instrument designed to support local governments in accessing funds, mobilizing resources, and planning regarding human mobility and climate change, in order to ensure that the right to human mobility is exercised in a safe, dignified, and comprehensive manner. 

Moreover, the tool—grounded in a rights-based and durable solutions approach—makes it possible to generate approximate economic estimates of how much it would cost a local or national government to carry out a planned relocation or cover disaster displacement processes related to climate change, within a framework that considers both economic and non-economic Loss and Damage. 

The development process of the tool included a thorough review of literature and experiences; interviews with experts (government actors, institutions, communities, multilateral organizations, and academia); the establishment of a review committee; and pilot testing in two countries in the region (Costa Rica and Chile), which made it possible to refine the methodology and test the tool in practice. 

The main outcome of this process was the development of a costing tool composed of two calculation matrices with programmatic items broken down by cost, timeframe, and source; two community questionnaires focused on capturing population needs in areas such as health, education, and livelihoods; and a data collection guide directed at governments and institutional actors. The latter two instruments feed the data into the calculation matrices. 

Within the framework of the Climate-driven Migration Symposium, La Ruta del Clima presents a reflection on the tool’s development process, highlighting: the lessons learned and the needs identified regarding the capacities of local and national governments; considerations on the conceptualization of planned relocations and displacement in Latin America in the context of climate change; and recommendations for implementing planned relocations and supporting displaced persons.

On 25 June 2025, the SADC has taken a decisive step toward confronting the region’s escalating humanitarian and climate crises by hosting the first-ever Joint Ministerial Meeting on Forced Displacement, Fragility Mitigation, and Climate Resilience.

The meeting brought together Ministers responsible for Disaster Risk Management, Climate Change, and the Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation. The event has been considered a brave commitment to addressing SADC’s most tenacious and interconnected challenges through unified regional action.

During the meeting, SADC Executive Secretary highlighted the intersecting nature of these crises, noting the need for integrated, evidence-based solutions, reinforcing the imperative for cross-sectoral coordination, agile financing, and stronger data systems. To address these challenges, SADC Ministers endorsed the establishment of a Regional Programme on Forced Displacement, Fragility Mitigation, and Climate Resilience. This initiative will be rooted in the ‘Humanitarian–Development–Peace’ nexus and it prioritises information management and data systems, resource mobilisation, including engagement with climate finance and the private sector, as well as and establishing a shared regional framework to guide donor and partner coordination, and to promote the inclusion of displaced people in national development plans to support self-reliance.

The meeting also acknowledged the shifting global financing landscape and identified the Multilateral Development Banks’ Coordination Platform on Forced Displacement as a key opportunity for mobilising resources. 

This inaugural Joint Ministerial Meeting reflects a renewed commitment by SADC to protect its people, sustain development gains, and build long-term resilience in the face of evolving regional and global shocks.

In this scenario, trading, migration and ecological functioning are all likely to be affected by the impacts of climate change. Crop growing areas and market requirements will change, providing both risks and opportunities for the import and export of crops within SADC. Environmentally induced (because of crop failures) migration patterns are likely to be exacerbated, with subsequent impacts on resource allocation, settlements and health. While there are substantial uncertainties regarding vegetation projections in SADC, biomes are predicted to shift considerably under future climate. As biomes shift, ecosystem functioning may not be able to support traditional rural livelihood strategies and dependent populations.

In response of the meeting, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) applauded at it, maintaining that the developments seen at the meeting demonstrate that SADC is a regional leader in delivering pioneering sustainable, integrated responses to forced displacement. This, particularly as the number of families who had to flee their homes across the sub-region continues to grow driven by conflict, climate impacts and socio- economic fragility.

SADC Member States have a long-standing history of generously hosting refugees, and UNHCR commends their continued commitment to providing protection and support to displaced people. The newly endorsed regional programme seeks to build on these efforts by delivering coordinated and sustainable responses that will help refugees and displaced families and their host communities thrive.

According to the UNHCR, the regional programme adopted at the meeting is a tangible example of the Global Compact on Refugees in action and reflects the continued commitment of SADC Member States to deliver on the pledges made at the Global Refugee Forums.

Against this backdrop, my intention is to analyse the recent developments in protecting people displaced because of climate in the SADC sub-region of Africa and to assess whether these developments are only on paper or if we can appreciate some level practical implementation, as well.

Millions are already being displaced by climate change—sudden storms, floods, and slow-onset drought, land degradation, and extreme heat are undermining health, livelihoods, and food security. Many are forced to leave their homes in search of safety and work abroad, yet closed borders leave them exposed to human trafficking, exploitation, and irregular migration.

Developed countries have a particular responsibility—not only due to their contribution to climate change but also because those displaced can help to fill existing shortages faced by labor markets in host countries. Cooperation between host and home countries to create decent work migration pathways can present one type of humane solution: connecting the skills of climate-displaced workers with labor market needs while ensuring safe, fair, and dignified employment.

This talk will examine international labor standards and emerging international frameworks that advance such cooperative responses among states, including the Cartagena +40 Roadmap and recent ICJ and IACHR Advisory Opinions, demonstrating how collaborative, rights-based approaches can advance shared responsibility and provide practical, ethical pathways for climate-displaced people.