Climate crisis and governance of displacement in the Middle East and North Africa region
Programs and partnerships
Lead institution(s)
Summary
Climate-induced displacement is a multilayered phenomenon that is often exacerbated in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by identity politics and conflict-driven migration.Read more
Climate-induced displacement is a multilayered phenomenon that is often exacerbated in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) by identity politics and conflict-driven migration. The regional impacts of climate change include unprecedented water scarcity, increasingly protracted droughts and accelerated desertification, which will force millions to leave their places of origin. The World Bank estimates that an average of 13.5 million people may become internal climate migrants by 2050 if there is no intervention, accounting for over 5% of MENA’s total population. This displacement will trigger negative knock-on effects on the environment, agriculture and food security. The adaptive capacity of people, systems and institutions is limited further by authoritarian and/or weakening state structures, natural disasters, violence and armed conflict.
This project will investigate governance responses to climate-induced migration as it intersects with conflict, gender, race and vulnerability. It will provide insights into policy approaches, community-led adaptation and Indigenous knowledge in mitigating the impacts of migration, population displacement and climate change in eight different MENA countries. In-depth analysis will be carried out in three of those countries to further investigate the intersection between climate change displacement, its governance and vulnerability, and their interaction with other factors. Drawing on multidisciplinary perspectives, primary fieldwork and local research partners, the project will assess national policies governing population displacement, explore community-based adaptation mechanisms and identify more inclusive strategies for the governance of climate-related displacement.