Successful intervention pathways for migration as adaptation (SUCCESS)

Climate change adaptation interventions are commonly designed for current resident populations, and do not account for the mobility and immobility of people, including marginalized populations, who are exposed to climate risks. While migration is a common and often effective risk-spreading adaptation strategy, it is frequently portrayed as a failure to adapt.

This project seeks to generate new knowledge on the evaluation of adaptations that involve migration, mobility and immobility across South Asian countries. Researchers will co-create, jointly with action partners, a set of evaluative tools to facilitate inclusive migration as adaptation that meets goals of human well-being and broader climate-resilient development.

The research will focus on populations facing planned relocation, immobile and left-behind populations as well as urban migration destinations in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal. Research sites will span mountain, coastal, dryland and urban contexts to represent all major dimensions of the mobility spectrum.

The project will contribute evidence-based best practices to enable successful adaptations for immobile populations and facilitate safe mobility for populations who aspire to move and integrate into destinations. The project will also strengthen the capacity of a broad range of civil society actors to discuss and promote inclusive and equitable migration as adaptation that preserves the rights and dignity of people on the move.

This project is part of the Climate Adaptation and Resilience initiative (CLARE) co-funded by the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and IDRC. CLARE is a five-year, CAD120-million initiative that aims to enable inclusive and sustainable action to build resilience to climate change and natural hazards for people across Africa and the Asia-Pacific.