Exploring The Intersection Of Climate Change And Mobility Dynamics

Migration and mobility are key considerations with regard to the impact of climate change. In the Middle East, a region of large-scale internal, intra-regional and inter-regional migration, the implications are varied and complex.

Expectation State (ES) collaborated with The Mixed Migration Centre (MMC) to assess the nexus between climate change and migration in the Middle East. 

The initiative, funded by the Danish Refugee Council, assessed the current state of knowledge on climate change impacts, mobility trends, and migration patterns in the region. The project’s specific objectives included conducting a detailed context analysis, summarising existing knowledge on migration within, from, and to the Middle East, identifying climate change impacts, and collating evidence on climate-related mobility phenomena. 

While findings from the study revealed a clear relationship between human mobility, immobility, and climate change impacts in the Middle East, the degree of impact varied depending on factors such as climatic variability, resilience levels, and countries preparedness. Moreover, most people who relocated chose to remain within their home country, with climate adaptation being a low priority for governments in the Middle East, underscoring significant disparities both within and among nations. 

Report Available at: https://mixedmigration.org/resource/climate-change-impacts-mobility-middle-east/ 

Photo: Mohammad Asfour