Climate migration is an urgent and growing challenge, and planning is essential to ensure that communities, governments, and organizations can respond swiftly and effectively. The following policy recommendations are to guide action at all levels, while using our climate migration mapping network as a tool.
Acknowledge Climate Migrants: Recognize climate migrants as a distinct group by developing legal frameworks that formally recognize them. This ensures that environmental migrants have access to basic rights and legal protections.
Plan with predictive data: Integrate predictive data into urban planning and infrastructure development. Predictive data allows governments to be proactive in developing necessary infrastructure and resources that will be required in case of a migration crisis.
Provide funding and support: Provide incentives such as funding to cities that are qualify to help environmental migrants. This allows governments to be proactive in supporting migrants, enabling other governments to do so as well.
Join the Climate Migration Network: Cities that meet the criteria can join the network to get guidance and funding to a collaborative community of other cities preparing for climate migration.
Use Predictive Data: Look at the migration maps to anticipate population changes. This helps plan housing, healthcare, social services, and transportation in advance, easing the impact on both refugees and prior residents
Share Your Practices: Work with other cities in the network to exchange lessons, strategies, and results. Sharing what works builds resilience and helps good solutions spread to more communities.
Support Integration Programs: Partner with cities to help migrants access housing, education, healthcare, and jobs. NGOs can fill in gaps where government support may be limited.
Maintain and Share Data: Help collect and manage migration data responsibly. Accurate and transparent data makes planning easier and helps cities and organizations coordinate better.
Raise Awareness: Educate communities about climate migration through campaigns, workshops, or media. Reducing stigma and increasing understanding helps migrants feel welcome and encourages public support for proactive policies.
Volunteer Locally: Get involved in climate-related programs that help migrants settle in. This could be tutoring, mentorship, helping with housing, or language support. Other environmental engagement such as picking up trash also make a difference.
Advocate for those who can't: Attend meetings, contact local leaders, and encourage policies that prepare communities for climate migration. Citizen voices help decision-makers realize what is important to their communities and prioritize planning and resources.
Stay Informed and Share Knowledge: Devote some time to read credible sources on climate change, along with being up-to-date with new migration data. Share your knowledge and resources with others.
We also follow the proposals outlined by the UNHCR on climate change and displacement, using their guidance to help shape our approach to the subject.