5 April 2015: Participants at the fifth Nansen Initiative Regional Consultation, held under the theme ‘Climate Change, Disasters and Human Mobility in South Asia and the Indian Ocean,’ recognized that South Asia and the Indian Ocean region are exposed to a range of natural hazards, including sudden-onset and slow-onset events, that have the potential to trigger human mobility.

The event, which was held in Khulna, Bangladesh, from 3-5 April 2015, brought together representatives of governments from South Asia and the Indian Ocean region, as well as representatives from the Nansen Initiative, regional and international organizations, UN agencies, civil society organizations and research institutions. Participants expressed concern that, given their high exposure and current adaptive capacity, the South Asia and the Indian Ocean regions will increasingly face the adverse effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels, salt water intrusion, coastal erosion, glacial melting, drought, and variable intensity and frequency of rainfall patterns and monsoon seasons.

The consultation resulted in a set of recommendations on: disaster risk reduction (DRR) and climate change adaptation; protection of displaced persons in context of disasters and the adverse effects of climate change; migration as adaptation; planned relocation; and data collection and scientific knowledge. These recommendations, along with those from other regional consultations, will be submitted to the Nansen Initiative Global Consultation that will take place in Geneva in October 2015. The recommendations will also be shared within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations and the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS), among other fora.

Based on the outcome of the Nansen Conference on Climate Change and Displacement, which took place in Oslo, Norway, in June 2011, the Governments of Norway and Switzerland pledged at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Ministerial Conference in December 2011 to address the need for a more coherent approach to the protection of people displaced across borders in the context of disasters and the effects of climate change. The pledge was welcomed by several States and provided the basis of the Nansen Initiative. [Nansen Initiative Press Release] [Migration, Environment and Climate Change Update] [Nansen Initiative Website]