Due to the increasing climate risks, Filipinos rely on voluntary adaptative strategies such as permanent and circular migration as well as involuntary adaptive strategies such as distress migration and systematic relocation, the International Organization for Migration (IOM)-Philippines said in a report launched over the weekend.

Entitled “Framing the Human Narrative of Migration in the Context of Climate Change”, the report reviews the existing evidence on migration in the Philippines in the context of the climate emergency and was launched in celebration of World Environment Day on June 4, 2021.

The report also finds that farmers and fisherfolk, women, the elderly and urban poor are the most vulnerable to climate impacts, with women more affected than men, constituting 80 percent of people displaced by climate emergency in the country.

Citing the Global Climate Risk Index 2020, the report noted that while the Philippines is one of the smallest contributors to causes of climate change, “it ranks as the second most affected by climate risks impacts globally”. Aside from experiencing an average of 20 typhoons a year, the country now faces more frequent and extreme weather changes, rising temperature, heavier rainfall and sea level rise.

IOM Philippines Chief of Mission Kristin Dadey cited the importance of understanding the nexus between climate change and migration and exploring both the opportunities and challenges presented by migration as an adaptation strategy.

“The findings of the report will support key stakeholders in continuing to develop policies and programs based on the experience of Filipino people who are clearly confronted by the impact of the climate emergency,” Dadey said.

The IOM official emphasized that such evidence-based programming will ultimately enhance efforts to respond to the immediate needs while ensuring that migration is utilized as a tool towards sustainable adaptation and risk mitigation.

According to the IOM, the report analyzed a total of 35 published papers, with the majority coming from 2011-2020 when some of the most destructive climate-related disasters occurred in the Philippines.

To provide an initial framework for in-depth policy research on climate migration, the team behind the report conducted exploratory interviews and consultations with local governments and vulnerable community members.

Gustavo Gonzalez, United Nations Resident Coordinator and Chair of the UN Network on Migration in the Philippines highlighted the significance, saying that the report “gathers insights from different sectors on the issue of climate change and highlights the human narratives behind the impacts of climate change in the Philippines”.

Similarly, Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ, a climate scientist and member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize cited the need to prepare for the massive uprooting that the climate emergency threatens to trigger.

“The report recovers for us the human face of the most crucial social and ecological challenge of our time,” Villarin said.

Even the Philippine government’s Climate Change Commission joined in expressing its support to the IOM report, citing its usefulness in informing strategic ways forward to mainstream climate change adaptation and climate resilience initiatives nationwide, especially to the vulnerable communities.

“Through the whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches, our government, as part of the National Adaptation Plan process, consistent with the National Climate Risk Management Framework, is committed to ensuring that all Filipinos are equipped with the evidence-based and citizen-centric knowledge and capacities to adapt and thrive in this era of climate change,” Jerome Ilagan, the Chief of the Policy Research and Development Division of the CCC.

The report is part of the Climate Change Adaptation and Community Resilience in the Philippines Program, with support and funding from the IOM Development Fund (IDF).