Enhancing the Capacity of Pacific Island Countries to Address the Impacts of Climate Change on Migration

The ILO works with partners to provide technical assistance and build the capacity of its constituents to protect migrant workers and manage migration flows effectively. Recently, the ILO, in partnership with ESCAP and UNDP, successfully secured $5 million in EC funding to enhance the capacity of Pacific Island Countries (Nauru, Kiribati, and Tuvalu) to address the impacts of climate change on migration through well-managed, rights based migration schemes and policy frameworks supported by comprehensive knowledge building and knowledge sharing in the Pacific Islands Region.

Migration in the Pacific, both seasonal and long-term, has profound implications for migrant workers, labour-sending countries, and labour receiving countries. The causes of migration, be these related to income expansion choices or the result of voluntary and forced relocation due to the impact of climate change - are often complex and interconnected.

The ILO works with partners to provide technical assistance and build the capacity of its constituents to protect migrant workers and manage migration flows effectively. Recently, the ILO, in partnership with ESCAP and UNDP, successfully secured $5 million in EC funding to enhance the capacity of Pacific Island Countries (Nauru, Kiribati, and Tuvalu) to address the impacts of climate change on migration through well-managed, rights based migration schemes and policy frameworks supported by comprehensive knowledge building and knowledge sharing in the Pacific Islands Region. This EC-funded multi-agency partnership will draw on the ILO’s significant global knowledge base on labour migration issues. It will also complement and build on the ILO’s already active engagement in the Pacific through the ongoing Labour Governance and Migration project, which aims to bolster the development potential for returning seasonal workers and the strengthening of institutional capacity to provide and oversee these services in selected PICs.

The expected outputs of the project will contribute to: (a) building knowledge base on migration and the projected impact of climate change by developing a compendium of policies and practices on migration in target Pacific Island Countries and identifying strategies for the improvement of migration management; (b) improving migration data collection mechanisms; and (c) the enhancement of national capacities to effectively participate in and manage regional and bilateral migrations schemes, particularly with regard to PIC participation in seasonal workers programmes of Australia and New Zealand. Seasonal labour migration schemes in particular can be a significant source of jobs and a key contributor to economic growth and development in the Pacific. Their impact goes beyond the increase in income and household consumption, and can stimulate micro enterprise development for women and the acquisition of transferable skills, provided adequate reintegration services are available to support livelihoods and the acquisition of income generation and financial literacy skills not just for the workers, but also for their families back home.