Very few studies have focused specifically on the interlinkages between migration, environment and climate change (MECC) in Niger, making evidence-based policy impossible to develop.
To fill this gap, IOM is conducting a project that works with local communities across Niger, studying the impacts of climate change on people’s lives and mobilities in a wide range of ecosystems.
The project is simultaneously working to improve the capacities of the Nigerien government on MECC issues, setting the stage for considerations related to migration and climate change to be integrated into public policies in an evidence-based manner.
“When I was appointed as the Chief of Gao in 1986, we had everything. The village lived on agriculture and trade. There was an abundance of food. But nothing grows anymore. When we sow, it doesn’t grow… or the plants die before they can be harvested. Even when it rains, the water does not seep into the soil, it slides off and floods the whole village. People leave not because they want to, but because they have no choice.” - Abdoulaye Iguié, Chief of Gao
People in the village of Gao built a protective dike to protect the village from flooding. The waters that descend from the hills to the west of the village flow into the home of the inhabitants – the wall, when completed, should reduce the damage done by floodwaters.
IOM is working with communities across Niger to better understand the effects of climate change at the community level, in order to provide localised solutions and adaptation strategies.
Support action that enables people living on the front lines of climate change to build a more sustainable future and make staying possible.
IOM is addressing the links between climate change and migration, working with governments and local communities to manage and prepare for climate migration.
We have projects supporting people on this front globally, from the Pacific to the Sahel and from the Andes to the Himalayan steppe.