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IOM Joins Climate Vulnerable Forum Trust Fund to Address Growing Climate Pressures on Migration and Displacement

Switzerland - IOM has joined a group of international agencies participating in the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) Trust Fund with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding. The partnership aims to increase the capacity of affected communities to deal with migration and displacement linked to the impact of climate change and environmental pressures.

Costa Rica’s Permanent Representative to the UN Office in Geneva as CVF Chair, Ambassador Elayne Whyte, welcomed IOM’s engagement. “Flooding, storms, sea-level rise, drought and agricultural shocks consistent with climate change are already displacing communities and amplifying migration pressures around the world. We are therefore very pleased to be collaborating with the IOM in an effort to build up local and international capacities to match the scale of this growing challenge. We commend IOM’s leadership in addressing this critical concern,” she said.

“Climate change, environmental degradation and disasters are important drivers of forced displacement of people. We are delighted to take part in the CVF Trust Fund in order to work hand-in-hand with some of the communities most affected by these emerging challenges and to continue to ensure the best possible support to those in need,” said IOM Director-General William Lacy Swing.

The 105th session of the IOM Council, the organization’s governing body, taking place during 25-27 November 2014 in Geneva, features a High-Level Panel on Migration, Environment and Climate Change.

The panel will bring the response to climate change-induced migration issues to the fore at the world’s primary intergovernmental forum in the field of migration. A broader stakeholder debate focused on climate change, migration and displacement in collaboration with the CVF is also being held alongside the IOM Council sessions.

Director of IOM’s International Cooperation and Partnerships department Jill Helke said: “IOM’s objective in engaging with the CVF Fund is to collaborate closely with States and other agencies and partners to develop activities that contribute to policy development, building evidence, enhancing capacities and operational responses that are effective in addressing climate change-human mobility concerns.”

UNDP’s Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office Executive Director and CVF Fund Administrator Yannick Glemarec said: “We are pleased to see the IOM adding to the growing momentum behind the CVF Trust Fund, which is unique among international climate financing instruments, due to its focus on promoting innovation and South-South learning in climate policy.”

The CVF Fund’s Steering Committee met in July 2014 to approve its Strategy to 2016, which is focused on the three outcome areas: galvanizing the international climate negotiations; leveraging existing knowledge for improved policy-making; and enhancing means and partnerships for taking action. The Fund aims to empower countries highly vulnerable to climate change to overcome structural barriers to the successful negotiation and implementation of a post-2015 climate change regime.

Other agencies involved in the CVF Fund include the UN Development Programme, which hosts the Forum’s Geneva-based support hub, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the World Meteorological Organization.

For more information on the CVF please go to: http://www.thecvf.org.

For more information on IOM’s activities in the areas of migration, environment and climate change please go to: http://www.iom.int/cms/envmig or contact

Dina Ionesco
Email: dionesco@iom.int
Tel. +41 22 717 9481