Attachments
Key messages
● Rural mountain communities in developing countries are amongst the most vulnerable in the world due to their remoteness from economic centres, high incidences of food insecurity, low levels of service provision, and dependence on agriculture and natural resources, which in turn makes them highly vulnerable to climate change.
● Seasonal and longer-term migration are longused and important livelihood diversification strategies for rural mountain communities in developing countries. Choices to migrate are typically driven by socioeconomic factors: mountain households predominantly migrate to gain additional income and access to services to improve their lives and enable them to retain assets, cope with past economic shocks, and as a risk management strategy for absorbing future economic shocks.
● Migration – whether seasonal or long-term – is not an option that is available to all. Without sufficient assets and capacities, and in the face of other factors such as marginalisation, migration can be a high-risk strategy. As a result, many of the poorest and most vulnerable households are immobile.
● Climate change is making mountain regions even more challenging places to live in, and this situation is set to worsen. It is indirectly contributing to migration in the mountains through adversely impacting agricultural productivity and natural resources on which the majority of households depend. These impacts are felt most keenly by the poorest households, for whom migration may not be an option or a high-risk last resort due to a lack of capacity and assets.
● Climate change adaptation interventions – adaptation ‘solutions’ – can counteract and reduce the vulnerability of mountain communities to the negative impacts of climate change. These adaptation solutions include interventions aimed at increasing water security, improving agricultural productivity, and diversifying livelihoods. Implemented successfully, adaptation interventions can enable households to live better lives in situ, reducing the need for migration as a livelihood strategy.
● As climate change progresses, the limits to climate change adaptation may be met in many rural mountain areas. In these instances, the relocation of communities to new locations may be required. Much has been learned from relocation efforts to date, in particular the need to fund projects that are led by, engage with, understand, and work with affected communities in all aspects of decision-making and implementation.