Snippet of recent research activities on Climate Change & Migration

We are pleased to share recent research contributions from members of the CLIMIG research group at CMI, addressing critical issues at the intersection of climate change and migration. 

In January 2025, Robert Forster’s the article “From Camp to Quarter: the Contention of post-disaster social housing in Mankubin, North Lebanon”, by Robert Forster, U4 Advisor, was published by the Journal for Refugee Studies. The article explores the history of al-Mankubin, originally established as a camp for those displaced by the catastrophic 1955 flood in Tripoli, North Lebanon, and over time transformed into an urban quarter. Challenging the common narrative of state abandonment, the article highlights how different actors within Lebanon’s fragmented state apparatus contributed to the quarter’s growth, and it addresses the complexities of squatting on state-owned land. Today, al-Mankubin remains a space shaped by insecure land tenure and ongoing migration from Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria. 

In October 2024, the book chapter “Sea-Locked: The Cascading Effects of Seaborne Challenges to Human Security in Madagascar” by Xuefei Shi, Post-Doctoral Researcher, was published, contributing to the edited volume Global Challenges in Maritime Security. This chapter looks at how human insecurity, poverty, and environmental problems are connected in Madagascar. It shows how the island is especially vulnerable to natural disasters and human-made disruptions from the sea, made worse by climate change. Madagascar’s unique location and conditions make these issues more severe, serving as a warning for other coastal and island regions facing similar risks. 

At the Nordic Geographers Meeting in Copenhagen, held from 24 - 27 June 2024, Yograj Gautam, former Post-Doctoral Researcher, presented his work on “Climate Change, Migration, and Livelihood Fragility: Insights from Nepal and Afghanistan” as part of the panel “Geographies of Forced Migration: Insights and Perspectives on Long-Term Displacement and Exile”, co-organized with Hanna Geschewski and Anwesha Dutta. His presentation builds on previous co-authored publications, including "Examining Poverty and Food Insecurity in the Context of Long-Term Social-Ecological Changes in Afghanistan" (2023) and "Household Vulnerability to Flood Disasters among the Tharu Community, Western Nepal" (2022). His research has examined how climate change interacts with existing poverty, conflict, and insecurity to influence migration, focusing on cases from Nepal and Afghanistan. Based on interviews, group discussions, and household surveys, his findings indicate that while climate change is a growing factor, structural poverty in Nepal and conflict in Afghanistan remain the main drivers. Migration can improve household welfare, but climate-driven migration often provides little benefit for the poor and places additional pressure on women and children. 

In May 2024, Hanna Geschewski, Doctoral Researcher, participated in the one-month participant-led research school “Himalayan Climate Data Field Lab” held in Kathmandu, Nepal. The programme was organised by the University of Toronto, the University of Michigan, ICIMOD’s Himalayan University Consortium, and other partners. During the research school, Geschewski coordinated a working group focused on climate-related mobilities in the Himalayan region and beyondco-produced the short film “Concrete Crops” on urban migrant farmers in Kathmandu. Additionally, she recently attended and presented at the “Multispecies Migration in the Climate-Changed Himalayas” symposium at the Royal Thimphu College, Bhutan in November 2024. This event marked the kick-off of a two-year research collaboration culminating in a peer-reviewed special issue as its final output.  

Stay tuned for more updates from the CLIMIG initiative!