Former Professor of Economics, Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune, Maharashtra, India
Migration and displacement present significant and complex development challenges that demand a comprehensive, multifaceted, and multi-stakeholder approach to effectively resolve them. In 2017, out of the 258 million international migrants, a substantial 106 million originated from Asia. These migrants collectively remitted $256 billion to their home countries, highlighting the economic impact of migration on both sending and receiving nations. Furthermore, the global landscape of displacement has seen a dramatic increase. According to the UNHCR Global Trends 2020, the number of forcibly displaced individuals due to persecution, conflict, violence, human rights violations, and events seriously disturbing public order has grown to 82.4 million. This rise is driven by a confluence of factors, including ongoing conflicts, the escalating effects of climate change, and disasters induced by natural hazards, many of which have disproportionately impacted regions within Asia and the Pacific. Intensified extreme weather events such as wildfires and droughts expedite transformations within ecosystems already strained by unsustainable land practices, agricultural expansion, and the looming specter of climate change, hastening their potential collapse. These challenges emphasize the urgent need for targeted interventions and robust policy frameworks to mitigate their impacts.
Climate-induced migration, Displacement, UNDP
