Participation of the PABSEC International Secretariat in the Webinar “Climate change and forced migration in mountain areas: What are the solutions?”, 10 December 2021
Mr. Pavlina Lozanova, PABSEC Secretary of the Legal and Political Affairs Committee, attended the online webinar, jointly organized by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Adaptation at Altitude programme of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. The event was organized in a video-conference format, having as the main theme “Climate change and forced migration in mountain areas: What are the solutions?”, and it took place on 10 December 2021.
The meeting was attended by parliamentarians from all over the world, representatives of international companies, intergovernmental organizations and parliamentary assemblies.
The webinar focused on the migration and internal displacement due to climate change in mountain areas and explore a variety of solutions that increase mountain communities’ resilience and capacity to adapt by addressing some of the reasons for climate migration. The participants underlined that forced migration and disaster displacement are among the most devastating consequences of climate change. The relationship between migration and the environment, especially in mountain areas, is not a new phenomenon. While mountain communities have long resorted to migration as a strategy to cope with limited resources and opportunities, forced migration due to climate change is increasingly affecting mountain areas and communities both upland and lowlands.
During the meeting, it was noted that the migrants, internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees are impacted the most by the climate crisis. The migration creates complex humanitarian and development challenges that call for urgent action and strong political leadership to deal with these challenges. Parliamentarians should make sure that mountain resilience is a priority in their countries. Parliaments, with their core legislative, oversight, budgetary and representation functions, are key to ensuring the implementation of international commitments, and alignment with national and regional strategies.
As possible solutions were presented the Identification of the opportunities and share good practices of parliamentarians to play a more active role in the alignment and harmonization of national policies to address migration in the context of climate change and disasters and mobility.