Droughts, climate change, land degradation, and desertification are closely interrelated. The World Bank group is working with countries around the world to help build resilience to the growing economic, environmental, and social challenges we face today, including drought and desertification

The impacts of climate change on global temperatures profoundly affect people’s ability to sustain their livelihoods as well as their health; both of these dimensions in turn influence the migration of people. Indeed, increasing heat related to climate change is likely to result in more disruptive…

Since instability broke out in Tripoli, irregular migration from West Africa towards Europe has surged. Though precise figures are hardly available, migration flows from Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal and the Gambia have increased and these countries are the first areas of departure in West Africa…

UNECA launched a High Level Panel on Migration in Africa, to report to the AU Heads of State Summit in July 2018. The Initiative on Child Rights in the Global Compacts organized a Global Conference on Children on the Move, and is preparing a document to guide the inclusion of children's rights in…

The abovementioned paper carefully avoided the word forest in its title; it challenged the various definitions of forest that may cause more confusion than necessary, and preferred the more objectively observable ‘tree cover’ term for discussing what types of changes are occurring in China and…

The Turkish State Meteorological Service has just published a brochure publicizing the main results of its study titled 'Analysis of Sand and Dust Storms (SDS) between the years 2003 and 2016 in the Middle East'. The study concludes that there is a significant increase in the frequency of dust…

In recent months, the world has watched drought unfold in Near East and East Africa where an emerging and devastating famine in Somalia is occurring alongside famines in South Sudan, Kenya and Ethiopia. Famine has also hit Nigeria, and further to the east in Yemen. In the context of this region-wide…

The report assesses the occurrence and impacts of drought, the current policies underlying drought management as well as the mitigation measures and responses adopted in Central Asia and Turkey, with a focus on Agriculture Sector. It is part of a series of similar studies carried out in different…

June 2017: UN agencies have released updated reporting on acute and imminent famine and set forth additional measures addressing food security and hunger in countries facing crises driven by conflict and drought. Several agencies reiterated appeals to donors to step up support to address immediate…

qual rights and opportunities for women are not only matters of women’s justice and dignity. It is well known that when women and girls have equal rights in law and in practice—and equal opportunities to achieve their aspirations—their communities and countries also benefit. Development…

Protracted fighting and unrest are swelling the ranks of displaced and hungry ins some parts of the world, even as large agricultural harvests in some regions are buoying global food supply conditions, according to a new report by the United Nations agriculture agency. “Civil conflict continues to…

Rising temperatures and more extreme, unpredictable climate events are making sustainable livelihoods tough for many people living in semi-arid regions of the world. To adapt, local communities, and especially farmers, use different strategies and responses. Research in India and Africa shows that…

This Glossary, prepared as part of the MECLEP project, addresses key terms of the two separate but interdependent fields of migration and environmental change. Concepts such as adaptation, resilience and coping come into the picture and must be carefully considered in research and policymaking…

Whether people migrate or not, as a response to the adverse impacts of climate and environmental change, depends mainly on people’s perception of three factors: the need, the desire and the ability to migrate. When people do not feel the need or the desire to leave their home despite the problematic…

The degradation of the ecosystem and natural disasters are key drivers of migration and displacement. Different factors determine the level of success of mobility, mostly internal but also international, as an adaptation strategy in the face of adverse impacts of environmental and climate change…