MMPTF

India’s first Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MMPTF)

Joint Programme (JP)

Enhancing climate resilience of migrants and vulnerable households in the coastal areas of Odisha and drought-prone areas of Telangana
#MigratingToResilience

Context

India, one of the world’s fastest growing economies, is at the forefront of the climate crisis. Surrounded by the ocean on three sides and the Himalayas to the north, the Indian subcontinent is highly vulnerable to sea level rise, heavy floods, and melting glaciers. In recent years, record high temperatures and volatile cycles of drought and flooding have destabilized crops, putting millions at risk in a country where a large share of the population relies on agriculture and other climate-sensitive livelihoods.

Lacking the resources to adapt, many are compelled to leave rural areas in search of better opportunities, both within and outside the country. The loss of productive workforce puts additional pressure on women and children who stay behind, amplifying their vulnerability. The situation worsens when migration is poorly managed. To address these issues, it is imperative to ensure that migration is a well-informed decision that benefits everyone involved. This means developing livelihood strategies for those who choose to stay, those on the move, and those returning to their rural roots.

Project Overview

The Joint Programme (JP) between FAO and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is supported by the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MMPTF) and is being implemented in the Indian states of Odisha and Telangana. The project seeks to enhance the climate resilience of rural households at risk of climate-induced migration, while making migration an informed choice. The project takes a gender-responsive approach and targets vulnerable and marginalized groups including smallholder and marginal farmers, women and youth. By applying an intersectionality lens, it addresses the root causes of vulnerability at the intersection of gender, age, caste, marital status and other relevant social identities.

The JP is designed to act on three interconnected dimensions:

Strengthening the capacity of rural households to build resilient and sustainable livelihoods that enable them to prevent, mitigate or cope with climate stress and shocks;
Empowering rural people to make informed and safe migration decisions and improve migration outcomes for migrants and their families; and
Enhancing policy and programme coherence through strengthened capacity of key stakeholders, multisectoral coordination and policy dialogue in the areas of migration, agriculture and climate change.

The above three dimensions, related respectively to livelihoods, services and policies, build on each other to provide an integrated, coherent and coordinated response to the complex intersection of migration, climate change and rural livelihoods. The Joint Programme advocates for human mobility as a fundamental human right, promoting safe, secure and regular migration.

The JP promotes climate responsive, social inclusive and equitable climate, agriculture and rural development planning that also consider aspects related to human mobility. It aims to create resilient livelihoods for local communities, enabling migration as an informed choice, while also enhancing policy coherence and the capacities of stakeholders to address the interconnected challenges of migration, climate change, and rural livelihoods. The gender-responsive approach of the JP in particular, works closely with vulnerable and marginalized groups including smallholder, women and marginal farmers.

MMPTF is the only UN financing mechanism fully dedicated to supporting joint initiatives of Member States, the UN system and other stakeholders in the national implementation of the Global Compact on Migration(GCM).

Alignment with Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM)

The JP is aligned with GCM Objectives 2, 3, 7 and 19 by providing targeted support to rural households to mitigate the impact of climate change therefore reducing the pressure to migrate (Objective 2); by enhancing access to information to safe and orderly migration that will improve migration outcomes and reduce vulnerabilities for both migrants and their families (Objective 3, 7); and by harnessing the potential of migration to contribute to sustainable development and climate change adaptation through improved investments of remittances and transfer of skills and knowledge (Objective 19).

Alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The programme directly contributes to SDG targets 1.5, 2.4, 8.8 and 13.1 by strengthening the capacity of rural households and reduce their vulnerabilities to climate change; by generating decent employment opportunities for women, youth, returnee migrants and other vulnerable groups in rural areas and promoting green agribusinesses, while also contributing to build climate-resilient, sustainable and inclusive food systems that deliver food security and nutrition for all. The JP also closely aligns with UNSDCF outcomes 4, 5 and 6.

In the news

About the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MMPTF)

The Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund (MMPTF) began in 2019. This JP is under MMPTF’s Thematic Area 2: Protecting the human rights, safety and wellbeing of migrants, including through addressing drivers and mitigating situations of vulnerability in migration.

About International Organization for Migration (IOM)

IOM is the leading UN agency for migration, working to promote safe, orderly and regular migration. Learn about its latest news, stories, global appeal, strategic plan and partnerships.