Chisinau – On 12 October 2021, international representatives from the IOM Vienna Regional Office, the University of Vienna and local stakeholders from the Ministry of Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development, the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection, the National Bureau for Statistics, the Diaspora Relations Bureau and the IOM Mission to Moldova gathered at the 1st Steering Committee Meeting in Chisinau.

Funded by the IOM Development Fund, the Project aims to contribute towards mainstreaming migration into national policies on climate change and environment, as well as developing the enabling conditions necessary to unlock the potential of migration to support climate action and reduce migration related risks in the Republic of Moldova.

For this purpose, the IOM Mission to Moldova will support the Ministry of Environment to develop their contributions to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s work plan on human mobility and will foster an inter-ministerial dialogue with relevant ministries on the migration, environment and climate change nexus within the framework of the National Adaptation Plan 2 and Agriculture Sectoral Adaptation Plan. The Project will also include awareness-raising, policy advice, technical guidance, capacity development, and stakeholder consultations.

In her opening remarks, Ms. Iordanca-Rodica Iordanov, Chairperson of the Steering Committee, outlined the Project’s added value and its new dimension in addressing migration, environment and climate change nexus in Moldova, as well as the emerging importance of multilateral, international cooperation in addressing migration and impacts of climate change.

Mr. Soumyadeep Banerjee, Regional Migration, Environment and Climate Change Specialist at the IOM Vienna Regional Office, presented migration and climate change policy frameworks in place at the global level, and the synergies between UNDP’s and FAO’s activities in the field. Mr. Harald Sterly, Senior Researcher in Environmental Migration at the University of Vienna, introduced the case study to be conducted in Moldova that will assess how, when and where migration – in its different forms – contributes to climate change adaptation and climate resilience. “Moldova is an important case, as it goes beyond the ‘climate change-displacement debate,’” he stated.

Mr. Ghenadie Cretu, Migration and Development Program Coordinator at the IOM Mission to Moldova, in conclusion, emphasised: “Notwithstanding the challenges, migration, environment and climate change nexus could be viewed as offering new opportunities. As such, migration can represent that positive resource that could be valorised to mitigate the impacts of climate change and contribute to the country’s social and economic development.”

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