Diasporas play a disproportionate role in addressing climate change in vulnerable countries
We all know that remittances contribute significantly to low- and middle-income economies: they represent over 5% of GDP on average. What is less known, however, is that help from communities abroad is four times higher in countries in which disasters related to climate change struck: in Haiti, Honduras or Nepal, remittances account for over 20% of GDP.
Diasporas are not only at the forefront of the response to climate disasters, their action goes deep, way beyond the short term: in addition to sending money to their families, they invest in healthcare and reconstruction, design and lead climate adaption projects –e.g. for access to water and sustainable energy–, help diversify livelihoods and boost the resilience of local communities e.g. by improving food security and access to education.
International partners have noticed, and are experimenting with projects to leverage and scale up the resources, drive and knowledge of diasporas for climate action in vulnerable countries. For example:
- the African Foundation for Development (AFFORD) has enabled diaspora investment in green businesses through a crowd-lending platform;
- the Forum des organisations issues des diasporas (FORIM) encourages young people in Benin to convert organic waste into fuel briquettes, set up recycling centres and reduce plastic waste;
- the European Union Global Diaspora Facility (EUDiF) helps foster climate education among civil society in Mexico with the help of academics from the diaspora.
A blind spot in donor action?
And yet, those examples –which we discovered a couple of weeks ago in a workshop preparing the 14th Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) Summit to be held next January– are still exceptional: an on-going mapping of global practices by the European Union Diaspora Facility reveals that only 15 of the 367 diaspora-led initiatives currently surveyed are climate or “green” initiatives.
Why such a blind spot in donor action? Why are diasporas not recognised as the climate actors they are? Maybe because their initiatives are not framed explicitly enough as climate-related and go under the radar of donors. Their efforts to invest in sustainable agriculture, for example, typically fall within the strict realm of agricultural production, or economic trade – not climate.
There are several actions donors and their partners can take to turn the spotlight on diasporas.
Here are three:
- Encourage the recognition of diaspora contributions to climate action, to establish their credibility and legitimacy with authorities and build trust. One example is the FAO diaspora awards for best agribusiness investors in Uganda, which help disseminate success stories. Targeted outreach, education and training programmes, including the exchange of experiences and sharing good practices, can help connect policymakers better with diasporas.
- Mainstream the role of diasporas in the policy process of climate-vulnerable countries, byfacilitating diaspora engagement in all aspects of national planning and policymaking, including in national and thematic strategy documents. The Making Migration Work for Sustainable Development (M4SD) initiative by IOM and UNDP is one example of such action.
- Facilitate diaspora investment, for instance by making it easier to obtain citizenship or access to local ID cards ahead of registration, and by developing products and services tailored to the needs of diaspora investors. Some good news here: new technologies make it easier to reach informal sectors, where diasporas often operate, and can be deployed to help them monitor operations from a distance, bring down their costs, and reduce fraud and corruption. For instance, the Afford project in Ghana created a crowd-lending platform to channel diaspora investment into green businesses. More specifically, the networking abilities and creativity of young diaspora members are assets to mobilise: the French Climate Generation Project supports initiatives of young people living in France with a migration background to address climate change, while the PowerSouth initiative offers professional services to women managers and owners of local projects in India.
Diasporas are major allies of government and development partners seeking to strengthen the resilience of countries most vulnerable to climate change, with resources, skills and unparalleled drive. It is time donors and their partners seize on the opportunity.