The phenomenon of climate change is not new as it has been occurring since time immemorial. However, the impacts of climate change have become more conspicuous in recent years due to several factors such as rapid urbanization, migration, and displacement due to natural disasters among other factors and population pressures. Moreover, household poverty has forced people to degrade their environments inevitably reducing their chances of enjoying natural resources sustainably. From this perspective, it is clear that climate change is not always the driving factor for migration but also environmental degradation due to anthropogenic activities. Globally, the effects of rising temperatures and global warming have been recognized as a contributing factor to negative impacts on ecosystems, food security, livelihoods, human health, and water resources to mention but a few.
Zimbabwe, which heavily relies on rain-fed agriculture, has an extremely variable and predominantly semi-arid climate. The shifting rainfall patterns have led to extreme droughts and floods, exacerbated by substantial environmental challenges that include land degradation, deforestation, and inadequate water quantity and quality which have negatively impacted agriculture and food security. Further, it has been noted that women and girls, along with other vulnerable groups such as persons with disabilities (PWDs) are disproportionately affected by such threats. The increase in frequency and intensity of disaster events in all regions of the African continent, including Zimbabwe is a growing challenge, leaving in their wake the destruction of property, loss of lives and livelihoods, and food insecurity. Consequently, climate change has of late been receiving significant attention with the need for adaptive actions high in national, regional, and global agendas. Zimbabwe has been experiencing increases in the frequency and severity of droughts over the years, compromising the livelihoods of vulnerable communities with a regressive effect on sustainable development.
Although it is widely acknowledged that one of the key outcomes following environmental stressors is migration, there is a significant knowledge gap in terms of understanding the migration, environment, and climate change nexus vis-à-vis data, responsive policies, and strategies to address the plight of environmental migrants. Yet, there is limited understanding of how climate change and the environment influence individual and household decisions to migrate work or livelihood opportunities for survival, let alone manage the mobility dimensions driven by climate change and disasters. For instance, data that clearly distinguishes migration due to environmental factors from migration due to non-environmental factors i.e., political, socio-cultural, or economic is grossly lacking, suggesting a limited understanding of how climate change and environmental degradation drive migration and mobility, especially in drought and disaster-prone high migrant-sending communities. In the face of the climate crisis, it has become imperative to acknowledge the nexus of these elements and pave the way forward by being proactively deliberate in policies, strategies, and interventions to address these challenges.
In this vein, understanding the nexus between Migration, Environment and Climate Change (MECC) and other forms of migration e.g., internal migration, labour migration, etc. is vital for effective policymaking, contextual adaptation and disaster risk mitigation, and resilience programming. It is in this context that the Government of Zimbabwe, under the auspices of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Wildlife (MoECW), with technical and financial support from IOM is implementing a 24-month project that seeks to harness stakeholders’ expertise to address Migration, Environment, and Climate Change (MECC) challenges in the country in a strategic and coordinated manner, noting with concerns that climate-induced mobility is on the rise in Zimbabwe. The project is underpinned by the realization that climate change affects where and how people live given that it drives human displacement and forced migration and thus threatens the lives and livelihood of the poorest and most vulnerable population. Notably, climate change is causing depletion of livelihood which necessitates people to migrate in search of better alternatives.
As part of the project implementation, IOM and the government engaged the services of a consultant under output 1 who has produced a report on the gaps and opportunities to mainstream migration into climate change policies, strategies, and frameworks. From the report it was noted that while there is acknowledgment that the trend of climate-induced migration is on the rise, current policies have not adequately mainstreamed migration into environment and climate change, strategies, and action plans. Climate movements are unplanned and thus cause socio-economic challenges which calls for climate-proofing sectors to withstand and cope with the impact of climate change. Significantly, it is imperative to address solutions through policies and strategies that address the climate change–human mobility nexus in Zimbabwe. Against this background, the project second outcome is to develop a contextualized gender sensitive MECC toolkit with a set of recommendations for the GoZ to support the integration of migration and human mobility in environment and climate change policies, strategies, and frameworks. The toolkit will be accompanied by a set of recommendations to help guide the GoZ on the integration of migration in policies, strategies, and legal frameworks at the national, sectoral, and local levels.
3. Organizational Department / Unit to which the Consultant is contributing:
IOM Zimbabwe, Migration Governance and Development Unit (GDU): Mainstreaming of Migration into Environment Policy and adaptation strategies in Zimbabwe: NC0093. Implementing with Technical cooperation from the Government of Zimbabwe under the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Wildlife.
4. Category B Consultants: Tangible and measurable outputs of the work assignment
5. Performance indicators for the evaluation of results
The consultancy will be evaluated against the following indicators, for which targets will be discussed with IOM:
6. Education, Experience and/or skills required
Education:
Advanced university degree in Environmental / Climate Change Studies, Migration and Displacement, Political Science, International Relations, Social Sciences, or a related field from an accredited academic institution with at least seven years of relevant professional experience.
Experience and skills:
7. Travel required:
Yes, within the country at own expense.
8. Competencies:
Values
Core Competencies – behavioural indicators
How to apply:
Interested candidates are invited to submit their cover letter, technical and financial proposals and CVs with names and contacts of three referees, listing references to previous similar studies conducted or relevant publication(s) with subject line “Development of the National Migration Data Strategy Consultant” by 24th May 2024 at the latest via e-mail to vacancieshre@iom.int
Tagged as: International Organization for Migration, Zimbabwe
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