The project is financed by the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Union as a “Specific Targeted Project”, running from January 1st 2007 to December 31st 2008. The total volume of EU-financing is 681.846 Euro for the whole project, of which 133.220 Euro are destined for Bielefeld University.
A growing share of worldwide migration processes is linked to natural or man-made changes in the environment. Natural catastrophes, chemical or nuclear accidents, famines and development projects produce refugees and internally displaced persons. The consequences of climate change, such as the melting of the polar caps or desertification and increasing water shortage, are likely to intensify these problems in the future. Therefore, it is essential to get accurate information about the current and future triggers of forced migration in each country of origin and within Europe itself.
The study of the causes is a multidisciplinary and multisectoral process. The list of methodological tools contains all traditional elements of research from primary data collection to statistical analysis, environmental evaluation and modelling. As the environmental respectively climate change is a global problem and hence the resulting migration flows will be of concern for several world regions, the research project selected case-studies within Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America.
The two years lasting project’s general objectives are to support European policies, research and the civil society by delivering precise and aggregated data and forecasts on environmentally-induced migration processes. The project will produce detailed sub-region or country-level scenarios on environmentally induced migration. Additionally, a webpage with an online running simulation model on environmental migration for demonstration and policy purposes is planned.
The Center on Migration, Citizenship and Development (COMCAD) at Bielefeld University is conducting the project management and the work-package „Forced Migration/Regions“.
The EACH-FOR consortium consists of eight partners from six EU-member states. An innovative aspect of the project is the collaboration of researchers from natural sciences and humanities, working at universities, other research institutes or consultancy enterprises. Participants of the consortium are: ATLAS Innoglobe (Budapest), United Nations University/Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS, Bonn), Erasmus University/European Research Centre on Migration and Ethnic Relations (ERCOMER, Rotterdam), Erasmus University Medical Center (Rotterdam), Bielefeld University/COMCAD (Bielefeld), Center for Ethnic and Migation Studies (CEDEM, Liège), Sustainable Europe Research Institute (SERI, Vienna) and Universidad del País Vasco (UPV-EHU, Vitoria-Gasteiz).
At COMCAD/Bielefeld University, the project is directed and supervised by Prof. Thomas Faist, PhD. Stefan Alscher is leading the regional sub-package on Latin America & the Caribbean and working as project manager of the whole consortium. Frauke Bleibaum, Sara Hernández Herrera and Zeynep Kadirbeyoglu are working as subcontractors in field studies.
(from the United Nations University/Institute for Environment and Human Security – UNU-EHS Bonn)
Renaud, Fabrice; Janos Bogardi; Olivia Dun, Koko Warner (2007): “Control, adapt or flee. How to face environmental migration?”, InterSections No. 5/2007 (Download)
Further information is available on the EACH-FOR website:
http://www.each-for.eu
"Neue Westfälische", 15 November 2008, about climate change and forced migration:
Read article
"Süddeutsche Zeitung", 19 June 2007, on the phenomenon and definition of 'climate refugees':
Read article
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