Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategies (CLARS): Socio-Economic Vulnerabilities among Urban Migrants in the Lake Victoria Basin and Great Lakes
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Worcester
Department Name: Worcester Business School
Abstract
Migration has become a crucial strategy for survival, coping, and adaptation in regions where livelihood systems are compromised or where climate migrants seek better opportunities. Recent climate-induced migration waves have concentrated in climate-resilient urban centers, leading to hardships and unequal outcomes for resettled individuals and households. To achieve just and resilient outcomes, it is essential to engage proactively with stakeholders, including migrants and host communities, in preparing and planning for these movements.
This research proposal aims to design and propose co-produced adaptation strategies that address socioeconomic vulnerabilities (SEVs) and enhance resilience for vulnerable climate migrants and host communities in five urban cities in the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) and Great Lakes Region (GLR), namely Kampala, Mwanza, Eldoret, Detroit, and Hamilton.
The project introduces two key dimensions of novelty. Firstly, it disrupts the conventional knowledge transfer paradigm by facilitating bidirectional knowledge exchange. It recognizes the value of successful practices from global South countries, making them accessible for replication in lower-income nations. Through shared experiences and targeted interventions, CLARS empowers stakeholders from the Great Lakes Region (GLR) and Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) to learn collaboratively. Secondly, CLARS contributes to a deeper understanding of the intersection between climate-induced migration and host communities. By incorporating diverse perspectives from migrants, host citizens, businesses, local governments, and other stakeholders, the project aims to enhance resilience and overall well-being for all involved.
The project consists of the following integrated work packages:
1. Policy Effectiveness Assessment: Investigates the impact of international and national policy responses to climate change, aligning recommendations with the socioeconomic needs of climate migrants.
2. Urban Climate Data Sharing: Produces and disseminates climate predictive data and scenarios specific to urban areas in LVB and GLR, evaluating risks, socioeconomic protective factors, and quantifying climate impacts related to urban migration flows.
3. Inclusive Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategies: Engages in co-developing strategies that target the SEVs faced by climate migrants in LVB and GLR. These strategies aim to address the challenges posed by climate-induced movements and enhance the well-being and resilience of migrants and host communities.
4. Knowledge Exchange and Co-Production: Stimulates knowledge exchange and collaborative learning, encouraging the sharing of climate adaptation and resilience strategies and policies among stakeholders. By advancing co-production, the project facilitates mutual learning and improves the SEVs of migrants and host citizens in urban settings.
CLARS brings together a multidisciplinary team of researchers, practitioners, and local networks, employing mixed-method and interdisciplinary approaches. The collaborative efforts of participants from both lakes-regions generate locally co-produced knowledge and data, facilitating knowledge exchange and the formulation of climate adaptation and resilience policies. These policies aim to mitigate the socioeconomic vulnerabilities faced by migrants and host citizens, benefiting national governments, cities, and multilateral organizations.
The outputs of the project extend beyond the case lakes regions, the UK, and Germany, benefiting communities worldwide. These outputs include scholarly research papers, articles, and academic publications disseminating findings and insights, comprehensive databases related to climate migration, SEVs, and resilience strategies, concise policy briefs providing actionable recommendations for policymakers, and capacity-building workshops and training programs for researchers in LVB, GLR, the UK, Germany, and beyond.
This research proposal aims to design and propose co-produced adaptation strategies that address socioeconomic vulnerabilities (SEVs) and enhance resilience for vulnerable climate migrants and host communities in five urban cities in the Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) and Great Lakes Region (GLR), namely Kampala, Mwanza, Eldoret, Detroit, and Hamilton.
The project introduces two key dimensions of novelty. Firstly, it disrupts the conventional knowledge transfer paradigm by facilitating bidirectional knowledge exchange. It recognizes the value of successful practices from global South countries, making them accessible for replication in lower-income nations. Through shared experiences and targeted interventions, CLARS empowers stakeholders from the Great Lakes Region (GLR) and Lake Victoria Basin (LVB) to learn collaboratively. Secondly, CLARS contributes to a deeper understanding of the intersection between climate-induced migration and host communities. By incorporating diverse perspectives from migrants, host citizens, businesses, local governments, and other stakeholders, the project aims to enhance resilience and overall well-being for all involved.
The project consists of the following integrated work packages:
1. Policy Effectiveness Assessment: Investigates the impact of international and national policy responses to climate change, aligning recommendations with the socioeconomic needs of climate migrants.
2. Urban Climate Data Sharing: Produces and disseminates climate predictive data and scenarios specific to urban areas in LVB and GLR, evaluating risks, socioeconomic protective factors, and quantifying climate impacts related to urban migration flows.
3. Inclusive Climate Adaptation and Resilience Strategies: Engages in co-developing strategies that target the SEVs faced by climate migrants in LVB and GLR. These strategies aim to address the challenges posed by climate-induced movements and enhance the well-being and resilience of migrants and host communities.
4. Knowledge Exchange and Co-Production: Stimulates knowledge exchange and collaborative learning, encouraging the sharing of climate adaptation and resilience strategies and policies among stakeholders. By advancing co-production, the project facilitates mutual learning and improves the SEVs of migrants and host citizens in urban settings.
CLARS brings together a multidisciplinary team of researchers, practitioners, and local networks, employing mixed-method and interdisciplinary approaches. The collaborative efforts of participants from both lakes-regions generate locally co-produced knowledge and data, facilitating knowledge exchange and the formulation of climate adaptation and resilience policies. These policies aim to mitigate the socioeconomic vulnerabilities faced by migrants and host citizens, benefiting national governments, cities, and multilateral organizations.
The outputs of the project extend beyond the case lakes regions, the UK, and Germany, benefiting communities worldwide. These outputs include scholarly research papers, articles, and academic publications disseminating findings and insights, comprehensive databases related to climate migration, SEVs, and resilience strategies, concise policy briefs providing actionable recommendations for policymakers, and capacity-building workshops and training programs for researchers in LVB, GLR, the UK, Germany, and beyond.
