Mapping of existing international and regional guidance and tools on averting, minimizing, addressing and facilitating durable solutions to displacement related to the adverse impacts of climate change

The title of this document, “mapping of existing international/regional guidance/tools on averting,
minimizing and addressing displacement and durable solutions” identifies different concepts.

• The term ‘guidance’ has been defined as “help and advise about how to do something or about
how to deal with problems” and the term ‘tool’ has been defined as “something that helps you to
do a particular activity.” For the purpose of this mapping, the terms ‘guidance and tools’ are
interpreted as documents that provide recommendations, help and advice for policymakers and
practitioners on ways to avert, minimize and address displacement and durable solutions.

• To ‘avert’ is understood as “to prevent a negative consequence from happening”. In the context
of this mapping, guidance and tools to ‘avert displacement’ will thus include documents that
provide help and advice for preventing or avoiding the risk of displacement, and enable people to
stay where they live. Averting displacement therefore requires 1) removing or reducing the
frequency and intensity of the hazard; 2) avoiding or reducing exposure to the hazard, and/or 3)
ensuring exposed populations have the resilience to withstand the impacts of the hazard.

• To ‘minimize’ means “to reduce something to the least possible level or amount”. In the context
of this mapping, guidance and tools to ‘minimize displacement’ will include documents that
provide help and advice on reducing or decreasing the number of people who are at risk of
displacement by avoiding or adjusting to the risks posed by climate change impacts. This
includes, for example, measures that enable people to move pre-emptively, such as supporting
migration as a positive coping measure, or facilitating a pre-emptive planned relocation process.
• To ‘address’ means “to give attention to or deal with a matter or problem”. In the context of this
mapping of guidance and tools, such documents designed to ‘address displacement’ is
understood to include not only documents that provide support for responding to displacement
once it occurs, but also preparations for potential displacement.
• ‘Displacement’ in the context of this mapping implies ‘displacement related to the adverse
impacts of climate change’ and is understood as a forced or involuntary form of human mobility
that can occur internally or across international borders in the context of disasters linked to the
impacts of natural hazards, including the adverse impacts of climate change. Such displacement
results from the combination of exposure to the adverse effects of climate change, vulnerability
and lack of resilience to withstand these impacts. When these impacts overwhelm the resilience
or adaptive capacity of an affected community or society, this leads to a disaster that potentially
results in displacement. Displacement related to the adverse impacts of climate change is
complex and multi-causal. A multitude of demographic, political, social, economic and other
developmental factors also determines to a large extent whether people can withstand the
impacts of the hazard or will have to leave their homes.
• According to the Framework for Durable Solutions for internally displaced persons (IDPs), ‘durable
solutions’ are achieved for IDPs when “displaced persons no longer have any specific assistance
and protection needs that are linked to their displacement and can enjoy their human rights
without discrimination or hindrance on account of their displacement”.
In this document, durable solutions are understood in a broader sense than just in IDP context.

They can be achieved through: sustainable reintegration at the place of origin (hereafter referred to as “return”);
sustainable local integration in areas where displaced persons take refuge (local integration),
either within the country’s borders (for IDPs) or in the country that received them (for cross-
border displaced persons); sustainable integration in another part of the country (settlement
elsewhere in the country), or in exceptional cases in a third country.

The objectives of this mapping are to:
• Enhance dissemination of the existing tools and guidance;
• Identify key opportunities to further develop tools and guidance, to enhance coherence
between tools and guidance and to ensure better implementation of existing tools and
guidance;
• Inform the development of recommendations related to tools and guidance by the Task Force
on Displacement; and
• Inform the work of the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage as it pertains to
tools and guidance.

The scope of this mapping is limited to the most recent international and regional guidance and tools that
provide help and advice to policymakers and practitioners, and that offer practical options to avert or
minimize or address displacement related to the adverse impacts of climate change; and/or to facilitate
achievement of durable solutions.

Criteria for inclusion of guidance and tools in this mapping exercise include: their publication or adoption
by an international or a regional entity; addressed to or issued with the principal objective of providing
help and advice to policymakers and practitioners; offer practical options to avert or minimize or address
displacement related to the adverse impacts of climate change and/or to facilitate achievement of durable
solutions. Most of the tools and guidance listed in this mapping cover issues of human mobility (migration,
displacement, planned relocation) related to climate change. However, some tools and guidance that do
not explicitly address these issues are included when they are nevertheless considered relevant for
averting, minimizing and addressing displacement.

Whilst the mapping does not claim to provide an exhaustive list of guidance and tools relevant to
displacement related to climate change, it aims to contain a representative and illustrative selection of
existing guidance and tools at the international and regional levels. It further includes links to more
resources, web platforms and online tools when appropriate.

For instance, this mapping does not include:
• International and regional policy processes, plans, strategies, frameworks, road maps (although,
the mapping does include key guidance and tools that offer practical options for the
implementation of these instruments);
• Bilateral arrangements;
• National guidance, tools and policies; and
• Database tools.

The mapping is organized around the four variables derived from the title— averting, minimizing,
addressing displacement and durable solutions – and around international and regional levels. The
categorization of tools and guidance by avert, minimize and address has its limits as in practice, it might
difficult in some instances to distinguish between the three and a number of them cover not only one,
but several or all of these categories. The regions mapped in this report are Africa, Asia, Europe, Americas,
and Oceania. Sub-regional guidance and tools may also be included in this mapping where relevant.