About Migration and Adaptation
The impacts of floods, droughts, unseasonal rain and other extreme events increase the developmental and adaptation challenges in the developing countries. The planned adaptation measures by the government agencies and NGOs need to be complemented by household strategies to build the adaptive capacity of a household. Adaptation planning and practices need to explore the circumstances under which labour migration and remittances can support an individual, household, or community to avoid the erosion or build capacities that are detrimental to adaptation.
Financial remittance can be a ‘local’ financing mechanism for the unmet adaptation requirements of the remittance receiving households. The impact of social remittances – knowledge, skill, attitude of the migrant workers – on adaptation needs to be explored. However, these cannot be accomplished by the individual migrant workers or their families on their own. The remittance receiving households require a policy framework and institutional arrangement that will acknowledge the role of migrant workers and remittances in the adaptation planning and practice at the local level; facilitate access to information on climate and environmental impacts, financial services, and government schemes; and provide technical guidance to invest in low risk and low cost adaptive options.