Internal migration management in South Asia

About the event

The internal migration management in South Asia roundtable will bring together diverse stakeholders from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal and Pakistan, to examine emerging evidence and identify policy and institutional measures for strengthening human security and enabling safe, dignified, and well-managed internal mobility in South Asia. It will begin with the launch of the report Human Security under Climate Stress in the Hindu Kush Himalaya Region, jointly developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), and the United Nations University (UNU). It will be followed by sharing of findings from two ongoing projects: the Successful Intervention Pathways for Migration as Adaptation (SUCCESS) and Climate Change Local Adaptation Pathways (CLAPs) projects, which are focused on co-generating evidence on migration as a part of household adaptation strategies.

Objectives

The objectives of this event are to:

• Launch the report Human Security under Climate Stress in the HKH region – A Scoping Assessment and share its major findings.
• Facilitate dialogue on policy and institutional mechanisms to manage various forms of mobility associated with climate change impacts in the region.
• Explore policy and institutional mechanisms to support safe and dignified internal migration, to inform consultations with the HKH parliamentarians.

Expected outputs

• A shared understanding of the human security implications of climate change impacts in the region
• Shared learning on various forms of internal mobility and their management in the region
• Key messages from the roundtable to be shared with parliamentarians at the HKH parliamentarians’ forum to be held on 26-27 August 2026 in Bhutan

Background

The Hindu Kush Himalaya is experiencing rapid climate change, with warming occurring faster than the global average. Accelerating glacier loss, changing hydrological cycles, and increasing frequency of extreme weather events have far-reaching implications on human security. The consequences of these changes such as water scarcity, crop failures, reduced hydropower generation, damages to property and infrastructure, health risk and livelihood disruption, are evident across interconnected sectors, particularly within the food–water–energy nexus. As climate stress intensifies, persisting social inequalities are becoming pronounced, reinforcing that resilience is not only technical but deeply social and political.

These issues are comprehensively examined in the recently released report Human Security under Climate Stress in the Hindu Kush Himalaya Region. It provides a regional assessment of how climatic and non-climatic changes are reshaping human security across the region and highlights their implications for livelihoods, governance, and stability. Complementing this assessment, the Successful Intervention Pathways for Migration as Adaptation (SUCCESS) and Climate Change Local Adaptation Pathways (CLAPs) projects have been working with researchers, policy makers and communities in co-generating empirical evidence from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal on how migration is emerging as an integral component of household adaptation strategies, shaped by aspirations, climate impacts, and broader socioeconomic transformations.

In South Asia, mobility exists along a continuum, ranging from seasonal and voluntary to distress migration and displacement. Mobility patterns are reshaping demographic trends, shifting livelihood trajectories, changing urban and rural landscapes and raising complex governance challenges for social cohesion, service delivery, and long-term resilience. While the region has robust policy and institutional mechanisms to govern international labour migration, there is a serious lack of policy and governance mechanisms to manage internal mobility.

Internal migration, particularly rural to urban migration within the country, is a major form of mobility in South Asia. This is often for better employment opportunities and access to educational and health facilities in the urban centres. The internal migrants often move repeatedly between origin and destination locations, while maintaining strong social, economic, and cultural ties, thereby supporting multi-local livelihoods.

Increasing incidences of climate related disasters are forcing temporary and permanent displacement, often exacerbating vulnerabilities of already marginalised communities. Beyond climate impacts, infrastructure development projects, conservation interventions, or conflict have led to involuntary displacement. The governments and development agencies have explored planned relocation for communities displaced by extreme events; however, evidence from planned relocation initiatives suggests that relocation is socially complex and often involves trade-offs that affect livelihoods, cultural identity, social networks, and access to natural resources.

Mobility reflects both agency and constraint and requires approaches that go beyond crisis response to support safe, dignified, and forward-looking pathways. There is, therefore, a need for dialogue among diverse stakeholders to examine emerging evidence and identify policy and institutional measures that strengthen human security while enabling safe, dignified, and well-managed internal mobility.

Acknowledgement and disclaimer

This event is supported through the Successful Intervention Pathways for Migration as Adaptation (SUCCESS) project (Project no. 110007-003) by UK Aid from the UK Government and by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Ottawa, Canada as part of the Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE) research programme. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the UK government, IDRC, its Board of Governors or ICIMOD.