1

Request for proposals

Research Outline on

Climate Change, Environmental Degradation and Labour Migration in Asia, and the Role of Business

BACKGROUND

With over 4.6 billion people, in 2019 Asia was the world’s most populous region characterized by a high rate of

human mobility. Asia was the origin of over 40 per cent of the world’s international migrants (111 million), with

more than half (66 million) residing in other countries in Asia.1 Between 2000 and 2017, Asia experienced a higher

increase of international migrants than any other region.2 This growth is partially driven by the strong demand for

migrant workers within the region and beyond.

Asia faces extreme vulnerability to climate change and environmental degradation. While climate change is rarely

a direct trigger for movement, it intensifies the consequences of underlying environmental, social and governance

factors that reduce resilience, increase risks of displacement and incentivize people to move elsewhere.3 Climate

change is expected to bring about significant changes in migration dynamics and patterns throughout the region.

For instance, evidence suggests that in the Philippines a 1 degree increase in minimum temperature during summer

months resulted in a reduction in rice yields and an increase in the number of female domestic worker overseas.4

A report by the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development finds that village reports of flood,

drought, and poor rainfall in 2008 are associated with household out-migration to Thailand from Cambodia the

following year.5 The local net migration rate jumped and around 17,000 people, or one in 100 residents, left Kiên

Giang province in Viet Nam, one of the worst affected provinces during a drought in 2015-2016.6

Environmental migration can be attributed to two types of natural hazards: sudden-onset events, such as tropical

storms or other natural disasters, and slow-onset climatic events, such as drought and erosion. Environmental

migration is best understood as a continuum, ranging from clear cases of forced movements to clear cases of

voluntary movement, with a grey zone in between.7 Given the multi-causal nature of migration, climate change

and environmental degradation cannot, in most contexts, be isolated as the sole reason for migration, but should

be seen as contributing to human mobility in combination with political, economic and social drivers. As such,

1 International Organization for Migration, World Migration Report 2020 (2019). Available from https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/wmr_2020.pdf 2 UNDESA, International Migration Report 2017, Highlights, available from https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/population/migration/publications/migrationreport/docs/MigrationReport2017_Highlights.pdf 3 Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Migration and Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific (Bangkok, 2017). Available from https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/GCMPREP_5E.PDF 4 Bordey et al, Linking Climate Change, Rice Yield and Migration: The Philippine Experience (2013). 5 Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development, Cambodian Migration to Thailand: The Role of Environmental Shocks and Stress (2016). Available from https://www.knomad.org/sites/default/files/2017-04/KNOMAD%20WorkingPaper%20CAMBODIAN%20MIGRATION%20TO%20THAILAND%20FinalJan19.pdf 6 Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre and Norwegian Refugee Council, Global Report on Internal Displacement (Geneva, 2018). Available from http://www.internal-displacement.org/global-report/grid2018/downloads/2018-GRID.pdf 7 International Organization for Migration, IOM Outlook on Migration, Environment and Climate Change (2014). Available from https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/mecc_outlook.pdf

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collecting data on environmental migrants is extremely challenging. Cross-border movement in response to climate

change is expected to be gradual and hidden, mostly through existing channels recorded nationally, such as labour

migrants who move to diversify income sources.8 Generally, migrants affected by climate change are likely to travel

to where labour market opportunities are or are perceived to be, including rural to urban migration.9 The increase

in women migrant workers from climate-affected countries, such as Bangladesh, also brings new dynamics for

migrants and communities left behind.10 Temporary, low-skilled labour migration and South-South migration,

particularly between neighbouring countries, may also constitute channels used by resource-poor households to

respond to environmental stress. As such, climate change is the underlying, implicit reason for migration, which in

turn becomes a potential adaptation-strategy for affected communities.

Labour Migration in Response to Climate Change - Opportunity or Risk?

While well-managed migration can be a positive adaptation strategy, there is increasing awareness of the links

between climate change, environmental degradation and high-risk migration. Existing literature points to the

proliferation of irregular or unsafe migration, as well as human trafficking, in connection with sudden onset

disasters. For instance, in cases of sudden onset disasters, displacement can lead to a considerable increase in

human trafficking as smugglers and traffickers tend to operate in disaster-affected areas.11 Evidence gathered by

IOM suggests that smugglers targeted poorer households in Bangladesh during the Andaman Sea crisis, leading to

migrants entering into debt bondage and potentially incentivizing renewed attempts of international migration

through irregular pathways by returned migrants.12

More specifically, natural disasters may increase risks for trafficking occurring in supply chains, due to the

dislocation and sudden impoverishment that often characterize the experience of survivors of environmental

catastrophes.13 Ongoing contexts of environmental degradation, such as deforestation, fisheries collapse, and

recurring droughts are associated with pervasive poverty and socio-economic insecurity. This in turn may increase

risks of labour abuses, and, in worst cases, human trafficking, as people seek alternative livelihood opportunities

and are pushed towards exploitative labour conditions.14 This seems to hold particularly true for palm oil, gold

mining, logging, agriculture, brick production and seafood as key sectors in which these two social risks,

environmental degradation and labour abuses interact.15

8 United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, Migration and Climate Change in Asia and Pacific (2017). Available from https://www.unescap.org/sites/default/files/GCMPREP_5E.PDF 9 Ibid. 10 International Labour Organization, Pathways for empowering employment: Diversity and challenges for women migrant workers of Bangladesh (Dhaka, 2019). Available from http://apmigration.ilo.org/resources/pathways-for-empowering-employment-diversity-and-challenges-for-women-migrant-workers-of-bangladesh 11 International Organization for Migration, The Climate Change-Human Trafficking Nexus (Bangkok, 2016). Available from http://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/mecc_infosheet_climate_change_nexus.pdf 12 International Organization for Migration, Community Study on the Needs of Returned Migrants Following the Andaman Sea Crisis (2017). Available from http://publications.iom.int/fr/system/files/pdf/community_study_andaman_sea_crisis.pdf 13 Verité, Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal and Corporate Supply Chains (2017). Available from http://www.respect.international/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Strengthening-Protections-Against-Trafficking-in-Persons-in-Federal-and-Corporate-Supply-Chains-Verit%C3%A9-2017.pdf; International Organization for Migration, The Climate-change-human trafficking nexus (Geneva, 2016). Available from https://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/mecc_infosheet_climate_change_nexus.pdf 14 Verité, Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal and Corporate Supply Chains (2015), available from https://www.verite.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/JTIP-Verite-ExecutiveOrder_13627.pdf 15 Marino, C. (2017). Bad for the Environment, Bad for Labor, Verité, 12 April. Available from https://www.verite.org/bad-environment-bad-labor/

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Environmental degradation and climate change also affect men and women in different ways: There is a strong

relationship between poverty and vulnerability to environmental change, given that women, as a group, in many

contexts tend to be poorer and less powerful than men.16 In this sense, gender inequalities influence both the

impact of climate change and environmental degradation and the migration experience. Evidence shows that

women-headed households are more vulnerable to organised criminal traffickers when protection by families and

communities become disrupted by disasters.17 Restricted migration options for women in countries of origin

increase costs of migration, while unequal wages may exacerbate their burden of recruitment debt, and

consequently also their likelihood of experiencing debt bondage and multiple dependencies on their employers.18

On the other hand, migration can be an effective climate change adaptation strategy and contribute to post

recovery efforts following disasters. Community resilience is strengthened through the provision of financial

support in the form of remittances for left-behind family members, diaspora support, skills of returning migrants,

as well as by decreasing the strain on limited resources in affected areas.19 In all six countries20 surveyed in the

context of IOM’s Migration, Environment and Climate Change: Evidence for Policy (MECLEP) global research project,

mobility represented a viable income diversification strategy. At least 40 per cent of migrant households surveyed

relayed that effects of mobility entailed benefits for adapting to environmental and climate change by improving

the state of health as well as education.

Both origin and destination countries indeed benefit socially and economically from contributions of women and

men migrant workers. In 2018, migrant workers sent USD 256 billion in remittances home to their families,

amounting to 10 times the official development assistance to the region.21 Migration is important for progressing

towards SDG 1 on poverty reduction, as remittances are mostly spent on basic necessities, in particular food.

However, evidence of the extent to which cash and in-kind remittances contribute to poverty reduction varies. For

example, remittance-utilizing households surveyed in fishing and agriculture villages of the Tonle Sap Basin in

Cambodia spent the largest proportion of the remitted money on food and healthcare, followed by consumer goods

and repaying debt. This highlights that these migrant households are likely food impoverished or indebted, and

have family members who are sick. 22 The MECLEP study also finds that the potential impact of remittances on

adaptive capacity to better resist hazards is less than on poverty reduction.23

16 Atapattu S., Human Rights Approaches to Climate Change: Challenges and Opportunities (2015). 17 International Organization for Migration, The Climate Change-Human Trafficking Nexus (2016), Available from http://publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/mecc_infosheet_climate_change_nexus.pdf. 18 Napier-Moore, Rebecca; International Labour Organization and UN Women, Protected or put in harm’s way? Bans and restrictions on women’s labour migration (2017). in ASEAN countries 19 IOM, Migration, Environment and Climate Change: Evidence for Policy (MECLEP), available from https://environmentalmigration.iom.int/migration-environment-and-climate-change-evidence-policy-meclep 20 Dominican Republic, Haiti, Kenya, Mauritius, Papua New Guinea and Viet Nam. 21 RemitSCOPE, Remittance markets and opportunities – Asia and the Pacific (2018). Available from https://www.ifad.org/documents/38714170/40286666/2018-05-01_RemitSCOPE_web_final.pdf/1c454276-4fd3-4feb-a8d8-24b4ef9353df 22 G. Oudry, K. Pak, C. Chea. Assessing Vulnerabilities and Responses to Environmental Changes in Cambodia. International Organization for Migration, Phnom Penh, 2016., available from https://environmentalmigration.iom.int/sites/default/files/publications/MECC_Cambodia%20report.pdf 23 “[A]daptive capacity refers to the ability to anticipate and transform structure, functioning, or organization to better survive hazards” (IPCC, 2012a:72). This definition underlines the need for access to resources to be able to move in the context of climate change, as well as other characteristics that play a role in the decision to migrate. Indeed, age, gender, cultural and ethnic belongings, marital status, education and migration history will most likely also play a role (Foresight, 2011; Warner et

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Whether or not migration – be it international or internal - leads to positive outcomes depends on multiple factors,

including the characteristics of the migrants as well as the regulatory environment and the labour migration process.

Vulnerability is a key concept, which takes into account the exposure to environmental factors and capacity to

prepare and adapt. Communities’ vulnerability and resilience to climate change depend upon a range of conditions,

such as gender, age, socio-economic status. Climatic hazards repeatedly affect the same areas and groups with pre-

existing vulnerabilities 24 and lack of preparedness, particularly to groups where inequalities intersect. The most

vulnerable groups have the fewest opportunities to adapt locally or move away from risk. 25 Arguably, these

populations are more likely to engage in unsafe and high-risk migration as the financial barriers to access such

channels are perceived to be lower. Women face additional challenges in accessing safe and legal migration

opportunities, with the type of work typically available to them often paying less and affording fewer legal

protections due to lack of formalization.26

Climate Migration and the Role of Business

Agriculture accounts for approximately 44 per cent of employment in South East Asia and the Pacific, while over 84

per cent of those involved in the fishing and aquaculture sector are in Asia. Climate change will exacerbate existing

pressures on people living in already vulnerable situations, particularly those in subsistence agriculture and fishing,

to migrate within their countries or internationally, and to experience exploitation through accumulative debt

linked to reduced yields and failed crops. 27 Many of these communities impacted by environmental factors are

based on seasonal income.

At the same time, businesses rely on seasonal workers in their supply chain to satisfy production demands but are

also increasingly attuned to challenges in their supply chains linked to migrant worker vulnerabilities. Ethical

recruitment and safe labour migration are possible avenues to enhance positive migration experiences and

minimize risks of debt-related recruitment into supply chains, particularly in post-disaster scenarios and areas

where livelihoods are highly sensitive to changing climatic patterns.

Taking into consideration these dynamics, businesses can explore preventative measures that reduce risks of

exploitation in their value chains, particularly linked seasonal migration by affected communities. 28 For instance,

evidence suggests that skill-level, length of migration abroad, migration costs, country of destination and sectors

al., 2012), cited from IOM MECLEP glossary (2014), available from https://www.iom.int/files/live/sites/iom/files/Country/docs/MECLEP-Glossary-EN.pdf 24 such as high levels of poverty, lack of assets, landlessness, low levels of education, unemployment, illiteracy and a lack of social infrastructure. 25 K. Rigaud et al. Groundswell: Preparing for Internal Climate Migration. World Bank (2018), available from https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/29461 26 IOM, ILO, Risks and rewards: Outcomes of labour migration in South-East Asia (2017), available from https://thailand.iom.int/sites/default/files/document/publications/Risks%20and%20Rewards%20-%20Outcomes%20of%20Labour%20Migration%20in%20South-East%20Asia.pdf 27 See for example Verité, Strengthening Protection Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal and Corporate Supply Chains (2017). Available from http://www.respect.international/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Strengthening-Protections-Against-Trafficking-in-Persons-in-Federal-and-Corporate-Supply-Chains-Verit%C3%A9-2017.pdf ; University of Nottingham’s Rights Lab, Royal Holloway University of London, and the Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, Modern Slavery, Environmental Destruction and Climate Change: Fisheries, Field, Forests and Factories (Nottingham, 2018). Available from https://www.antislaverycommissioner.co.uk/media/1241/fisheries-field-forests-factories.pdf; Roberson, H. (2018). ‘Blood bricks’: How climate change is trapping Cambodians in modern slavery, ABC News, 16 October. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-16/how-climate-change-is-trapping-cambodians-into-modern-slavery/10377982 28 per se often precarious employment as likely to be subcontracted or outsourced.

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significantly influence migration outcomes. Upskilling prior to departure and starting employment without debt are

two crucial elements impacting these outcomes.29

In this sense, facilitated temporary and circular migration schemes through protective, accessible and affordable

legal migration channels offered by responsible business could built on current and projected labour market

dynamics and mismatches between sending and destination areas.30

For instance, the mapping of high-risk migration corridors would help understand the seasonality of both

agricultural yields and company production cycles and well as existing climate migration patterns, and indicate

potential for ethical seasonal migrant labour recruitment. This mapping could be the basis for targeted skills and

capacity building to strengthen at-risk populations’ ability to access decent employment opportunities and enter

specific business operations without debt. These approaches would both support income diversification

(communities with year-round incomes), while satisfying seasonal labour demands of businesses and decreasing

risks of recruitment into exploitative conditions.

At the same time, these approaches would also allow to harness the potential benefits of labour migration in

socioeconomic terms: improved access to formal remittance channels, facilitated investments on disaster risk

reduction and climate adaptation in the communities of origin, as well as through skills transfer. National migration

policies have largely focused on increased overseas employment and remittances as poverty reduction and

economic development strategies. While return migration is one of the key pillars of the migration–development

nexus31, return and reintegration have been given less priority at the policy level. Return preparedness, e.g. freely

chosen return and readiness to return, plays a crucial role as it influences the returning migrants’ capacity to shape

their reintegration efforts and outcomes. Workers who migrated under safe and fair conditions, starting with ethical

recruitment, are more likely to complete the migration cycle, avoid indebtedness and achieve a high level of return

preparedness.32 In addition to promoting safe migration as an adaptation strategy, support to successful and

sustainable return and reintegration of migrant workers has the potential to successfully increase resilience of

returning migrants and their families to climate change and reduce risks of forced migration.33

Public-private partnerships will be key to make progress towards the Sustainable Development Goal targets 8.7,

10.7, and 13.1 to strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity, facilitate safe and beneficial labour migration and

eradicate modern slavery. The IOM Corporate Responsibility in Eliminating Slavery and Trafficking (CREST) is a

29 Financial remittances are undoubtedly a significant outcome of labour migration, however this discourse often remains at the macro-level instead of promoting a more migrant-focused understanding of labour migration outcomes. The Migration Outcomes Index (MOI) is an analytical provides a shortcut to assessing migration outcomes by generating a single number score, combining four financial indicators and four social indicators to measure changes from before migration to after. MOI scores are calculated at the individual respondent level and indexed on a range of 0–100 to provide an accessible benchmark against which to measure progress. See IOM, ILO, Risks and rewards (2017). 30 See G. Oudry, K. Pak, C. Chea (2016). 31 Objective 21 of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration encourages States to: “cooperate in facilitating safe and dignified return and readmission, as well as sustainable reintegration”. 32 Piyasiri Wickramasekara, Effective return and reintegration of migrant workers with special focus on ASEAN Member States, ILO (2019), available from https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---sro-bangkok/documents/publication/wcms_733917.pdf 33 Sustainable return should be understood either as: (a) successful reintegration in the country of origin, which includes the economic, social and psychosocial aspects and the capacity of the individual to cope with push factors, both old and new, on the same level as the local population or (b) eventual legal remigration made possible by skills acquired during the reintegration process, from IOM, Reintegration – Effective approaches (2015), available from

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regional partnership initiative working with several private and public sector actors to realize their potential to

uphold human and labour rights of migrant workers in business operations and supply chains.

As outlined in the Global Compact for Migration, labour migration can serve as an adaptation strategy for highly

vulnerable communities and at the same time as an engine for economic and human development. Considering

climate change and environmental degradation as a driver of migration and an additional vulnerability layer, private

sector actors will play an increasingly important role in shaping migration and environmental sustainability

outcomes. Business actors not only influence whether labour mobility contributes to increased vulnerabilities or

enhanced resilience of affected communities, but also are increasingly held responsible for preventing, addressing

and remedying human rights risks linked to their business activities, as outlined in the UN Guiding Principles on

Business and Human Rights.

PURPOSE AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS

With a focus on selected Colombo Process countries and relevant destinations,34 IOM plans to conduct an in-depth

research to better understand the migration-environmental change nexus with the objective of providing guidance

for business on supporting the resilience of migrants’ origin communities. This should include the following

interlinked components:

I. Phase 1: Research Design and Vulnerability/Hotspot mapping

A comprehensive regional mapping across selected Colombo Process countries of origin will explore the question

of how climate change and environmental degradation drive international labour migration in Asia. Particular

attention will be on how these factors exacerbate the vulnerabilities and risks of women and men migrant workers,

for instance through unethical recruitment and human trafficking, and finally examine successful migratory

experiences. This should be done through a literature review on migration35 and climate change/natural disasters,

as well as quantitative data analysis/cross-referencing with national migration data sets.

The mapping should also include the identification of potential case studies of successful migration for further

examination of migration patterns, vulnerabilities of communities of origin at regional and sub-regional level; as

well as examples of good practices on targeted ethical recruitment, resilience building through remittances,

returnee skills, or diaspora engagement. Case studies should examine different types of migration as well as success

factors for increased resilience experienced by returnees and communities of origin. This should take into account

type of business and sectors that those on the move migrated into where possible, and illustrate on how these

processes are experienced differently by men and women migrant workers.

34 The Regional Consultative Process on Overseas Employment and Contractual Labour for Countries of Origin in Asia (Colombo Process) is a regional consultative process of 12 Asian countries that focuses on protection of and provision of services to migrant workers and optimizing benefits of organized labour migration for both sending and receiving countries along with the migrants and their family. The 12 member states are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Viet Nam. However, given the geographical focus area of the CREST project, it is recommended that the research focuses on the Philippines, Viet Nam, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Cambodia, as well as corresponding destination countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Japan and the Gulf Cooperation countries. 35 Types of migration can include different forms: voluntary migration, including temporary movements, either formally or informally, short-term circular or seasonal migration, longer term temporary migration through international recruitment system, displacement, irregular migration, human trafficking, and return migration.

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Building on these initial findings and based on stakeholder consultations36, a detailed methodological framework

will be developed for the second phase following the completion of the tasks outlined in this TOR.

Given the differentiated impacts of environmental change and climate migration, including recruitment and

reintegration of returnees, on women and men, gender issues need to be addressed throughout interventions.

II. Phase 2: Field research & development of Business Guidance

Based on phase 1 findings, an in-depth multi-country research will be conducted in selected countries of origin.

Through consultations with relevant stakeholders IOM will develop a practical business guidance for concrete

actions that can be taken by the private sector to reduce climate migrant’s vulnerability to being recruited under

adverse circumstances into company supply chains. The guidance will include:

1. Graphical representation of data on types and scale of migration, hazard exposure and key migration

corridors and industries;

2. Finalized case studies that illustrate (1) How climate change and environmental degradation drive

international migration37 in Asia, and exacerbate the vulnerabilities and risks of women and men

migrant workers, for instance through unethical recruitment and human trafficking, and the impact on

business/ industries where possible, (2) how successful migratory experiences can increase resilience

of communities of origin; and (3) how these processes are experienced differently by men and women

migrants; and

3. A compilation of good practices, for instance use of remittances, ethical recruitment, skills

development, mainstreaming and integration of IDPs into company supply chains, creation of decent

employment opportunities or supporting community initiatives. Concrete avenues for company

support of such initiatives should be explored.

A more action-focused scoping will capture these good practices of private sector actors in synergizing their

sustainability approaches in relation to environment and human rights, and in particular investigate how business

can reduce risks linked to unethical recruitment and benefit from climate migration, while supporting resilience

efforts in communities of origin. This practical business guidance should be linked to the vulnerability/risk mapping

and case studies identified and developed under phase 1.

The research will be conducted using a mixed methods approach and will include qualitative and quantitative data

collection in communities of origin, case studies, focus group discussions, in-depth interviews with women and men

migrant workers, including returnees, as well as key informant interviews with relevant stakeholders, including

governments and companies.

Methodological constraints

Quantifying environmental migration is challenging given the multiple drivers of such movement, related

methodological challenges and the lack of data collection standards. Some quantitative data exist on population

displacement within a country, and to a lesser degree across borders, due to natural hazards. There are few

36 With international organizations, including IOM experts, CSOs and identified businesses that are supporting or expressed interest in supporting successful resilience building efforts. 37 Including different types of migration.

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quantitative and comparative studies on migration caused by slow-onset environmental processes, such as drought

or sea-level rise. In addition, much of the migration triggered by environmental distress will fall within the categories

of labour migration and not necessarily reflected in climate migration data.38 Climate migration should be

considered a conceptual framework within which to understand the role of climate change and environmental

degradation on the migration decision-making process.39 In this sense, capturing data on forced migration is

challenging given the subjectivity of the experience.

Further, South-South migration, particularly between neighbouring countries, are often less costly, less regulated,

and more temporary or cyclical than South-North movements and may constitute channels used by resource-poor

households respond to environmental stress.40 Given the often irregular, temporary and short-distance migration,

there is a risk that insufficient data will be available on irregular, undocumented migration.

SCOPE OF CONSULTANCY

The CREST Initiative is seeking a service provider to develop a detailed research framework and methodology

(Phase 1 - Research Design and Vulnerability/Hotspot Mapping). With particular focus on communities of origin

and relevant migration corridors across Colombo Process countries, the research framework should:

map out migration types, corridors, industries, hazard exposure

identify the knowledge gaps;

opportunities for case studies;

build a rationale for a larger follow up research

An initial desk-based scoping study conducted by IOM reviewed existing literature to explore areas that need to be

further studied for evidence for stronger advocacy with various stakeholders, particularly the private sector for the

protection of climate migrants. The service provider will closely consult with the IOM CREST Team and relevant

stakeholders to determine the focus and design of the field-based research.

The research design and implementation will be aligned with the CREST Gender Strategy to integrate gender aspects

throughout the whole phase of the research.

The service provider will be responsible for contacting, organizing and facilitating preliminary consultations to build

a detailed research framework. The output will be a technical proposal with final research scope, detailed research

methodology and tools, and an implementation plan that will be submitted to the IOM CREST Team for approval.

The consultant will be expected to work closely with the IOM CREST team to incorporate proposed revisions and

feedback. The next phase of research implementation will be discussed between the consultant and IOM CREST

team upon the completion and outcome of Phase 1.

INDICATIVE SCHEDULE AND DELIVERABLES

Activity Deliverable Tentative timeline

38 Migration Data Portal, Environmental Migration (2019). Available from https://migrationdataportal.org/themes/environmental_migration 39 Mokhnacheva, D., Ionesco, D. and Gemenne, F., The Atlas of Environmental Migration (2017). 40 Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development, Cambodian Migration to Thailand: The Role of Environmental Shocks and Stress (2016). Available from https://www.knomad.org/sites/default/files/2017-04/KNOMAD%20WorkingPaper%20CAMBODIAN%20MIGRATION%20TO%20THAILAND%20FinalJan19.pdf

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0 Conduct selection and contracting. Service agreement between IOM and

the selected service provider signed.

March 2020

1 Conduct a regional mapping Draft regional mapping across

Colombo process countries of origin

and relevant countries of destination

that identifies types and scale of

migration, hazard exposure and key

migration corridors and industries

(15 pages)

March-April 2020

2 Identify 4 case studies and the selected

countries/corridors

4 draft case studies on migration

patterns, vulnerabilities of

communities of origin as well as

examples of good practices on

resilience building through use of

remittances or skills of returning

migrants. (2-3 pages per case study)

March-April 2020

3 Organize and facilitate consultations

with IOM CREST Team and key

stakeholders on the research scope,

methodology, tools and recommended

locations for field-based data

collection

Organization of a

webinar/consultation with external

project stakeholders to gauge

relevance and interest of partners.

Consultations notes demonstrating

that the stakeholders support the

research scope and methodology

and inputs are taken into

consideration in research design and

implementation.

April-May 2020

4 Finalize research scope, research

framework including methodology,

tools and detailed implementation

plan.

Final research scope methodology

with tools and implementation plan

submitted to the IOM CREST Team

and the Development Section of

Embassy of Sweden in Thailand .

Appropriate and feasible approach

and locations for field-based data

collection selected. (10 pages)

May-June 2020

5 External communication material Development of a research brief (4-5

pager) based on IOM feedback

June 2020

1. DURATION

The service provider is expected to commence in January 2020 and successfully complete all the tasks by June 2020.

2. MANAGEMENT, REPORTING, AND IOM SUPPORT

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The service provider will report to the IOM CREST Project Manager in Ho Chi Minh City while working closely with

the Project Team in charge. Additional support will be provided by IOM’s Regional Thematic Specialist on Migration,

Environment and Climate Change. Coordination will also take place with focal points from relevant country missions

in accordance with selected sites for field work.

3. QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

At minimum, the service provider should possess the following qualifications:

Demonstrated organizational experience in carrying out similar research, with at least 7 research studies

on topics including climate change and migration, gender, international labour migration and human

trafficking in Asia-Pacific; additional relevant studies will be considered an advantage. Experience of

research on specific sectors with regards to the mentioned topic and in collaboration with private sector

partners will be an asset.

Demonstrated capacity to secure necessary administrative permission and reach out to respondents for the

field-based data collection; experience in organising consultations with government agencies, businesses

and other key stakeholders will be considered an asset;

A team leader with at least 10 years of research experience in relevant areas as above.

A research team with at least 1 lead researcher/specialist with relevant expertise (labour migration, human

trafficking, gender, climate change and migration); additional specialists with relevant expertise will be

considered an asset.

4. SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION

In light of the above, IOM is looking to receive proposals from service providers to deliver the outlined scope.

With a view to the overall objective of the research, the proposal development should be guided by the following

questions:

- Which migration corridors should be selected for the mapping during phase 1?

- Which stakeholders should be consulted for the development of the research design?

- Are there concrete examples that point to business interest and good practices in supporting resilience

building and vulnerability reduction efforts for migrants and their communities?

- What challenges and limitations should be expected? How could methodological limitations be overcome?

Interested service provider should send an application including a technical and financial proposal via e-mail to

hcmc@iom.int or by post to: IOM Viet Nam, Sub-office in Ho Chi Minh City, 1B Pham Ngoc Thach, District 1, Ho Chi

Minh City, Viet Nam, by midnight 09-March-2020 (GMT+7). The application should be titled: “Proposal_Research

on climate change, environmental degradation and international migration in Asia and the role of business”.

The technical proposal should include:

An organizational profile which provides information about the background and mission of the organization

and a list of the pertinent research studies it has successfully completed (including the organization

contracting the research)

A registration certificate for the organization

CVs of the research team leader and key personnel

The financial proposal should include:

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A detailed breakdown of costs per activity

Personnel costs

Any other costs relating to the implementation of the tasks outlined under this TOR.

IOM standard forms for the technical and financial proposals are annexed to this TOR.

5. RESEARCH TERMINIOLOGIES AND CONCEPTS

The meaning of the key terms and concepts to be used in the research are provided below (in alphabetical order):

Climate change

Change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the

global atmosphere and which is in addition to other natural climate variability that has been observed over

comparable time periods” (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, 1992. Article 1)

Climate migration

The movement of a person or groups of persons who, predominantly for reasons of sudden or progressive change

in the environment due to climate change, are obliged to leave their habitual place of residence, or choose to do

so, either temporarily or permanently, within a State or across an international border […] Climate migration is a

subcategory of environmental migration; it defines a singular type of environmental migration, where the change

in the environment is due to climate change. (IOM Glossary on Migration 2019)

Environmental change

“[C]hanges in the physical and biogeochemical environment, over a large scale, either caused naturally or influenced

by human activities” (Foresight, 2011:50) (including industrial accidents), either through fast-onset or slow-onset

events. As ecosystem services and exposure to hazard are important drivers of migration, “global environmental

change will affect the risk calculations involved in moving and people’s decisions to stay or move from their

settlements” (ibid.). Environmental change thus affects the environmental drivers of migration (Foresight, 2011).41

Environmental degradation

“The reduction of the capacity of the environment to meet social and ecological objectives and needs. […]

Degradation of the environment can alter the frequency and intensity of natural hazards and increase the

vulnerability of communities. The types of human-induced degradation are varied and include land misuse, soil

erosion and loss, desertification, wildland fires, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, mangrove destruction, land,

water and air pollution, climate change, sea level rise and ozone depletion” (UNISDR, 2009).42

Environmental migration

The movement of persons or groups of persons who, predominantly for reasons of sudden or progressive changes

in the environment that adversely affect their lives or living conditions, are forced to leave their places of habitual

41 cited from IOM, Migration, Environment and Climate Change: Evidence for Policy (MECLEP), Glossary, (2014). Available from https://www.iom.int/files/live/sites/iom/files/Country/docs/MECLEP-Glossary-EN.pdf 42 cited from IOM, Migration, Environment and Climate Change: Evidence for Policy (MECLEP), Glossary, (2014). Available from https://www.iom.int/files/live/sites/iom/files/Country/docs/MECLEP-Glossary-EN.pdf

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residence, or choose to do so, either temporarily or permanently, and who move within or outside their country of

origin or habitual residence. (IOM Glossary on Migration 2019)

Environmental migrants

A person or group(s) of persons who, predominantly for reasons of sudden or progressive changes in the

environment that adversely affect their lives or living conditions, are forced to leave their places of habitual

residence, or choose to do so, either temporarily or permanently, and who move within or outside their country of

origin or habitual residence.” (IOM Glossary on Migration 2019)

Labour migration

Movement of persons from one State to another, or within their own country of residence, for the purpose of

employment. (IOM Glossary on Migration 2019)

Labour Recruiter

The term labour recruiter refers to both public employment services and to private employment agencies and all other intermediaries or subagents that offer labour recruitment and placement services. labour recruiters can take many forms, whether for profit or non-profit, or operating within or outside legal and regulatory frameworks. (ILO General principles and operational guidelines for fair recruitment and definition of recruitment fees and related costs, 2019) Migrant worker

A person who is engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national (International

Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, 1990)

ATTACHEMENTS IOM Technical and Financial Proposal Standard Forms

IOM Pro-Forma Contract

CREST Gender Strategy