The International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) will be partnering with the Conservation Development Centre (CDC) in Nairobi on the project.

Partnerships will also be formed with practitioners working at each of the case study sites.

For Further inFormation, please contact:Anne Hammill, Programme Leader, IISD (ahammill@iisd.ca)

Rob Malpas, CEO, CDC (robmalpas@cdc.info)

Or visit IISD web site at: http://www.iisd.org/ecp/es/migration/

EnvironmEnt and migration in thE grEat LakEs rEgion of

East and CEntraL afriCa

Funder:

Upper Nile

Turkana / Omo

Victoria

Tanganyika

Rungwa

Malawi / Nyasa

Mweru

KENYA

ETHIOPIA

SOUTH SUDAN

DEMOCRATIC

REPUBLIC

OF CONGO

TANZANIA

MOZAMBIQUEZAMBIA

RWANDA

BURUNDI

SOMALIA

ZIMBABWE

MALAWI

This map shows the priority watersheds for the MacArthur Foundation’s

Conservationand Sustainable Development grantmaking in Central and East Africa.

Grantmaking targets freshwater and terrestrial key biodiversity areas (KBAs) within the identified priority watersheds.

Freshwater Key Biodiversity Area

Terrestrial Key Biodiversity Area

African Great Lakes Focal Area Boundary

Priority Watersheds

Km250 5000

Map created by Kate Barnes, March 2012Data sources: Birdlife International, Conservation International, USGS Hydrosheds, Natural Earth

WGS 84 Coordinate System

OVERARCHING GOAL The Migration and Conservation Project aims to improve the protection

and sound management of natural resources and critical ecosystems that sustain the livelihoods of vulnerable communities in the Great Lakes region

of East and Central Africa, which is experiencing significant pressures from human migration.

RATIONALEMigration has been used for centuries as a means of adapting to and coping with

change in the Great Lakes region of Africa. It is driven by a number of oftentimes mutually reinforcing factors, including: livelihood strategies, such as mobile pastoralism;

the pursuit of economic opportunities elsewhere; population pressures; environmental and climate stresses; development policies; and political persecution and conflict. The

livelihood and natural resource management strategies that are adopted throughout the migration process can have a range of impacts on ecosystems and the livelihoods they

support.For example, habitat and species loss can undermine ecotourism opportunities, pollution can increase health risks, and land degradation and deforestation can undermine agricultural productivity. As traditional migration systems break down and the push-pull factors increase both in scale and complexity, the migration story in the Great Lakes region is becoming increasingly complicated. For a region already experiencing myriad forms of natural resource and climate stress, the growing socio-environmental impacts of migration could incubate or reinforce existing social tensions and institutional failures, further threatening the critical ecosystems and the livelihoods they support.

Policy-makers and practitioners are not fully aware of these threats, nor are they fully prepared to manage them through appropriate interventions. This project will address this gap by: (a) developing a methodology to better understand the drivers and impacts of migration on critical natural resources, ecosystems and

livelihoods in the Great Lakes region; (b) identifying effective responses for policy-makers and practitioners working on

these issues; and (c) catalyzing further research and policy engagement on the topic in the region.

MAIN PROJECT ACTIVITIES • Development of a migration impact assessment methodology: A

methodology will be developed to help conservation, development and humanitarian actors assess migration impacts on critical natural resources and ecosystems and design practical and policy responses to reduce them.

• Case studies examining migration impacts on critical ecosystems: The methodology will be tested at case study sites in the Great Lakes region. The case studies will illustrate the relationships between migration, livelihoods and natural resource management impacts, and identify site-specific strategies for managing these impacts.

• Organization of a regional forum on migration, livelihoods and critical ecosystems: A high-level event will be organized to raise national, regional and international awareness of the impacts of human migration on livelihoods and critical ecosystems. Case study results will be presented, local and regional experiences will be exchanged, and broader regional action and financing will be catalyzed to address these issues in the Great Lakes region and beyond.

WHEN & WHEREThe project started in June 2012 and will end in December 2014.

The project focus is the Great Lakes region of East and Central Africa. Case study sites for field research will be identified according to a set of criteria: a) the nature of the migration, including the drivers of migration, geographical and temporal aspects of the migration and actors involved; b) the impacts of the migration on critical ecosystems, habitats and species, as well as on natural resources use and livelihoods; c) feasibility, including the presence of a strong local partner and staff safety; and d) the potential for measurable policy impacts.

EnvironmEnt and migration in thE grEat LakEs rEgion of East and CEntraL afriCa