Planned relocation is the coordinated, permanent movement of entire communities from places that are, or soon will be, affected by disasters or climate impacts to new designated safer sites. Planned relocation is a measure of last resort, when all options to stay in place have been exhausted. Dignified means that their rights are protected and fulfilled, and that communities are leading the process at all stages, including decisions about whether, when and how to move.
Planned relocations of entire hazard-affected communities out of harm’s way are already happening, and they are likely to happen more as the climate crisis accelerates. Grassroots organizations, academics, and international institutions have provided some communities with technical and financial support, consolidated global guidance, and helped advance emerging national policies on planned relocation. Recent reports have shone a spotlight on challenges of climate-related planned relocation, and organizations have created fora for communities to exchange knowledge and lessons learned. But these efforts are ad-hoc and geographically siloed. This leaves a void in global leadership on planned relocation, at a moment when the number of communities contemplating relocation away from the impacts of the climate crisis is rising. This global coalition contributes to filling this gap.
Our membership shapes the coalition's focus and targets, around these overarching goals:
· Fostering knowledge and experience exchange among communities, policymakers, researchers, and advocates and providing directly impacted communities with a space to share experiences and lessons learned, and showcase examples of community-initiated and well-supported planned relocation efforts.
· Advocating for countries to develop and implement a rights-respecting policy or governance framework on planned relocation. Rights-respecting frameworks are crucial for ensuring that people can choose to relocate or stay in place, on their own terms; for protecting the rights of populations uniquely affected by planned relocations; and for deterring abusive relocations – where relocations are forced to facilitate commercial development or for political gain.