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. Different actors use terms such as resettlement or retreat. We prefer “planned relocation” because it is the language adopted by the UNFCCC and several tools and guidance that have been developed over the past few years.
Climate-related means that the Coalition works only on planned relocation in the context of disasters and climate change, and not relocation or resettlement undertaken in other contexts. Planned relocation is considered “a measure of last resort”, when all options to stay in place have been exhausted.
Dignified means that peoples’ rights are protected and fulfilled, that the process is inclusive, and that communities are leading the process at all stages, including decisions about whether, when and how to move.
Why is the coalition needed?
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 existing 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 planned relocation away from the impacts of the climate crisis is rising. This global Coalition aims to fill this gap.
The Coalition is not actively promoting planned relocation as a solution. Instead, the Coalition is responding to voiced needs by communities and their supporters — for planned relocations, when there is no other option, to be more dignified, rights respecting and community-centered.
Who are coalition members?
Generally, Coalition members are actors who are concerned with ensuring that planned relocation processes are more community-centered.
Some of our members are leaders or members of relocating or relocated communities. We consider a community as a member of the Coalition when their leader(s), member(s) or close collaborators have requested membership, join Coalition meetings and contribute to our activities. Many of the coalition members are “intermediaries”, that means actors working to support relocating communities and who are also interested to engage in global or regional policy discussions and facilitate exchange and learning. This includes civil society advocates, researchers, independent experts, practitioners, academics, and members of regional or international organizations.
For more details see the membership page.
What are the coalition’s goals?
The Coalition is a community of practice that aims to advance more dignified, rights-respecting and community-centered approaches to planned relocation for communities that have decided to do this as a measure of last resort.
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.