2.3m displaced persons fuel climate change in North-East, says IOM

International Organisation of Migration (IOM) Chief of Mission in Nigeria, Laurent de Boeck, has said the displacement of over 2.3 million people fuels climate change and environmental degradation in the North-East.

According to him, the displacement crisis in the region is one of the world’s most complex with violence linked to the actions of non-state armed groups.

Boeck raised the alarm in a new report, titled: “Intention Survey Voices of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Northeast Nigeria,” released yesterday in Maiduguri, Borno State.

He also lamented that inter-communal clashes had continued to compound the effects of climate change and environmental degradation in Borno, Adamawa and Yobe states.

The IOM boss said: “There are three conventional options, comprising voluntary return to places of origin, local integration of IDPs, and their voluntary relocation elsewhere in the country.”

Boeck noted that IOM, through the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) has played an essential role in gathering and analysing data to disseminate critical multi-layered information on the mobility, vulnerabilities, and needs of displaced and mobile populations.

He said the DTM would enable decision-makers and responders to provide these emergency humanitarian assistance as well as longer-term solutions.