Climate-Related Human Mobility Across Different Levels of Adaptation Governance

The report analyzes the integration of human mobility into National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), finding that while 83% of submitted NAPs reference mobility, most lack detailed strategies for sub-national implementation. Through case studies in Costa Rica, Senegal, and Sri Lanka, it identifies gaps in financing, data, and coordination between national and local governments, while proposing a typology of approaches for localizing mobility actions.

• A quantitative analysis of 58 NAPs submitted to the UNFCCC as of July 31, 2024, reveals that 83% reference human mobility, but only 64% contain concrete provisions or actions to address it.
• There is a significant gap in how NAPs translate national-level mobility provisions into local implementation; most plans do not specify how these provisions are integrated across different governance levels.
• Regional trends show that African countries have the highest focus on displacement (19 countries), while Latin American, Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific countries show a more balanced focus across migration, displacement, and planned relocation.
• In Costa Rica, climate-related human mobility is primarily addressed through Disaster Risk Management (DRM) rather than broad adaptation planning, with local initiatives focusing on the relocation of vulnerable populations in informal settlements.
• Senegal utilizes both temporary and permanent resettlement plans for flood-prone areas, but implementation is hindered by a lack of financing and technical capacity at the local level.
• Sri Lanka is developing Provincial Adaptation Plans (PAPs) to localize its NAP, but there is currently uncertainty regarding the extent to which human mobility is integrated into these sub-national plans.
• The research identifies several critical challenges to integrating mobility into adaptation, including the tendency to view migration as a problem to be controlled, a lack of data on seasonal migration, and fragmented institutional arrangements where ministries work in silos.
• Local-level actors face significant barriers to accessing climate finance due to stringent donor requirements, such as the need for highly disaggregated data and complex reporting procedures.
• The report proposes a typology of approaches for integrating human mobility into sub-national governance, including localizing NAP priority actions, developing sub-national adaptation plans, and strengthening cross-sectoral linkages.

APA

NAP Global Network (2025). Climate-Related Human Mobility Across Different Levels of Adaptation Governance. https://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Research-Report_Climate-Related-Human-Mobility-Across-Different-Levels-of-Adaptation-Governance-compressed.pdf

Chicago

NAP Global Network. Climate-Related Human Mobility Across Different Levels of Adaptation Governance. 2025. https://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Research-Report_Climate-Related-Human-Mobility-Across-Different-Levels-of-Adaptation-Governance-compressed.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=NAP Global Network |title=Climate-Related Human Mobility Across Different Levels of Adaptation Governance |date=2025 |url=https://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Research-Report_Climate-Related-Human-Mobility-Across-Different-Levels-of-Adaptation-Governance-compressed.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{napglobalnetwork2025climaterelated, author = {{NAP Global Network}}, title = {{Climate-Related Human Mobility Across Different Levels of Adaptation Governance}}, institution = {NAP Global Network}, year = {2025}, url = {https://napglobalnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Research-Report_Climate-Related-Human-Mobility-Across-Different-Levels-of-Adaptation-Governance-compressed.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }