CLIMATE CHANGE, ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND INTERNATIONAL LABOUR MIGRATION IN ASIA: EXPLORING THE ROLE OF BUSINESS

This fact sheet describes the CREST initiative, a partnership between the IOM and SEI investigating the links between climate change, environmental degradation, and international labour migration in Asia. It highlights how environmental stressors increase vulnerability to forced labour, particularly in the agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and construction sectors. The project aims to inform policymakers and businesses on how to protect migrant workers and maximize migration as an adaptation strategy, specifically focusing on agricultural supply chains in corridors involving Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

• Asia is identified as the world's most disaster-prone region and is highly vulnerable to climate change and environmental degradation due to both geographic exposure and underlying economic, political, and social vulnerabilities.
• While migration is often viewed as a failure to adapt in place, it has historically served as a strategy for adaptation and livelihood diversification. However, migrants often start these journeys from vulnerable positions, which affects both the migrants and the families they leave behind.
• Climate change impacts increase indebtedness among vulnerable populations, which raises the risk of forced and bonded labour for those migrating to escape socio-environmental stressors.
• The fisheries, agriculture, forestry, and construction sectors are both contributors to and victims of environmental destruction and forced labour. The environmental damage caused by these sectors increases community vulnerability, which in turn amplifies other drivers of migration, while workers in these fields frequently face exploitation.
• There is a lack of coherent research connecting environmental changes in origin locations to forced labour at destinations across international migration corridors, as well as a lack of knowledge on how specific industries can reduce migrant vulnerabilities. This gap leads to deficiencies in policy and implementation.
• The CREST initiative's second phase focuses on agricultural labour supply chains within specific migration corridors: from Cambodia and Myanmar to Thailand, and from Bangladesh and Indonesia to Malaysia.

APA

Vigil, S. (n.d.). CLIMATE CHANGE, ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND INTERNATIONAL LABOUR MIGRATION IN ASIA: EXPLORING THE ROLE OF BUSINESS. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/flyer-crest-climate-change-environmental-degradation-and-international-labour-migration-in-asia-exploring-the-role-of-businesses-iom-sei.pdf

Chicago

Vigil, Sara. CLIMATE CHANGE, ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND INTERNATIONAL LABOUR MIGRATION IN ASIA: EXPLORING THE ROLE OF BUSINESS. Stockholm Environment Institute, n.d. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/flyer-crest-climate-change-environmental-degradation-and-international-labour-migration-in-asia-exploring-the-role-of-businesses-iom-sei.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Vigil |first1=Sara |title=CLIMATE CHANGE, ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND INTERNATIONAL LABOUR MIGRATION IN ASIA: EXPLORING THE ROLE OF BUSINESS |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/flyer-crest-climate-change-environmental-degradation-and-international-labour-migration-in-asia-exploring-the-role-of-businesses-iom-sei.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{vigilndclimate, author = {Vigil, Sara}, title = {{CLIMATE CHANGE, ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND INTERNATIONAL LABOUR MIGRATION IN ASIA: EXPLORING THE ROLE OF BUSINESS}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/flyer-crest-climate-change-environmental-degradation-and-international-labour-migration-in-asia-exploring-the-role-of-businesses-iom-sei.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }