Ashgabat - IOM has called for the promotion of a comprehensive approach to migration, environment, climate change and food security at a recent high-level International Conference.  

The Conference was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environmental Protection of Turkmenistan and the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization  with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the UN Resident Coordinator in Turkmenistan. It brought together in person and online high-ranking representatives of the countries of Central Asia and Iran, the United Nations, as well as experts from international organizations and financial institutions such as World Bank, USAID, GIZ and others. 

Five major steps to respond to food insecurity were highlighted: assessing the impacts on specific populations, especially women and young people; identifying means for communities to adapt to changing livelihood options through skills development, social protection and financing; exploring the possibilities for legal pathways to expand routes out of humanitarian and development crises for those with the fewest choices; hearing from migrants about their experiences both to inform our responses and help others; and better understanding the interconnection between rural livelihoods, food security and migration. 

IOM sub-regional coordinator for Central Asia, Zeynal Hajiyev emphasized the responsibility of states to mitigate climate impacts on lives and livelihoods of people and consider the role that human mobility plays. 

The Conference  issued a communique that noted the need to take into account human mobility, climate change and food security issues in providing the economic, social and environmental foundations for ensuring food security and nutrition for future generations. 

For more information please contact Joe Lowry at jlowry@iom.int