Making Moves on Climate Migration and Managed Retreat

To Start…

We, the ASAP Climate Migration and Managed Retreat member-led interest group, are excited to share below our updates and highlights from the past few months. We’ve seen the topic get elevated in various forms such as the Biden Administrations’ Executive Order 14013, the subsequent letter from the Mayor’s Migration Council and the related policy recommendations outlined by the Legal Justice Coalition. With growing importance and urgency, we invite you all to join and contribute to the conversation through CMMR opportunities in the next three months.

CMMR Manifesto Published

Tackling Our Species’ Greatest Adaptation Challenge: A Manifesto for Climate Migration and Managed Retreat from Adaptation Professionals

The CMMR Manifesto was developed collaboratively with CMMR members in 2020 based on two years of shared learning through a monthly speaker series and interactive meetings. First and foremost the manifesto is meant to serve CMMR members in documenting our shared understanding, aspirations, values and guidelines as we work together to shape the CMMR field. The manifesto serves as a foundational piece to inform other activities of CMMR, including a companion piece on policy recommendations. We will also use the manifesto to introduce the work of CMMR to our potential collaborators and policymakers. 

Manifesto Guiding Principles

  • Shaping the field
  • Leading with justice
  • Recognizing inevitable land-use change
  • Delineating climate contributions from impacts
  • Global problem, local solutions
  • Navigating challenges and maximizing benefits
  • Empowering positive change

Celebrating our First Webinar Series: Housing Futures 

Our first 3-part series of monthly webinars focused on the future of housing in the context of CMMR. We heard about emerging trends, recently published reports and innovative tools that help us understand the key dynamics and policy choices that tie together the Wildland-Urban Interface, affordable housing in flood-prone areas and the mitigation of climate gentrification. 

A brief summary of notable trends and discussion takeaways from all three series can be found here: Housing Future Recap.

A huge thank you to the special guests and presenters who made it possible! For folks who are interested, the recordings are all available on YouTube:

Engage with CMMR This Summer 

Our next event series, taking place June 1, July 6, and August 3,  will focus on in-migration and receiving communities. Take a look at what we will be exploring this summer below.

  • Where might climate migrants go? Defining, and sharing the stories of, climate-receiving regions: A conversation with Abrahm Lustgarten (ProPublica) and Keith Schneider (Circle of Blue)
  • International, Federal and Local Policy Tools for In-Migration Planning- We will dive into the policy that exists in support of in-migration and what we still need to advocate for 
  • Visionary Frameworks for a Positive Future- We will get creative and dive into creating the future we want to see in the future. 

    Questions? Contact Collyn Chan at collynschan@gmail.com