Anna goes to Thailand : Climate Change and Migration

On Sunday 17th of March Jess and I headed off to Bangkok again, this time for a consultation meeting on MMN’s project on Climate Change and Migration. This is a project that Jessica has been coordinating in cooperation with research teams in Vietnam and Burma/Myanmar. The primary research for the project took place In November 2012, in Ma Gyi Chay Htaut Village, Magway Region, in Myanmar’s ‘Dry Zone’, and in Thanh An Commune, Vinh Thanh District, Can Tho City, in the Mekong Delta region of Southern Vietnam. The purpose of the consultation meeting in Bangkok was to present the findings of the case studies; re-visit the links between Climate Change and Migration; compare with the findings of the case studies; identify key issues and concerns including policy gaps; identify recommended themes for further research; and identify possible advocacy points.

The meeting was held in the same hotel as the Symposium, but this time around it was a much smaller group. We had three participants from Vietnam and one from Burma, as well as representatives from MMN secretariat. All in all we were 8 people which enabled insightful discussions, where everyone could have their say. The meeting was only two days long, but the days were packed with presentations, discussions and group activities. Climate Change and Migration is a topic that I previously was not very familiar with. This consultation meeting was therefore a great opportunity for me to learn more about the issue. I found the meeting very interesting, especially the findings from the primary research. Climate Change and Migration in the research areas is closely linked to issues of inequality, wealth distribution and power. Climate change has the most severe effects on the poorest and most disadvantaged people and their prospects of migrating are in most cases completely different to those who are better off. The finalised report will be launched in early June, so I am very interested in reading it and seeing the conclusions coming out of the meeting. The Report will be published on MMN’s website (mekongmigration.org).

One of my responsibilities for this meeting was to be in charge of the reimbursements and payments to the participants. I also gave a quick recap of the day one in the morning session of the second day. I was very nervous, but the meeting was small and all the participants were incredibly friendly, so the recap was ok.

My second stay in Bangkok was therefore not as large and long as the last one, but it was nevertheless a great experience. The fact that the meeting group was so small made the dynamic of the meeting completely different to the Symposium in February. Both meetings have taught me so much, not only about the respective thematic areas but also about the organising of large and small civil society events.