The Norwegian Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosts the conference, and it will be one of the main official events of the Nansen-Amundsen Anniversary 2011, which marks that its 150 years since Nansen was born. The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) and the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO), will co-host the event and they will collectively be responsible for the content of the conference.
The present role of environmental change, including climate change, as a driving force for displacement needs to be further explored. Therefore, a closer dialogue between climate change scientists and humanitarian actors is necessary as a basis for a well informed policy discussion on how to deal with human displacement in the context of a changing climate.
Moreover, climate change is challenging humanitarian response systems and there is a need to explore how we can better manage the emerging trend of increased disaster-induced displacement.
The main objective of the conference will be to arrive at a set of recommendations for actions aimed at policy makers, stakeholders and humanitarian actors. A chair's summary presenting the main outcomes and key messages from the conference will be drawn up as input for policy development and action in appropriate national and international forums.
The main focus of the conference will be on the vulnerability, resilience and capacity for adaptation of poor communities in disaster prone areas due to climate change and variability, protection of displaced people, and to stimulate action that can help manage or prevent displacement.
The humanitarian consequences of climate change are at the centre of the discussions that will be held. The conference will explore the evidence base for climate change as a driver of displacement, focus on resilience building and climate change adaptation, explore needs for enhanced preparedness and early warning actions, discuss how to fill gaps in the protection of environmentally displaced people and how to adapt humanitarian disaster response to climate-induced displacement.
The conference will be a meeting point between communities that focus on climate change and those that are concerned with humanitarian trends and challenges. About 200 participants from international organisations, regional institutions, governments (both those most affected by climate change and representatives from donor institutions), international NGO's and civil society organisations from affected areas, as well as research institutes have been invited to come to Oslo in June.
More about the programme and practical information here: http://www.nansenconference.no/...