Green it Up

The effects of increasing global temperatures and rising sea levels are already being felt today and pose one of the biggest threats to displacement. Conservative projections expect a 2-meter sea level rise by 2050, putting 54% of the country’s municipalities along coastlines at risk, including major urban centers such as Manila, Cebu and Davao. In fact, among the 25 cities in the world most vulnerable to rising sea levels, 7 are in the Philippines.

Given the increasingly alarming effects of climate change and its clear nexus with migration in the Philippine context, IOM actively engages in advocacy and operational activities in the area of migration, environment and climate change in collaboration with government and other partners. These include a variety of community awareness initiatives involving local populations, and workshops and consultations with key government agencies, academia and development partners to promote environmental programming to be integrated across all areas of migration management. Environmental sustainability is mainstreamed in planning and implementation of IOM’s programs such as promotion of sustainable livelihood for conflict-affected communities as a means of addressing their economic and environmental vulnerability.

With this in mind, IOM Philippines launched The Green It Up campaign. The campaign is a call for everyone to take little steps to change our habits which then inspire change in our lifestyles, to drastically decrease our carbon footprint. As a commitment to adopt sustainable practices, the campaign leads the movement of staff, teams and the mission—even beyond—forward to the right direction.