GLOBAL INITIATIVE FOR ACADEMIC NETWORKS (GIAN) COURSE

Climate Change Vulnerability, Migration and Displacement: The Growing

Challenge and Potential Policy Responses
Course Overview
Climate change is often viewed as a gradual, progressive, and long-term phenomenon. Changes might be
manifested not just in terms of a change in average temperature and precipitation, but also in terms of
increasing variability and extremes that will lead to increased vulnerability to the people, economic losses
as well as natural hazards in many parts of the world. The magnitude of worldwide displacements
triggered by weather related events today shows the importance of developing a better understanding of
the relationship between climate hazards and human mobility (Beyer and Milan, 2023). New internal
displacements due climate-related hazards like storms, floods, wildfires, droughts, and extreme
temperatures have been estimated at 21.9 million annually worldwide across the past decade (2012-2022)
and 31.8 million in 2022 (IDMC, 2022). It is expected that climate change impacts will further exacerbate
current environmental stress factors in developing countries like India, whose economies are mainly
dependent on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture, and who are already facing multiple stresses due
to population growth, urbanization, industrialization, and globalization. Often the poorest in rural areas
especially of developing world occupy the most marginal lands and this forces people to rely on highly
vulnerable livelihoods in areas prone to drought, floods and other hazards. Climate change will have the
greatest impacts in developing countries whose economies are closely tied to climate-sensitive sectors. In
India where rain-fed agriculture dominates, local economies are faced with multi-dimensional challenges
as some crops are already near their maximum temperature tolerance and yields are likely to decrease
with even small changes in climate (Manton et al., 2011) and where many regions seesaw from drought to
extreme floods (Vinke et al. 2017). This leads to migration of people from rural areas to other rural areas
or to cities in search of alternative livelihoods. There is strong agreement that displacement of people is
most likely to increase in low-income developing countries that are exposed to increasing climate
variability and change, and where resources for more planned relocation are lacking (IPCC, 2014).
Climate change is expected to bring about significant changes in migration patterns throughout the
developing world (Rigaud et al. 2018). Increases in the frequency and severity of chronic environmental
hazards and sudden onset disasters are projected to alter the typical migration patterns of communities in
several parts of the world (Raleigh et al., 2008).
It is clear that climate change will have wide ranging implications for society over the course of the 21 st
century. For this reason, a demographic and geographic perspective is critical for understanding social
vulnerability to climate impacts, as well as the possible outcomes of those impacts, such as migration,
morbidity and mortality. More specifically in urban areas, observed climate change has caused adverse
impacts on human health, livelihoods and key urban infrastructures including transportation, water,
sanitation and energy systems have been compromised by extreme and slow-onset events, with resulting
economic losses, disruptions of services and negative impacts to well-being (IPCC, 2023). Based on a
multidisciplinary approach, this course introduces demographic, sociological and geographical tools and
concepts to systematically analyse differential impacts of climate change (owing to social vulnerability
and adaptive capacity) as well as the potential implications of climate change for health and wellbeing,
conflict and migration. Both past trends and patterns and future scenarios will be considered as well as a
range of geographic scales and contexts (i.e., local to global, urban and rural). A major focus will be on
the potential impacts of climate change and variability on migration and population displacement, as well
as the potential needs for planned relocation and the experience with resettlement to date. Evidence from
research on past climate change-induced migration using a variety of methods will be presented, as well
as presentation of methods and results from efforts to project future climate migration. The course will
draw on examples of research in India and the Global South.
This course may contribute to a growing knowledge dismissing the ‘securitization’ of the issue and
instead calling for a focus on the development component of vulnerability to climate change. It will
adequately address human migration and policy responses, the links between climate change,
displacement and migration which at the end of the course may be better understood.
Course Objectives
The main objectives of the course are as follows:
i) Expose participants to basic demographic concepts as they relate to climate change,
ii) Expose participants to the science of climate change,
iii) Give participants the tools necessary to understand social vulnerability and to construct a
Simple vulnerability map using open-source tools,
iv) Challenge the participants to consider climate change vulnerability and migration in the context
of India and the broader sub-continent, and to identify ‘hotspots’ of potential vulnerability and
risk to negative outcomes,
v) Consider the policy implications of the research and design a policy communication strategy.

Duration of the Course: July 21-25, 2025 (5 days):

Day 1 (Monday) Lecture 1: 1.30 hrs: Alex de Sherbinin
(21.07.2025) Introduction to Course and Introduction to Theories of Vulnerability and Resilience
Lecture 2: 1.30 hrs: Alex de Sherbinin
Demographic Concepts and Data Analysis for Climate Change
Lecture 3: 1.30 hrs: Alex de Sherbinin
Climate Change Science: Past Trends and Future Projections
Day 2 (Tuesday) Lecture 4: 1.30 hrs: Alex de Sherbinin
(22.07.2025) Urbanization and climate change: Coastal cities, urban heat islands, heat stress and
water supply in India scenario
Lecture 5: 1.30 hrs: Atiqur Rahman
Urban vulnerability and resilience in India: The power of remotely sensed data and
GIS tool
Tutorial 1: 2.0 hrs: Alex de Sherbinin
Development of a Basic Climate Change Vulnerability Index using Available
Tabular Demographic and Environmental Data
Day 3 (Wednesday) Lecture 6: 1.30 hrs: Atiqur Rahman
(23.07.2025) Indian perspectives on climate change mitigation, adaptation and vulnerability
Lecture 7: 1.30 hrs: Alex de Sherbinin
Climate change vulnerability and risk mapping
Tutorial 2: 2.00 hrs: Alex de Sherbinin
Use open tools and data to identify hotspots of climate vulnerability and risk in India
Day 4 (Thursday) Lecture 8: 1.30 hrs: Alex de Sherbinin
(24.07.2025) Migration Theory: Past and Present day Scenario
Lecture 9: 1.30 hrs: Alex de Sherbinin
Climate Change-Induced Migration and Displacement: Evidence from Research
Tutorial 3: 2 hrs: Alex de Sherbinin & Atiqur Rahman
 Use of remote sensing derived data for climate vulnerability and risk assessment at
different scales
Day 5 (Friday) Lecture 10: 1.30 hrs: Alex de Sherbinin
(25.07.2025) Modeling Future Climate Migration
Lecture 11: 1.30 hrs: Alex de Sherbinin
Urban micro climate change mitigation and future scenario
Lecture 12: 1.30 hrs: Alex de Sherbinin
Policy Responses and Adaptation in India, the Sub-Continent, and the Global South
Tutorial/Discussion 4: 2 hrs: Alex de Sherbinin & Atiqur Rahman
Students/participants will enter into an open discussion on the challenges of climate
change for social vulnerability and migration in the Indian context based on lectures
and readings, and will debate policy solutions.

Examination

Who can attend?  Graduate of B. Sc. /B. A/ B. Tech. (Final Sem./year)/ M. A/M. Sc./M. Tech./Ph.
D. students/PDF
 Faculty members from Universities/Scientists at all level from the research
organizations/industries
 People from Ministries/Agencies and City planning officials & NGOs.
 Number of participants for the course will be limited to about fifty.
Registration Fees:  Participants from abroad: US $ 200
 Participants from Asian countries: US $ 100
 Participants from Industry/Research Organizations within India: Rs. 3000/-
Academic Institutions:
 Faculty members : Rs. 2000/-
 Students/Scholars: Rs. 1000/-
(The above fee includes, study materials, tutorials and assignments, grade sheet and certificates,
refreshment as per availability of funds)
How to Pay Course Pay through Electronic Clearing Service (ECS) at:
Fees? Name of the Beneficiary: JMI-Seminar and Symposium
Name of Bank: Indian Bank
Branch Code: 01622
Saving Bank Account No.: 6767690486
MICR Code: 110019041
SWIFT Code: IDIBINBBTSY
Bank IFSC Code: IDIB000J029
Branch Address: Moulana Mohd. Ali Jauhar Marg,
Sports Complex (Bhopal Ground), Jamia Nagar, New Delhi 110025
Accommodation: Accommodation shall be provided to the outstation participants on payment basis in
the University guest house and nearby Hotels.
Registration: To complete online registration, the participants need to fill out the following
Google form: https://forms.gle/3jhe7BPkq5daAgCY8

Last date for registration: 30-06-2025

Organized by: Department of Geography, Faculty of Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia,
New Delhi - 110 025 (India) https://jmi.ac.in/geography
Contact details: Tel. No. 91-9873115404 (Cell); 91-11-26981717, Ext. 3312 (Office)
Email; [email protected]
For more details please visit link: https://gian.iith.ac.in

The Faculties
Dr. Alex de Sherbinin Alex de Sherbinin is the Director and a Senior Research Scientist at the
(International Expert) Center for Integrated Earth System Information (CIESIN), a spatial data
Director and Senior Research and analysis center within the Columbia Climate School (CCS) specializing
Scientist, Center for in the human aspects of global environmental change. He also serves
Integrated Earth System as Manager of the NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center
Information (CIESIN), (SEDAC); Lecturer, Sustainability Science and Climate & Society Masters
Columbia Climate School, degree programs; Director, of the joint Climate School-Global Centre for
Columbia University, Climate Mobility (GCCM) Global Knowledge Hub; and member of the
Palisades, New York, USA Columbia University Committee on Forced Migration. He is also Editor of
the Climate Mobility Section of the journal Frontiers in Climate .

Dr. de Sherbinin holds a Ph. D in Geo-Information Science and Earth

Observation from ITC at the University of Twente (Netherlands). Prior to
joining CIESIN, he served as a USAID Population-Environment Fellow
with the Social Policy Program of International Union for the Conservation
of Nature (IUCN, Gland, Switzerland), and a Population Geographer at the
Population Reference Bureau (PRB, Washington, DC). From 1984-1986 he
served as an agricultural extension agent with the U.S. Peace Corps in
Mauritania, West Africa.

Dr. de Sherbinin research interests focus on the human aspects of global

environmental change and geospatial data applications, integration, and
dissemination. He is lead or co-author more than 70 peer reviewed articles
and chapters, including lead authored articles appearing in Annual Reviews
of Environment and Resources, Climatic Change, Environmental Research
Letters, Global Environmental Change, Science, and Scientific American.
His research covers a range of topics, including climate change and
migration; climate vulnerability mapping; urban climate vulnerability and
resilience; population dynamics and the environment; environmental
indicators; and remote sensing applications for environmental treaties. He
is a lead author of World Bank’s Groundswell report series and the African
Shifts report by the GCCM, as well as the bi-annual Environmental
Performance Index (EPI), a joint project of Yale and Columbia, and he has
led basic and applied research projects funded by the World Bank, NASA,
DOD, UNDP, UNEP, and the US Agency for Development.
Prof. Atiqur Rahman Dr. Atiqur Rahman is a Professor of Geography at Dept. of Geography,
(Course Coordinator) Faculty of Sciences, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India. His research
Department of Geography interest is urban environmental management, climate change studies, urban
Faculty of Sciences heat island, water resources, use of geospatial techniques. He was Post-
Jamia Millia Islamia Doctoral Fellow (PDF) at UFZ-Centre for Environmental Research,
Leipzig, Germany (1999). He has done several national and international
research projects. He has good internal reach collaboration with Arizona
State University, USA, University of Miami, USA, McGill University,
Canada, UFZ-Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany and
University of Columbia, USA.
New Delhi-25 (India)
Prof. Rahman served Jamia Millia Isamia was Hony. Dy. Director
(Academic) Jamia Millia Islamia, (2015-2018), Coordinator, UGC-DRS
SAP-I, Special Assistance Programme (SAP-I) Department of Geography,
JMI. About dozens of students have been awarded Ph. D. degrees under
his supervision. He has published 19 books and 185 peer reviewed research
papers in Applied Geography, Journal of Cleaner Production, Ecological
Indicators, Urban Climate, Sustainable Cities and Society, Environmental
Science and Pollution Research, Science of the Total Environment, Natural
Hazards, Environment, Development and Sustainability, Journal of
Environmental Management and Nature-Scientific Reports journal to
name a few. He has widely traveled to various countries in Europe, Africa
and USA. He is the reviewer of about 80 SCI journals and on Editorial
Board of some of the SCI journals. Prof. Rahman is amongst the top 2%
Global Elite Scientists in the study by Prof. John P. A. Loannidis,
University of Stanford, USA since 2019.