Policy Brief: Climate change contributes to unsafe migration - Addressing the impacts for vulnerable children and youth in Cambodia

The research on Climate Change, Vulnerability and Migration, conducted by World Vision East Asia and the Stockholm Environment Institute, finds that the increasing pressures of climate change on livelihoods are leading to distress driven migration. It also finds that vulnerable rural, low-income Cambodian families who rely on natural resources and have the weakest safety nets are by far the most exposed. Accounts from families dependent on subsistence agriculture revealed that they are resorting to migration as a last option to service debts and make ends meet. The element of distress is significant because it amplifies the risks and exacerbates the negative impacts migration can have. Cambodian families migrating in distress are more likely to do so without legal protections, moving in stages that leave them physically separated from each other and their social safety networks. This places children and youth in precarious situations with heightened risks of abuse and exploitation.

This policy brief provides a call to action for development partners in Cambodia and Thailand, the primary destination for Cambodian migrants to address key drivers of distress migration in communities of origin. It advocates for making migration safer, more humane, and more equitable for Cambodian parents and children, while also providing greater support for those who remain behind and those who migrate. By empowering children to actively shape a better future for themselves, this approach aims to create lasting positive change in the lives of all involved.