The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Central African Forest Commission (COMIFAC) have entered into a new partnership aimed at addressing the growing links between climate change, environmental degradation and human mobility across Central Africa.
The two organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Yaoundé, Cameroon, on August 14, committing to stronger cooperation on migration, environmental management and climate adaptation.
The partnership comes amid growing concerns that climate change and environmental pressures could trigger large-scale displacement and disrupt the livelihoods of millions of people across the Congo Basin and other parts of Central Africa.
The Congo Basin, which contains the world’s second-largest rainforest after the Amazon, is home to millions of people whose livelihoods depend heavily on forests, agriculture and other natural resources.
According to the World Bank, as many as 216 million people could be displaced within their own countries by 2050 as a result of climate-related pressures, including an estimated 86 million people in sub-Saharan Africa.
Under the new agreement, IOM and COMIFAC will strengthen data sharing, conduct joint research and analysis, and undertake capacity-building initiatives to improve understanding of how climate change and environmental degradation are influencing migration and displacement.
The organisations will also work towards ensuring that human mobility considerations are incorporated into forest ecosystem management and climate-change adaptation policies across the region.
Hervé Martial Maidou, COMIFAC Executive Secretary, said environmental changes and human mobility were becoming increasingly interconnected in Central Africa.
Maidou, who is currently overseeing the revision of COMIFAC’s Convergence Plan, said the revised framework would take greater account of mobility-related issues.
“Human mobility and environmental changes are increasingly closely linked in Central Africa,” he said.
According to him, climate change and changing migration patterns could affect how communities use forest resources, while environmental degradation could, in turn, force populations to relocate.
“By the end of 2025, about 1.8 million people had been internally displaced in West and Central Africa as a result of disasters, with floods, storms and forest fires among the major drivers.
“The figures highlight the increasing need for governments and regional institutions to move beyond emergency responses and develop policies capable of anticipating climate-related displacement before it escalates into humanitarian crises”, he added.
The IOM-COMIFAC partnership is also linked to regional efforts to integrate migration and climate considerations into development and environmental policies.
The organisations cited commitments reaffirmed at the Regional Conference on Migration and Climate Action in West and Central Africa, held in Lagos in May 2026, as part of the broader regional push for coordinated responses to the effects of climate change on human mobility.
Abdel Rahmane Diop, IOM Chief of Mission in Cameroon, said climate change was no longer solely an environmental concern but was increasingly shaping people’s livelihoods, living conditions and decisions about whether and where to move.
“Climate change is not just an environmental issue. It is increasingly influencing people’s living conditions, mobility choices and livelihoods, with significant consequences for development, stability and human security,” Diop said.
He described the memorandum as an important step towards ensuring that human mobility becomes an integral part of climate and development policies in Central Africa.
According to him, combining IOM’s expertise in migration with COMIFAC’s regional role in environmental and climate matters would help generate the evidence required for governments to develop more effective policies.
He said the partnership would support the production of data and analysis needed to identify vulnerable populations, strengthen preparedness and improve government responses to climate-related risks.
Diop added that the ultimate objective was to enable communities to adapt to environmental changes, strengthen resilience and ensure that climate action produced tangible benefits for vulnerable populations.
In the coming months, IOM and COMIFAC seek to to expand their cooperation to better understand and anticipate patterns of migration and displacement associated with climate change across Central Africa.
A key component of the collaboration will be the improvement of regional data systems and cross-border information sharing.
The organisations said stronger data would enable governments to identify populations and territories most exposed to climate-related risks, anticipate shifts in migration patterns and develop targeted interventions.
Rather than responding only after communities have been displaced by floods, storms, fires or other climate-related disasters, IOM and COMIFAC intend to promote more proactive planning that allows governments to prepare vulnerable communities ahead of climate shocks.
The two organisations said directing assistance towards vulnerable communities and high-risk territories before disasters occur could help prevent environmental shocks from developing into wider humanitarian emergencies.
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