climate change — Publications

UNDP: Leading the Way: Women Navigating Climate Change, Mobility, and Resilience in Africa.

April 2025

Climate change is not just an environmental crisis; it is a social crisis, deeply tied to gender and mobility. As droughts, floods, and desertification intensify, women and girls face disproportionate risks, often leading to displacement.

The new research report, Shifting Gender Roles, Building Resilience, produced by UNDP and Samuel Hall, moves beyond broad assumptions to amplify the real experiences of women in Kenya, Nigeria, and Somalia. It explores how gender norms shape women’s ability to adapt, how economic barriers hold them back, and how policies continue to exclude them from decisions that shape their futures.

Through field research and community consultations conducted in 2024, the report highlights how climate change is reshaping gender roles, deepening vulnerabilities, and—most importantly—creating new opportunities for resilience. The study highlights how women are not just enduring the crisis; but are also responding with solutions that demand recognition, funding, and inclusion in climate action.

The research concludes with suggested recommendations and action points, paving the way for further investigation.

Read full report here

HABITABLE: Habitability and Adaptation to a Changing Climate: Impacts of climate change on agriculture and human mobility in the Northern and Volta Regions, Ghana

March 2025

This background brief examines the impacts of climate change on livelihoods and mobility patterns in two communities within the Northern and Volta Regions, Ghana: Lingbung and Vome. Beginning with an analysis of Ghana’s main rural-urban migration patterns, we synthesise findings from qualitative interviews conducted within these agrarian communities. Emphasis is placed on migration as one of the adaptive strategies adopted locally.

This brief then examines Ghana's policies and legal frameworks acknowledging different dimensions of human mobility related to climate change. It evaluates the extent to which these frameworks offer solutions to the problems experienced by the communities studied, which, in turn, intensify migration patterns. The brief proposes measures to address climate-induced migration in Ghana, with recommendations focusing on the gaps in current normative instruments while enhancing community resilience.

Download Policy Brief here

Samuel HallMarch 20, 2025climate change, Ghana, urban migration, rural migration, livelihoods

ADSP: Expert Analysis: Water, climate, and refuge across Afghanistan and the sub-region

October 2024

For over 40 years, Iran and Pakistan have been home to Afghan refugees. Today both countries host over 90% of the world’s Afghan refugees and other migrants in refugee like situations (over 8 million people). The region of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran also ranks as high or very high among countries at risk to impacts of climate change – where water, as a resource, is especially scarce. Afghanistan and Pakistan rank low on the capacity to deal with the impacts of climate change, whilst Iran is ranked as an upper-middle country. Any durable solution for Afghan displacement in the region must integrate concerns related to climate change, and resources, including – and especially water.

This expert analysis draws from interviews conducted in Pakistan, expert opinions, media reports, policy reports, and secondary data and provides three country profiles for Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. Focused on climate, water, and Afghan migration, each section provides pathways forward for durable solutions for displacement, climate change, and water, with an emphasis on regional cooperation.

Read full Expert Analysis here

Samuel HallOctober 1, 2024Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, Refugees, expert analysis, climate change, Water scarcity, policy

IOM: Unpacking the Realities of Displacement Affected Communities in Afghanistan Since August 2021

November 2022

Samuel Hall was commissioned by IOM Afghanistan with support from EU Partnerships to produce research briefs on the impact of climate change, mental health, infrastructure, and urban migration on displacement-affected communities in Afghanistan.

Our research briefs highlight recommendations on how reintegration programming can better accommodate sustainable solutions to climate change and infrastructure incorporating people’s mental health needs.

Download Synthesis Brief here

Download Research Brief - Urban Migration

Download Research Brief - Mental Health

Download Research Brief - Climate Change

Download Research Brief - Infrastructure

Samuel HallNovember 28, 2022Afghanistan, climate change, mental health, infrastructure, urban migration

Samuel Hall - Against The Clock : Our Position On Climate Migration

March 2022

For over ten years, we have worked in fragile and conflict-prone settings across 60+ countries. Many of the places we know, and the communities we work with, are among the most vulnerable to climate change. Our experience tells us that there are several gaps in climate and migration research – gaps that urgently need addressing.

Samuel’s Hall’s latest short paper outlines our position on climate migration. In a context where climate migration has been characterised by some as a ‘worse case scenario’, and yielded by populists and nationalists to stoke fear, there is a need for evidence-based policy-making derived from research that centres the voices of communities.

Focusing on the need for rapid, community-owned and led action, this report nods to local governance initiatives leading climate justice movements across the globe and spotlights some of our key projects and commitments in this area.

Download Position Paper

IOM & UNEP – Identifying Climate Adaptive Solutions to Displacement in Somalia

April 2021

This assessment report created by Samuel Hall for IOM, UNEP, and the Directorate for Environment and Climate Change of the Somali Government explores the interactions between climate change, displacement and urbanisation. It answers two key questions in the context of the Somali cities of Baidoa and Kismayo: What factors trigger climate-induced migration? And what adaptive and transformative solutions may contribute to building resilience amid displacement and climate change – at both the community and policy levels?

A mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods was used. Participatory research ensures that the voices of communities, individual households, and vulnerable populations are clearly and distinctly heard throughout the report.

Download Report

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