Dr. Jemima Baada and Dr. Farrukh Chishtie
CMS is proud to announce the launch of its new Climate Migration research group, dedicated to exploring the complex and multifaceted challenges posed by climate-induced migration.
The research group is co-led by Dr. Jemima Baada, Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, and Dr. Farrukh Ahmed Chishtie, Lecturer at the UBC Sustainability Hub and President of Peaceful Society, Science and Innovation Foundation.
To introduce the group’s mission and vision, we asked the co-coordinators some questions.
What inspired the creation of the Climate Migration research group?
J.B: Climate change is driving new human and non-human population movement and reshaping existing mobility patterns. This is leading to growing conversations and concerns around climate migrations, both locally and globally. Although this area of work is undoubtedly receiving increased attention, many of the narratives around climate migration still lack a critical lens. Research, policy and practitioner work in this area also remain siloed and disconnected. I was therefore inspired to co-create the Climate Migration research group with Dr. Chishtie to respond to some of these gaps and needs.
F.C: My inspiration for co-creating this research group came from firsthand experience managing climate disasters and their profound impacts on communities. In 2005, after the devastating Northern Pakistan earthquake, I worked to develop a post-disaster disability strategy and a Community Based Rehabilitation model for rural Muzaffarabad. This experience showed me how disasters disproportionately and deeply affect vulnerable populations. This understanding deepened during my response to the catastrophic floods of 2010-2012 across Pakistan, where I helped coordinate health services and clean water provision. Later, at SERVIR-Mekong in Thailand, I led the development of drought and flood monitoring systems that highlighted how climate change is forcing both temporary and permanent migration across Southeast Asia. Most recently, my work through Peaceful Society, Science and Innovation Foundation (PSSIF) has focused on climate risk information for disabled and elderly populations in British Columbia. These experiences revealed a critical gap that aligns with Dr. Baada’s observations: we need to connect climate science with migration studies while centering community knowledge and addressing systemic inequities.
What perspectives or gaps does this group aim to address within the field of migration studies?
J.B: In terms of knowledge production, this group aims to promote a more critical understanding of climate migration. For example, drawing attention to how socioeconomic, political and cultural factors interact with climate change to shape voluntary and non-voluntary population (non)migration. We also want to emphasize the climate-related migrations already happening in high-income countries as well. Importantly, we hope our work will contribute to dispelling notions that climate migration is a security issue, as most climate-induced migrations in Global South communities are internal. Lastly, we seek to centre equity and social justice issues in climate migration research.
On the policy and practitioner side of things, there appears to be limited attention to domestic climate migration, including in Canada. Furthermore, many migrant/community-based organizations don’t appear to have a plan for or experience in dealing with climate migration. Finally, most policy attention on climate change still revolves around border securitization, even though extensive studies show that climate migrations will result in minimal cross-country/ geographical movements. We therefore aim to bring these three sectors together for more integrated, critical and productive conversations and work on climate migration.
F.C: Building on Dr. Baada’s points about critical understandings of climate migration, my experience has shown how traditional knowledge systems often already contain sophisticated understanding of environmental changes and adaptation strategies. This led to our development of the “occupational security” framework, which considers the complex relationships between people, places, and other beings while promoting proactive solutions. You can check it here.
Through my work with disabled communities in British Columbia, I’ve seen firsthand how internal displacement is becoming a pressing issue in Canada, supporting Dr. Baada’s emphasis on domestic climate migration. We’re addressing these gaps by studying climate migration at multiple scales while ensuring our research amplifies community strengths rather than focusing solely on vulnerabilities.
How will this group collaborate with other research initiatives, both within CMS and beyond?
J.B: Climate migrations are intertwined with several other social and political landscapes. For instance, in thinking about the discourses and rhetoric that characterize climate mobilities, and the attention placed on managing borders and immigration, we see opportunities for collaboration with the CMS Mobilities, Narratives, Political Membership and Borders groups. Further, because my work focuses on agriculture-related migrations among climate-affected rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa, I am excited to collaborate with the Circulation: Africa and its Diasporas research group.
Outside of the CMS, I am looking forward to working with UBC’s Centre for Climate Justice, as well as departments and groups working towards the common goal of promoting equity in climate mobilities and associated outcomes. Importantly, we want to ensure that our work is translated into tangible benefits in people’s everyday lives. We therefore look forward to working with climate, migrant and settlement organizations in BC and Canada more broadly.
F.C: Complementing Dr. Baada’s vision for collaboration across CMS research groups, our approach draws from my experience coordinating across multiple sectors and knowledge systems. We’re building partnerships that reflect our shared commitment to integrating diverse perspectives. With the Narratives and Mobilities research groups, we’ll document lived experiences of climate displacement, while our collaboration with the Political Membership and Borders groups will help address the complex governance challenges of climate migration. Beyond CMS, we’re establishing partnerships that bridge climate science with community action. Through my work with the Canadian Environmental Law Association and West Coast Environmental Law, we’re connecting research to climate justice initiatives. At PSSIF, we’ve seen how combining scientific analysis with community knowledge creates more effective solutions – an approach that will strengthen our collaborations with UBC’s Centre for Climate Justice and community organizations.
What role do policymakers or community organizations play in the research group’s work?
J.B: Policymakers play a significant role in deciding or influencing laws, regulations and interventions related to climate migration. Therefore, we must communicate our needs, findings and concerns to these policymakers to inform their work in this area. Likewise, many community organizations engage more closely with groups and individuals at the grassroots. As such, our group’s ability to make an impact in local and global climate migration efforts is dependent on dialogue and collaborations with community organizations towards translating our work into everyday community-based practices.
F.C: Expanding on Dr. Baada’s emphasis on policy impact, our approach involves continuous dialogue between researchers, policymakers, and communities. During my time leading science initiatives at SERVIR-Mekong, I saw how policies developed without community input often failed to address real needs. This experience reinforces our shared commitment to ensuring policymakers and communities are co-creators, not just end users of our research.
Through PSSIF’s projects supporting climate-vulnerable populations, I’ve learned that effective solutions emerge when we treat communities as experts of their own experience. This aligns with our group’s focus on translating research into tangible benefits for communities affected by climate displacement.
Are there any upcoming events, projects, or opportunities associated with the group that you’re excited about?
J.B: Dr. Chishtie and I are finalizing events and projects for the upcoming term/year. Some projects we have in mind and which I’m excited about include student workshops, invited speaker presentations, and dialogue sessions with community organizations.
F.C: We’re creating multiple pathways for engagement that complement the student workshops and dialogue sessions Dr. Baada mentioned. Starting January 2025, we’re launching regular workshops and seminars that reflect our interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approach. These spaces will bring together researchers, community members, and practitioners to co-develop solutions addressing both immediate displacement challenges and systemic inequities. We’re particularly interested in examining displacement within Canada through Indigenous perspectives while also serving communities in the Global South, where climate migration is largely internal. Moreover, our planned 2026 international conference is aimed bring together diverse perspectives to develop proactive approaches to climate displacement, building on successful partnerships with international organizations and local communities.
How can other CMS members or the broader academic community get involved with this group?
J.B: Anyone interested in working with us or being involved with our group can email us at jemima.baada@ubc.ca or farrukh.chishtie@gmail.com. We’re really looking forward to building new and strengthening existing connections, so please reach out!
