New open access book: The Climate, Migration and Health Nexus

New open access book: The Climate, Migration and Health Nexus

The Climate, Migration and Health Nexus: Opportunities for Interregional Cooperation

Climate change, migration and health are three defining challenges of the 21st century. While each has been extensively studied, research and policy have largely evolved in silos - focusing on climate and migration, migration and health, or climate and health. This has limited our understanding of how these dynamics interact, and how to design effective, integrated policy responses.

This new open access volume, published by Springer, directly addresses this gap. Bringing together contributions from members of the CliMigHealth network and the UNU Migration network, the book reflects a globally connected and interdisciplinary research community working at the forefront of this nexus.

The volume presents new empirical evidence and conceptual insights from scholars and practitioners across disciplines including geography, economics, public health, medicine, sociology, psychology and disaster studies. The chapters highlight the complex, context-specific and often non-linear interactions between climate change, human (im)mobility and health outcomes, and explore adaptation strategies, governance challenges and innovative transdisciplinary approaches across different regional settings.

Key insights and policy priorities

·        Strengthening the evidence base. Persistent gaps remain in longitudinal and disaggregated data on migration, health outcomes and vulnerable populations. Addressing these gaps is essential for informed policymaking. Governments and research institutions could invest in long-term cohort studies tracking migrant health trajectories, while regional organisations could support interoperable data systems capturing cross-border mobility, including internally displaced and “trapped” populations.

·        Grounding policy in participation and inclusion. Effective responses require meaningful engagement with affected communities. Chapters emphasise the importance of agency, inclusion and local knowledge. This calls for institutionalising participatory mechanisms such as community advisory boards, co-design processes for relocation, and locally managed adaptation funds, with particular attention to marginalised groups facing disproportionate risks.

·        Preparing health systems for climate-related mobility. Displacement can disrupt access to care and increase both infectious disease and mental health risks. Governments and health actors can respond by deploying mobile clinics in displacement-prone areas, ensuring continuity of care for chronic conditions, and integrating mental health support into emergency and adaptation responses.

·        Strengthening regional and interregional cooperation. Many challenges at this nexus transcend national borders and require coordinated responses. Regional organisations can help harmonise migrant health entitlements, coordinate cross-border healthcare provision, and pool resources for research and infrastructure. Interregional cooperation can further align climate finance with migration and health priorities, ensuring that funding mechanisms reflect interconnected risks.

The contributions in this volume point to the need for more systemic, collaborative and forward-looking approaches. By bridging disciplines, regions and policy domains, the book supports more effective and equitable responses to one of the most complex challenges of our time.

👉 Access the full open access volume: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-10550-9