The IIASA Population and Just Societies (POPJUS) Program seeks a researcher for the project ‘Strengthening the evidence-based understanding of the climate change, human mobility and security nexus in South-Eastern Europe – ClimMigSEE’. The candidate with a strong quantitative background will study the role of climate change and related impacts on human mobility in the South-Eastern European region.

background

POPJUS strives to produce empirical-based research focusing on human and social dimensions of global change processes. With human population and behavior being one of the key drivers of transformational change toward sustainable and resilient societies, the program applies and develops innovative approaches and perspectives to study population phenomena that include population aging, health and human wellbeing, human capital formation, and migration drivers and patterns. Insights into current and future population sizes, structures, and distributions are fundamental to understanding human impacts on ecosystems and simultaneously, the impact of environmental changes on human wellbeing differentiated by sub-populations. Within the POPJUS Program, the Migration and Sustainable Development (MIG) Research Group focuses on applying advanced data collection and estimation methods to quantify and better understand the trends, patterns, drivers, and consequences of different types of migration considering its interactions with the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of sustainable development. A particular focus of the research group is exploring how climatic changes and environmental factors directly and indirectly influence migration, and how these effects differ across geographical locations and population subgroups.

The role

The successful candidate will support the ClimMigSEE Project, focusing on the role of climatic factors in influencing migration and human mobility in South-Eastern Europe. Funded by the OSCE, this project collaborates closely with policy partners and regional stakeholders. With high-level political interest, the complex relationship between climate change and mobility needs further exploration. This role aims to expand the knowledge base, addressing socio-economic vulnerabilities and incorporating a gender perspective.

The project

The ClimMigSEE Project aims to:

(1) empirically analyze the impacts of climate change on human mobility in South-Eastern Europe and resulting implications of migration and depopulation trends, and

(2) develop future migration scenarios informed by the empirical analyses, based on assumptions on the development of the climate, demographic and socio-economic trajectories of the region. As part of the project, the team will prepare and publish a state-of-the-art report on the possible interlinkages between climate change, human mobility and security in South-Eastern Europe. The report will rely on evidence from desk research, stakeholders’ consultations and data analysis, and will also include future migration scenarios based on different climate and socioeconomic scenarios for South-Eastern Europe.

main tasks and responsibilities

• Contribute actively to the research of the ClimMigSEE Project, especially on topics related to the analysis of historical and future mobility in the South-Eastern European region and the implications of outmigration and depopulation.
• Support the collection of relevant data at the micro and macro level. Prepare and manage data sources for the project.
• Conduct statistical analyses on the role of climatic factors in driving different forms of human mobility in the region.
• Develop scenarios for potential future changes in migration under climate change in close collaboration with different project stakeholders.
• Carry out research that advances the state-of-the-art on the topic, present the results at relevant conferences and workshops, and publish it in peer reviewed journals.
• Actively engage with project partners and other stakeholders to discuss and disseminate research findings.