WEDO and CoopeSoliDar R.L. (CSD) are partnering to conduct participatory action research on the interlinkages between gender, climate change and displacement in the dry corridor of Central America which includes El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala. With the support of InspirAction, WEDO and CSD will be combining desk research and field work including interviews with local leaders, discussion groups with affected communities, and site visits to adaptation projects in order to understand the impacts and trends in relation to the topic at hand.

One of the regions where the social impacts of climate change and migration patterns in relation to adaptation strategies are most visible is in the dry corridor of Central America. The environmental effects in this region have intensified to the point where it has changed the demographics of different populations due to displacement caused by environmental degradation and loss of livelihoods.

This participatory research project sets out to analyze the environmental related push and pull factors of displacement in the dry corridor of Central America. The goal of the research team, WEDO and CSD, is that the results of this study can be used as conceptual tools and methodologies that will benefit leaders at the community and institutional level to ensure gender-responsive adaptation strategies to climate change. The interlinkages between gender, climate change and displacement and/or migration are complex but including this intersectional and cross-sectoral perspective will allow for future strategies and policies that are just and rights centered.

For the first phase of field research, CSD will be in El Salvador from May 21st to May 27th and WEDO will be in Nicaragua from May 28th to June 3rd. Both teams will return to the dry corridor to visit Honduras and Guatemala for phase two of the field research from June 25th to July 1st. Updates from the field will be shared regularly on WEDO’s social media and the final report will be available once finalized.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this project please contact the research team coordinator and Co-Director of WEDO, Eleanor Blomstrom at [email protected].