- November 2025
While internal displacement due to climate hazards is accelerating in Africa, access to relocation solutions remains highly unequal. The concept of environmental justice can shed light on the underlying causes and suggest avenues for reform.
Planned relocation refers to a structured process, led by relevant authorities, aimed at the sustainable relocation of communities exposed to environmental hazards to safe sites, with the guarantee of decent housing, essential services and sustainable livelihoods, in full respect of fundamental rights. It differs from emergency evacuation, which is temporary and often improvised, as well as spontaneous resettlement at the initiative of households.[1]
In African contexts, and particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Burundi, access to such relocation remains deeply unequal. In 2024, sub-Saharan Africa had an estimated 38.8 million internally displaced people, including 9.8 million due to natural disasters, an increase of more than 70% from the previous year.[2] However, only a tiny fraction benefitted from an anticipated and inclusive process that met standards of sustainability and protection.
These disparities are not only related to differences in the intensity of hazards. They can be explained by structural factors that determine the ability of a community to be relocated in safe and dignified conditions: the availability of economic resources, the quality of local institutions, the accessibility of services and social cohesion. In the DRC, persistent poverty, a chronic lack of infrastructure and weak local governance hamper anticipation and planning. The provinces of Kivu and Tanganyika, which account for 81% of the 6.9 million internally displaced people recorded in the country in 2023[3], illustrate this. Although armed conflict remains the main driver, climate hazards act as a multiplier of vulnerabilities, making it more difficult to implement sustainable solutions.
In Burundi, the recurrent floods of Lake Tanganyika, particularly in Gatumba (western Burundi), are causing repeated displacements. Rising waters aggravated by the effects of climate change have damaged more than 200 schools, affected tens of thousands of people and led to massive displacement. Between September 2023 and April 2024, an estimated 179,200 people were affected, including more than 31,200 internally displaced persons. These people have been abandoned by the state, and no relocation mechanism has been put in place. Spontaneous relocations to sites lacking infrastructure and livelihood restoration plans, such as Mutambara (Rumonge province), reveal an underlying problem[4]: without participatory planning, land tenure security or anticipatory financing, relocation loses its protective function and becomes another driver of precarity.
From this perspective, environmental justice offers an essential analytical framework. It does not consider relocation only as a technical response to climate threats, but as an issue of equity in the distribution of resources used for planning, protection and choice, so that durable solutions are also made available for the most marginalised populations.
The limits of relocation policies
Despite the growing urgency of displacement linked to climate hazards, planned relocation is still struggling to establish itself as a strategic instrument for risk management and adaptation in Africa. In most contexts, institutional responses favour a reactive approach, focused on immediate humanitarian assistance, to the detriment of more structured planning. The lack of pre-established mechanisms to map areas under threat from hazards, to identify fallback sites, to secure land tenure and to involve communities in planning, too often leads to spontaneous displacements, dictated by the pressure of the event rather than by prior assessment.
Existing frameworks, whether regional instruments, such as the Kampala Convention (2009), or national disaster management legislation, do not fully cover the diversity of environmental mobility situations. The texts tend to focus on sudden hazards (floods, storms, landslides) and neglect slow and irreversible processes (coastal erosion, desertification, sea-level rise) which require, not a rapid return to areas of origin, but sustainable, secure and legally regulated solutions.
This focus on sudden hazards deprives displaced people of effective safeguards and limits the authorities’ ability to fulfil their human rights obligations including the duties to respect, [5] protect[6], and fulfil these rights[7] in accordance with relevant international instruments.[8] However, existing legal frameworks, by focusing primarily on sudden-onset hazards, tend to channel resources toward emergency responses, thereby constraining authorities’ ability to plan durable solutions for slow-onset and irreversible processes like desertification or sea-level rise. In the context of climate change, the duty to protect implies that governments must take proactive measures to prevent foreseeable harm, such as exposure to environmental risks or precarious living conditions.
In addition to these legal shortcomings, there are structural inequalities in access to relocation programmes. The political and media visibility of a community directly influences the speed and scale of assistance it receives. Areas with strong institutional support are more likely to attract resources, while remote rural populations, ethnic minorities or people with disabilities are frequently moved to more precarious sites, without prior consultation or appropriate support measures. This lack of transparent selection and prioritisation mechanisms reinforces socio-spatial divides and, in some cases, weakens social cohesion in host areas.
Finally, institutional fragmentation undermines the coherence and sustainability of relocation initiatives. The lack of coordination between government ministries, specialised agencies, local authorities, and technical partners such as UN agencies, international NGOs, or expert consultancies in risk management — leads to dispersed efforts and operational inconsistencies. Over-reliance on external funding, which is subject to aid cycles and changing donor priorities, increases the vulnerability of projects. Without integration into a long-term national strategy and multi-year monitoring, relocation risks displacing vulnerability rather than reducing it, or even creating new economic and social dependencies.
These findings underscore the need for a clear legal framework, coordinated governance and a forward-looking approach. In this way, planned relocation can move from being a one-off and reactive tool to become a real lever for resilience and environmental justice.
Avenues for reform
To make planned relocation an effective instrument of environmental justice, it is necessary to go beyond the reactive approach that is still dominant in most African countries. It must be thought of as an exceptional anticipatory measure, to be undertaken only when it is no longer possible to maintain the status quo, and conducted in conditions that guarantee the dignity, autonomy and fundamental rights of the persons concerned.[9] Such a paradigm shift first requires a precise legal framework, defining reasons and triggers for relocation on the basis of transparent and scientifically validated risk analyses. This framework must incorporate the principles of necessity and proportionality. It should require that decisions, and the reasoning behind them, be made public, and should stipulate that there should be free, prior, and informed consultation with communities, as well as effective remedy mechanisms.
The effectiveness of such a normative framework depends on the existence of standardised and enforceable procedures: mapping of areas at risk, upstream identification of fallback sites, definition of triggering indicators such as thresholds of rainfall, soil saturation, or population exposure that signal when relocation planning should be activated. These indicators must be defined before a crisis occurs, based on scientific data and risk modelling, to allow for anticipatory action rather than reactive response. Prior environmental and social assessment and multi-year monitoring based on verifiable indicators are also essential. This institutional foundation must be complemented by operational planning, which, rather than being reduced to a simple transfer of the population, is part of a gradual process that includes technical and social preparation, the design of sites according to the needs expressed, the organisation of safe relocations, the rebuilding of livelihoods and sustainable integration into the local socio-economic fabric.
The viability of relocation depends on an intrinsic relationship between land tenure security, access to essential services and restoring livelihoods. Land tenure security involves the recognition of customary rights, the issuance of official titles, including joint titles to promote gender equality, and fair compensation for material and intangible losses. At the same time, basic services including drinking water, health, education and mobility must be restored or created, in order to prevent relocation sites from becoming new sources of vulnerability and risk. Livelihoods, whether agricultural, artisanal, or commercial, need to be reinstated or adapted through targeted support to local value chains, vocational training and access to credit.
Another essential pillar is the predictability and stability of funding. The most effective funding options combine domestic budget allocations, international climate finance, and bilateral partnerships, complemented by anticipatory instruments such as forecast-based financing. This mechanism, by automatically triggering resources on the basis of hydro-meteorological thresholds, makes it possible to acquire and prepare sites before crises peak, thus reducing human and economic costs.
Finally, integrated governance structures are essential. They must make clear the role of national authorities, local authorities, specialised agencies, and technical and financial partners within an intersectoral coordination structure with resources and clearly defined powers. These governance structures must ensure the effective participation of populations, including women, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities and other vulnerable groups, by integrating their specific needs from the design stage of projects. Stakeholders must also be open to regional solutions where internal relocation is not viable, by mobilising free movement agreements and regular migration routes as safe and predictable alternatives.
Applied to the DRC and Burundi, these guidelines call for the development of a National Climate Relocation Plan, integrated with land use planning, disaster risk reduction and social protection policies. Such a plan, based on a clear legal framework, enforceable procedures, equitable land tenure arrangements, proactive financing and robust inclusion standards, would make it possible to shift from a forced movement of final resort to a strategic choice, contributing both to community resilience and to the correction of inequalities in access to protection and opportunities.
Final thoughts
Ultimately, considering planned relocation from the perspective of environmental justice makes it possible to shift the centre of gravity of public policies, moving from ad hoc crisis management to an equitable redistribution of the capacity for anticipation, protection and choice. An analysis of the contexts in the DRC and Burundi reveals a paradox: while climate hazards are increasing and aggravating pre-existing vulnerabilities, the legal frameworks, operational mechanisms and resources needed for sustainable relocations remain incomplete, which too often turns these operations into vectors of new fragilities.
However, successful international experiences demonstrate that relocation based on a clear legal foundation, standardised procedures, effective land tenure security, and simultaneous restoration of services and livelihoods, as well as anticipatory and stable financing, can become an instrument of protection and dignity. The challenge for Central Africa, and in particular for the DRC, is not only to adopt these principles, but to make them effective, measurable, and verifiable, through independent monitoring and shared indicators.
It is only in this way that planned relocation will cease to be a choice of last resort forced by an emergency situation, and instead become a strategic choice, contributing to sustainable risk reduction, the socio-economic integration of displaced communities and the building of truly inclusive resilience.
PhD student, UCLouvain
linkedin.com/in/gabriel-ajabu-mastaki-aa5981211/
https://orcid.org/0009-0001-3587-7270
[1] UNHCR, Brookings and Georgetown University (2014) Planned Relocations, Disasters and Climate, Change: Consolidating Good Practices and Preparing for the Future
[2] Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (2025) Global Report on Internal Displacement 2025
[3] International Organization for Migration (2023) ‘Record High Displacement in DRC at Nearly 7 Million’
[4] Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (2024) Burundi : L’impact des inondations (effets El Niño) – Flash Update No.3 (13 juillet 2024)
[5]The state must refrain from unjustified human rights abuses, ensuring protection from interference. However, such protection may be limited if the restriction is lawful, necessary, and proportionate.
[6] This obligation, whether preventive or remedial, requires the state to prevent foreseeable attacks and to guarantee reparation in the event of a violation.
[7] The state has a positive obligation to create the conditions for the full enjoyment of human rights, by putting in place the necessary legal, institutional, and procedural bases. This requirement, which is often legislative, implies pro-active action on its part.
[8] Such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
[9] Brookings, Georgetown University and UNHCR (2015) Guidance on Protecting People from Disasters and Environmental Change through Planned Relocation
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