RID Spotlight
Sparks of Hope amid Climate Uncertainty: Migration and Changing Rural Landscapes in the Mid-hills of Nepal
By Gyanu Maskey, Sanjaya Khatri, Dil Khatri and Andrea Nightingale
| September 25, 2025
This insightful short article from Nepal highlights a promising case study of voluntary 'migration as adaptation' to socio-environmental changes that has allowed rural villages to maintain their vitality in the face of slow-onset climatic hazards, staving off the displacement of entire village populations. Despite the loss of human resources in the villages, voluntary out-migration has helped reshape and revitalise previously faltering rural livelihoods, helping villages remain culturally vibrant and economically viable communities for older people and others who are unwilling or unable to migrate. Notably, in turn, the cultural vibrance of some rural villages compels many migrants to maintain strong ties to their home villages, creating translocal bonds that help support resilience in the face of environmental change.
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Researching Internal Displacement connects researchers, practitioners, policy-makers, students, artists and people from displacement-affected communities with cutting-edge research, analysis, creative materials and other resources on internal displacement.
The platform is hosted by the Refugee Law Initiative, a unique academic centre at the School of Advanced Study, University of London, promoting interdisciplinary research, teaching and exchange on law, policy and practice in refugee and displacement contexts.
LATEST RESOURCES
Desplazamiento interno en Ecuador: Soledad en la respuesta institucional
By Gabriela Malo
| July 22, 2026
En el Ecuador ha aumentado en la década de 2020 la actividad de grupos criminales dedicados al narcotráfico transnacional, minería ilegal y actividades complementarias. Ante la ausencia de respuestas estatales a sus problemas, un número creciente de habitantes opta por escapar. En un contexto del que se tiene escasa información, este trabajo aporta a la comprensión de un fenómeno en el que las familias dependen de su propia iniciativa y capital social para decidir si desplazarse y a dónde ir. Se analizan las responsabilidades del Estado ante el desplazamiento interno, constatando que con pocas excepciones, no existe una respuesta nacional ante este fenómeno. También se describe uno de los pocos casos de desplazamiento masivo que han tenido visibilidad pública: el caso de los indígenas Chachi en la provincia de Esmeraldas.
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The Impact of Funding Cuts on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons in Haiti and South Sudan
By Kadidjatou Sawadogo
| June 30, 2026
The working paper examines the impact of humanitarian funding contractions on the realisation of economic and social rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Haiti and South Sudan. Drawing on a human rights-based framework, documentary analysis, and key informant interviews, it analyses how reductions in humanitarian assistance affected access to adequate food and healthcare in contexts of protracted displacement, institutional fragility, and humanitarian dependence. The findings show that funding cuts reduced food assistance, disrupted health services, suspended mobile clinics, and weakened nutrition coverage for displaced populations. Humanitarian actors adopted hyper-prioritisation approaches that focused on life‑saving interventions but left significant protection and socio‑economic needs unaddressed.
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WHAT IS INTERNAL DISPLACEMENT?
Internally displaced persons (or IDPs) can be understood as:
"persons or groups of persons who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of or in order to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights or natural or human-made disasters, and who have not crossed an internationally recognized State border."
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IDP TRAINING
Our free course in
‘Internal Displacement,
Conflict and Protection’
Find out more
ABOUT US
Connecting researchers,
practitioners, policy-makers,
students, artists and IDPs
Find out more
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NEWS AND EVENTS
Researching Internal Displacement offers a platform for publishing insightful and engaging short pieces of writing, artistic productions and other research outputs, policy briefings and think pieces on internal displacement from our networks and others in a conversational and informal setting.
HOW TO CONTRIBUTE
Researching Internal Displacement publishes engaging and insightful short pieces of writing, artistic and research outputs, policy briefings and think pieces on internal displacement.
We welcome contributions from academics, practitioners, researchers, officials, artists, poets, writers, musicians, dancers, postgraduate students and people affected by internal displacement.