Refugee Return, Urban Recovery, and Climate Change in Syria and the Middle East (RETURNEC)

RETURNEC examines how refugee return from Lebanon to post-war Syria can become safe, sustainable, and rights-based in the context of urban destruction, climate change, and political fragmentation.

The Syrian displacement crisis is one of the worldʼs largest and most protracted, with over six million refugees abroad and nearly seven million internally displaced. While international policy often assumes that refugees will eventually return, little is known about when, how, and why return occurs—particularly to urban areas devastated by war, subject to climate change, and political fragmentation. The project addresses this gap by developing an integrated, policy-relevant approach to refugee return to Syria that combines urban recovery, climate vulnerability, and migration diplomacy, with a particular focus on gender dynamics.