University of Liège (The Hugo Observatory)

The Hugo Observatory is an interdisciplinary research centre devoted to the study of the interactions between environmental changes, human migration, and politics. It is located within the SPHERES research unit of the Faculty of Sciences (within the Department of Geography) of the University of Liège (Belgium). It conducts both theoretical and empirical research and puts a high value on collective and collaborative work. 

The Hugo Observatory was launched in 2016 and has quickly positioned itself as a key hub for research on the climate-migration nexus. It is a dynamic structure, involved in different international research projects and policy processes including the UNFCCC’s Conference of Parties (COP), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Advisory Group to the Task Force on Displacement and the Advisory Committee of the Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD), amongst others. 

The Hugo Observatory has also participated in several international research projects financed by the European Commission and the Belgian Science Policy Office on the climate-migration nexus, including HELIX (High-End cLimate Impacts and eXtremes), MECLEP, EDGE, MISTY and MIGRADAPT.

HABITABLE is the second Horizon 2020 project The Hugo Observatory coordinates, after the MAGYC project on migration governance and crisis was launched in 2018