Drought, Migration and Population Growth in the Sahel: The Case of the Malian Gourma: 1900–1991

Pedersen, Jon

doi:10.1080/0032472031000148276

Cited by 30 publications

(22 citation statements)

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“…35 The impact of droughts on migration is also documented in the Malian Gourma region by an historical overview over the 20th century. 36 In South America, Leighton notes that "the periodic drought and desertification plaguing northeast Brazil contributed to factors causing 3.4 million people to emigrate between 1960 and 1980". 37 On the other hand, many researchers question the link between drought and emigration by emphasising the multiplicity of causes determining migration and the other survival strategies available to affected populations.…”

Section: Drought and Desertificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Migration and Climate Change: An Overview

Piguet¹,

Pécoud²,

Guchteneire³

2011

Refugee Survey Quarterly

240

143

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Climate change has become a major concern for the international community. Among its consequences, its impact on migration is the object of increasing attention from both policy-makers and researchers. Yet, knowledge in this field remains limited and fragmented. This article therefore provides an overview of the climate changemigration nexus: on the basis of available empirical findings, it investigates the key issues at stake, including the social and political context in which the topic emerged; States' policy responses and the views of different institutional actors; critical perspectives on the actual relationship between the environment and (forced) migration; the concepts and notions most adequate to address this relationship; gender and human rights implications; as well as international law and policy orientations. Two major interconnected arguments arise. The first regards the weight of environmental and climatic factors in migration and their relationship to other push or pull factors, whether of a social, political, or economic nature. The second is about the political framework in which such migration flows should take place and the manner in which to treat the people who move in connection with environmental factors. The two issues are deeply intertwined, as the extent to which the environment determines migration is intimately connected to the status to be associated with the people concerned.

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Section: Drought and Desertificationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Migration and Climate Change: An Overview

Piguet¹,

Pécoud²,

Guchteneire³

2011

Refugee Survey Quarterly

240

143

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Evidence of fertility decrease as a consequence of drought has also been provided for Mali (Pedersen 1995) and Ethiopia (Ezra 2001). The increase in mortality is relatively short-lived, with no real confirmation of long-term effects (Alderman et al 2006, Song 2009).…”

Section: Demographic Growthmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Even disasters do not always trigger migrations (e.g. Findley 1994, Pedersen 1995, Paul 2005. Therefore, large rainfall variability does not necessarily mean slower demographic growth.…”

Section: Demographic Growthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many regional case studies have suggested that out-migration is a frequent outcome of major climatic events, especially long-lasting droughts (Teklu et al 1991, Magalhaes 1993, Finan & Nelson 2001, Haug 2002, Henry et al 2003, Weiss 2003. However, previous authors have insisted on the diversity of situations in the relationship between drought and migration (Findley 1994, Pedersen 1995, Retaillé 1995. In fact, very few studies have dealt with the possible relationship between population dynamics and climate variability at a global scale.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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More variable tropical climates have a slower demographic growth

Camberlin¹

2010

Clim. Res.

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A classical approach to assess the amplitude of rainfall variations is based on the coefficient of variation. Using worldwide station data for the twentieth century, an alternative method, involving the development of a polynomial fit, was shown to be more relevant to semi-arid climates. The results singularised the tropical and subtropical regions, whose amplitude of interannual rainfall variability was larger than that of the extra-tropical regions, for a given mean rainfall value. However, the tropical belt also showed large contrasts between highly variable climates -corresponding mainly to regions where the sea-surface temperature forcing is strongest -and more steady climates. A separate analysis documented the relationship between the amplitude of rainfall variations and human demography. Population densities did not show any systematic decline with increasing variability. However, in the tropics, there was often a coincidence between reduced demographic growth and high rainfall variability. This smaller demographic growth may result from both reduced natural growth (especially enhanced mortality) and out-migration from regions affected by strong rainfall variations, as evidenced from a number of African cases studies. In contrast, tropical regions with a fast-growing population had on average a lower rainfall variability.

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“…The Gourma was hit by drought several times during the twentieth century, most importantly in 1903, 1913-1914, 1930-1932, 1944-1948, 1965-1966, 1972-1975and 1982-1987(Pedersen 1995Benjaminsen and Berge 2004). Nomads who survived the great droughts during the 1970s and 1980s say that based on what their parents told them, the drought that hit the area in 1913-1914 must have been the worst (Ag Sidiyene and Klute 1989).…”

Section: The Study Areamentioning

confidence: 97%

One Leg or Two? Food Security and Pastoralism in the Northern Sahel

Pedersen

Benjaminsen

2007

Hum Ecol

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Should pastoralists in dryland Africa diversify or specialize in their productive activities? To investigate this question, we analyze data from a consumption survey and two surveys of the nutritional status of children in addition to qualitative interviews comparing nomadic and sedentary population groups in the Gourma area in northern Mali. We show how the children of pastoralists seem to be better nourished than children of sedentary farmers and that the children of the sedentarized nomads seem to be the worst off. Based on these findings, we first argue that sedentary farming appears to be a poorer adaptation than nomadic pastoralism in arid environments such as the northern Sahel. Secondly, we argue that the diversification argument (better to stand on two legs than one) is flawed for mobile pastoralists in the northern Sahel because the logistical and organizational costs of combining different modes of livelihood are large and easily become insurmountable for a single household.

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Drought, Migration and Population Growth in the Sahel: The Case of the Malian Gourma: 1900–1991

Cited by 30 publications

References 0 publications

Migration and Climate Change: An Overview

Migration and Climate Change: An Overview

More variable tropical climates have a slower demographic growth

One Leg or Two? Food Security and Pastoralism in the Northern Sahel

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