Migration as Adaptation?

Vinke, Kira; Bergmann, Jonas; Blocher, Julia; Upadhyay, Himani; Hoffmann, Roman

doi:10.1093/migration/mnaa029

Cited by 76 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…The presence and maintenance of good social relationships may also enable timely collective relocation (Sherbinin et al, 2011) or support for people who want to move 9 . However, migration is not an option everywhere or for everyone and, if available, does not necessarily reduce vulnerability to climate hazards (Vinke et al, 2020; Warner & Afifi, 2014). Overall, thus, the fact that people respond in a predominantly prosocial manner provides hope that communities can emerge stronger from disasters and collectively prepare for future climate hazards if they receive appropriate policy support tailored to local conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prosociality as response to slow- and fast-onset climate hazards

Steimanis

Vollan

2022

Glob. Sustain.

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Non-technical summary More and more people around the globe experience climate hazards. For vulnerable populations, these hazards not only cause significant physical damages, but can also affect the way people interact with each other. How such interactions are affected by climate hazards is particularly important for understanding the vulnerability of communities. Prosocial behavior is key for communities that heavily rely on informal social support to deal with these threats and for cooperative solutions to provide and maintain public goods. To investigate these effects, we talk to people living on the front lines of climate change and measure their prosociality using behavioral tasks. Our results show that both fast- and slow-onset hazards increase prosociality, underscoring the importance of well-functioning social relationships for dealing with hardship and uncertainty in a variety of contexts. Technical summary People's willingness to engage in prosocial behavior can affect how vulnerable and resilient populations are to climate hazards. We study how different types of climate hazards, fast-onsetting cyclones and slowly rising sea-levels, might affect peoples' prosociality using incentivized behavioral tasks. We sample people who are at the forefront of climate change and either experienced Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines (study 1; n = 378) or are from sea-level rise hotspots (study 2; n = 1047) in Solomon Islands, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. We experimentally manipulate the salience of these hazards through recall or informational videos. Results from study 1 show that increases in prosociality are (i) independent of whether supportive behaviors or conflicts are recalled, (ii) are not only targeted to a narrow in-group, and (iii) do not come with increases in antisocial behaviors. In study 2, we also find that people behave more prosocial when they are informed about the impacts of rising sea-levels. Our survey evidence suggests that people who already perceive the threat of displacement due to rising sea-levels are also more prosocial. Overall, peoples' responses to both types of hazards are geared toward collective action, which could strengthen their adaptive capacity to deal with climate risks. Social media summary People severely affected by sea-level rise and rapidly emerging climate hazards are responding with increases in prosocial behaviors to fellow villagers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prosociality as response to slow- and fast-onset climate hazards

Steimanis

Vollan

2022

Glob. Sustain.

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“…This led us to the conclusion that migration could simultaneously build and undermine resilience in different aspects of people's lives. Labelling migration widely as a form of adaptation or as a mere impact of climate change, therefore, risks overlooking the more nuanced migration outcomes (Vinke et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Is migration an effective adaptation to climate-related agricultural distress in sub-Saharan Africa?

et al. 2021

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Migration is often considered a form of climate change adaptation by which individuals, households, and communities seek to reduce the risks associated with climate change. In this study, we examine first-time seasonal migration out of a village in North-Western Burkina Faso to neighbouring countries, triggered by more irregular rainfall patterns. Through a set of 52 qualitative interviews, we analyse the perceptions of migrants themselves as well as the sending community regarding migration consequences. Men migrated in the off-season, whereas women stayed behind. Most migrant men and wives of migrants perceive migration to have negative consequences for their socio-economic situation and their health. Despite this, a lack of options and deteriorating environmental conditions might force the men to move again. We interpreted the range of narratives provided by women and men against the background of the scientific literature on migration as climate change adaptation. While migration could be beneficial, this study challenges the notion of migration as an effective adaptation strategy for people in climate-vulnerable settings, who lack other options.

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“…This requires forward‐looking urban planning, the promotion of innovative solutions to sustainable urban living, preventative disaster risk reduction efforts, inclusive infrastructure development, and strengthened efforts to integrate migrant populations into urban labor markets, particularly through inclusive education and training. Better protection and support of migrants and populations affected by climate change is needed at all stages of the migration cycle, involving both origin and destination areas (Vinke et al., 2020).…”

Section: Mobility Urban Growth and Climate Resiliencementioning

confidence: 99%

Contextualizing Climate Change Impacts on Human Mobility in African Drylands

Hoffmann

2022

Earth's Future

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Climate change impacts are increasingly affecting communities worldwide. More intense and frequent droughts and heat waves, extreme weather events, and rising sea levels represent a significant threat to human livelihoods, health, and well-being (Hirabayashi et al., 2013;Knutson et al., 2010;Schleussner et al., 2016). Climate impacts can result in cascading risks affecting populations through multiple, interconnected challenges, including through their effects on agricultural production, food and water security,

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Migration as Adaptation?

Cited by 76 publications

References 26 publications

Prosociality as response to slow- and fast-onset climate hazards

Prosociality as response to slow- and fast-onset climate hazards

Is migration an effective adaptation to climate-related agricultural distress in sub-Saharan Africa?

Contextualizing Climate Change Impacts on Human Mobility in African Drylands

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