Migration influenced by environmental change in Africa: A systematic review of empirical evidence

Borderon, Marion; Sakdapolrak, Patrick; Muttarak, Raya; Kebede, Endale Birhanu; Pagogna, Raffaella; Sporer, Eva

doi:10.4054/demres.2019.41.18

Cited by 86 publications

(67 citation statements)

References 104 publications

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“…Yet, there is little consensus concerning the direction and the extent to which these factors influence migration. Environmental change has been found to contribute to increased human migration in some studies, whereas no effect or a decline in migration has been reported in others [9][10][11][12][13][14] . The empirical results differ depending on the environmental factors considered, the data and scale of the analysis, the methodology employed, and the geographical contexts covered.…”

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confidence: 90%

A meta-analysis of country-level studies on environmental change and migration

et al. 2020

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The impact of climate change on migration has gained both academic and public interest in recent years. Here we employ a meta-analysis approach to synthesize the evidence from 30 country-level studies which estimate the effect of slow and rapid-onset events on migration worldwide. Most studies find that environmental hazards affect migration, although with contextual variation. Migration is primarily internal or to low-and middle-income countries. The strongest relationship is found in studies with a large share of non-OECD countries, particularly from Latin America and the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa, and in studies of middle-income and agriculturally dependent countries. Income and conflict moderate and partly explain the relationship between environmental change and migration. Combining our estimates for differential migration responses with the observed environmental change in these countries during the past decades illustrates how the meta-analytic results can provide useful insights for the identification of potential hotspots of environmental migration.

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confidence: 90%

A meta-analysis of country-level studies on environmental change and migration

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“…Together, these results suggest that to understand environmental migration in the northern highlands, we must account for household factors at the microlevel in combination with mesolevel factors such as agro-ecological characteristics. However, the available evidence in this regard is inconsitent, not least because mesolevel migration drivers are thus far underrepresented in the literature (Borderon et al, 2019). In addition, and similar to empirical studies in other regions of the world, the approaches either stick to qualitative migration narratives or do not have sufficient in-depth case-specific knowledge to explain how all the different influencing factors actually interact and how their interactions may enable or hamper migration.…”

Section: Environment-related Migration In the Northern Ethiopian Highmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One main reason for the difficulty of grasping the complex interactions is the methods that are commonly utilized in empirical studies of environment-migration linkages: mostly, either quantitative large-N or qualitative small-N approaches are applied,. Qualitative research designs potentially allow for high explanatory power for factor interactions because they are based on sound knowledge of the local context and thus enable the analyses to tackle complex migration narratives (Borderon et al, 2019). However, they tend to be criticized for lacking replicability and generalizability (e.g., Bilsborrow and Henry, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Deciphering interwoven drivers of environment-related migration – A multisite case study from the Ethiopian highlands

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Global Environmental Change

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Global environmental change is increasing livelihood pressure for many communities, and agricultural households in the Global South are particularly vulnerable. Extant research has debated whether and to what degree this amplifies the migration flows while also acknowledging that migration can be an adaptive strategy. However, little is known about which contextual factors are most relevant and how they interact in shaping environment-related migration. We shed light on this issue by conducting an in-depth qualitative, yet multisite and yet medium-N study of farming households in the northern Ethiopian highlands. We utilized qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) -a novel approach in the research field-to overcome the existing methodological challenges. We found that migration experience within the household in combination with either the usage of the longer summer rainy season (Kiremt) or non-farm in situ diversification are sufficient causes for migration. Non-farm income activities and favorable environmental conditions during the Kiremt season increases economic household resources and as such migration ability. However, only together with migrant networks, which can reduce the costs and risks of migration and shape migration aspirations, can these drivers explain why households engage in migration. Our findings reveal that capabilities and networks, rather than commonly cited push factors, are far more important drivers of environment-related migration at the household level. Additionally, we illustrate that while migration is an important adaptation strategy, it cannot be adopted equally among households and as a result often reinforces existing inequalities.

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“…As the current study suggests, environmental change cannot be viewed as the sole driver of migration. It is suggested that environmental impacts susceptible of triggering migration are mediated through factors on the macro, meso, and micro levels which include economic, social, and political drivers [61].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Insecurity, Resource Scarcity, and Migration to Camps of Internally Displaced Persons in Northeast Nigeria

2020

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For almost two decades, the Lake Chad Basin (LCB) in general and northeast Nigeria in particular have been subject to the insurgency of the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram. This region is also known for its poor environmental conditions that mostly manifest in land desertification and water scarcity. We analyze the impact of the insecurity and conflict on migration from the most affected rural areas of northeast Nigeria to Maiduguri. We also explore the role that water scarcity and land desertification play in the decision of local people to migrate. Data were collected by interviewing 204 internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the Bakassi IDP camp in Maiduguri between March and May 2019. Experts were also interviewed at various governmental, non-governmental, and international institutions in Abuja. Respondents at the Bakassi IDP camp came from Guzamala, Gwoza, Marte, Monguno, and Nganzai. Though insecurity created by the conflict between Boko Haram insurgents and government forces was mentioned by all respondents as the main factor that triggered migration, this study shows that the decision to migrate was also a function of other factors that differ between communities. These factors include the geographical location of the community, land ownership, the socioeconomic status of the migrants, access to water and land, and wealth. This study reveals that in some communities, it was possible for people to live with conflict if they were still able to practice farming or if they had additional sources of income such as small businesses. The decision to migrate was only taken when the practice of such activities was no longer possible and they had nothing to hold on to.

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Migration influenced by environmental change in Africa: A systematic review of empirical evidence

Cited by 86 publications

References 104 publications

A meta-analysis of country-level studies on environmental change and migration

A meta-analysis of country-level studies on environmental change and migration

Deciphering interwoven drivers of environment-related migration – A multisite case study from the Ethiopian highlands

Insecurity, Resource Scarcity, and Migration to Camps of Internally Displaced Persons in Northeast Nigeria

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