Putting climate-induced migration in context: the case of Honduran migration to the USA

Abstract

Over the past decade, unauthorized migration from Honduras to the USA has become a topic of pressing international concern and a major factor in the political and humanitarian crisis at the southern border of the USA that has been unfolding since 2014. Untangling the causes of recent Honduran migration requires attending to economic change, political instability, the impact of violence and crime, rapidly changing gender roles, among many other forces that shape migration patterns. Recently, scholars and policy-makers have analyzed the impact of drought in the so-called Dry Corridor of Central America as a major source of migration, particularly among coffee producers who have been hard hit by unprecedented heat and lack of rain in parts of Honduras. Drawing on ethnographic studies of Honduran coffee farmers, this paper will discuss how and if climatic factors can be isolated from other factors to explain recent Honduran migration behavior, in order to move towards a holistic explanation of climate-driven migration.

A combined cognitive and spatial model to map and understand climate-induced migration

“…These results are consistent with studies suggesting that social and economic factors' preponderance mainly affects and delimits Dry Corridor's migration patterns (Reichman, 2022). The Corridor has been negatively affected by the development and implementation of large agricultural and shrimp enterprises that have affected rural land use and household decision-making (Reichman, 2022). Analyses indicate that changes in rural livelihoods and the loss of land security and tenure, together with these agribusinesses' appropriation of land and natural resources, pushed poor farmers and villagers into landlessness or marginal lands (Quijada & Sierra, 2019).…”

“…Family networks and social capital motivated by economic factors mainly supported international and domestic migration patterns. Similarly, studies suggest that the preponderance of social and economic factors mainly affects and delimits migration patterns in the Dry Corridor (Reichman, 2022). These results are consistent with studies suggesting that social and economic factors' preponderance mainly affects and delimits Dry Corridor's migration patterns (Reichman, 2022).…”

“…Similarly, studies suggest that the preponderance of social and economic factors mainly affects and delimits migration patterns in the Dry Corridor (Reichman, 2022). These results are consistent with studies suggesting that social and economic factors' preponderance mainly affects and delimits Dry Corridor's migration patterns (Reichman, 2022). The Corridor has been negatively affected by the development and implementation of large agricultural and shrimp enterprises that have affected rural land use and household decision-making (Reichman, 2022).…”

Reducing Inequalities in the Coffee Value Chain: Threats and Opportunities for Small-Scale Farmers in Central America and East Africa

“…In Central America, coffee provides employment to the rural population. Climate change impacts are also a factor contributing to the outmigration of people from the region [19,20]. Because coffee employs workers permanently but also temporarily, these workers are more prone to find employment alternatives elsewhere and some people abandon the region altogether.…”

Fostering sustainability through environmentally friendly coffee production and alternative trade: The case of Café Orgánico de Marcala (COMSA), Honduras

“…Coffee farmers struggle to make a living in the face of volatile coffee prices, livelihood insecurity, coffee pests and diseases, environmental degradation, and changing weather patterns (Tucker et al, 2010). In Honduras, these stressors have been exacerbated by economic crises, political instability, increasing violent crime, and corruption (Reichman, 2022). Climate models predict that changes in temperature and precipitation patterns in Mesoamerica will reduce the area suitable for coffee production by 30% during this century (Ovalle-Rivera et al, 2015).…”