Description

Natural disasters and climate variability have always contributed to human migration, but now more than ever we hear about people moving from rural areas to urban centres as a result of climate change. The IOM (International Organization for Migration), World Bank, and Brookings Institute all agree that both sudden weather events and so-called ‘slow events’ such as desertification, ocean acidification and sea-level rise will contribute to more climate migrants in the near future (Brown, 2008; Podesta, 2019; Rigaud et. al., 2018).
Arable land is diminishing and opportunities for a better life seem to be elsewhere. But does this common refrain align with lived experiences? And is this story the same across geographies and cultures? This research topic will compare climate change-driven migration processes in two of five primary sites: Ghana, Mali, Ethiopia, South Africa or Thailand. What are the push and pull factors that motivate people to move? Are these factors the same in different places or are they (culturally/ ecologically/ politically) context-specific?

Objectives and Methodology

The thesis will contribute to, and build on the preliminary results from the HABITABLE project, which collects, analyzes, and compares perceptions of climate change among migrating populations in Ghana, Mali, Ethiopia, South Africa and Thailand. In conversation with the supervisors, the student will first select two primary sites, developing a strong argumentation for their choice. They will then compose a literature review on climate change and migration within the chosen countries.
Working with local partners, the student will then combine empirical and analytical data to build a comparative case study of the two sites. They will identify push and pull factors and elaborate a comprehensive analysis of climate change-driven migration processes between the sending and receiving locations in each site. The main research question that will be addressed is: What are the motivations that drive migration processes in the two sites (push and pull factors). Potential data collection and analysis techniques may include interviews, observation, geospatial technologies, or Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping, as well as more innovative techniques. The analysis will incorporate a gender-sensitive lens and take a multidisciplinary approach to develop a deeper understanding of why and when local populations choose to migrate.
Ultimately the thesis will provide a comparative case study of localized climate change-driven migration processes in two sites as the final output.

Further reading

Brown, O. (2008). Migration and Climate Change. IOM Migration Research Series No. 31. Geneva: International Organization for Migration.
Podesta, J. (2019). The climate crisis, migration, and refugees. Report. Brookings Institute. Online: https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-climate-crisis-migration-and-refugees/
Rigaud, K., et.al. (2018). Groundswell: Preparing for Internal Climate Migration. The World Bank. Online: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/ handle/10986/29461