Migration and Climate Change
Over the past years, climate change has become a major issue globally, and successive reports from the IPCC have demonstrated its possible impact on migration. Whereas population geography has examined environmental factors insofar as they shed light on the different phases of global population and the emergence (development?) of cities, until recently, migration studies have overlooked the impact of the environment as a repelling factor resulting in migration. Although there is an increasing scholarly interest in this topic, specific knowledge on the environment-migration nexus is still limited. For instance, there are discussions and controversies regarding the active mechanisms, as well as the number of people displaced and the geographical areas affected.
While attempts have been made in the past to measure the role of environmental changes in the decision to migrate, current research is taking different directions. Most scholarsof the field have come to the conclusion that environmental changes act as a threat multiplier which reinforce existing vulnerabilities and other push-pull factors of migrationsuch as economic, political and social conditions. Thus, studies on environmental migration turn to the study of migration and mobility in contexts of environmental change.
In the past, the Institute of Geography (IGG) of Neuchâtel carried out different field studies in various contexts such as Bolivia, Niger, Peru, the Philippines and Turkey. In line with current research directions in the field of ‘environmental mobilities’ and together with local partners, the IGG team is currently conducting research on the effects of environmental changes on different patterns of (im)mobility in Tajikistan and on the role of migration as an adaptation means in Senegal. The IGG team is also involved in the international HABITABLE project which examines how climate affects the habitability of socio-ecological systems and transforms current and future migration and displacement patterns and in the PEEMPASS project which assesses the role of the perception of climate change in the decision to migrate in Senegal. The IGG team has also been involved in the writing of the IPCC’s fifth report on the social consequences of climate change. Finally, our research works aim at developing theoretical and epistemological reflections on the environment-migration nexus.
2020
Lietaer, S., L. Brüning, and C. Ndoffene Faye. 2020. Ne pas revenir pour mieux soutenir ? Perceptions de la migration comme stratégie d’adaptation face aux changement environnementaux dans trois régions du Sénégal. Émulations – Revue de sciences sociales 34 : 96 – 113
https://ojs.uclouvain.be/index.php/emulations/article/view/lietaer/54783
Blondin, S. « Understanding involuntary immobility in the Bartang Valley of Tajikistan through the prism of motility. » Mobilities 15 (4): 543-558.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17450101.2020.1746146?journalCode=rmob20
2019
Piguet, E. Environment and Migration. In Encyclopedia of Human Geography (2nd. Ed.), ed. A. Kobayashi, 163-168: Elsevier.
https://libra.unine.ch/export/DL/42636.pdf
Piguet, E. Climatic Statelessness: Risk Assessment and Policy Options. Population and Development Review 45 (4):865-883.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/padr.12295
Kaenzig, R., and E. Piguet, Profiling displacement in the context of slow-onset environmental degradation (An analysis of hazards, policies, and mobility patterns toward the development of a typology). In Report to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center. Neuchâtel: Institut de géographie UNINE.
https://libra.unine.ch/export/DL/42847.pdf
Cattaneo, C., M. Beine, C. J. Fröhlich, D. Kniveton, I. Martinez-Zarzoso, M. Mastrorillo, K. Millock, E. Piguet, and B. Schraven. Human Migration in the Era of Climate Change. Review of Environmental Economics and Policy 13 (2):189-206.
https://libra.unine.ch/export/DL/42440.pdf
Piguet, E., Aléas climatiques et migrations – Quels risques futurs ? In Les gestions des transitions – Anticiper, subir, réagir, planifier, eds. F. Padovani and B. Lysaniuk, 165-179. Paris: L’Harmattan.
https://libra.unine.ch/export/DL/42632.pdf
Boas, I., C. Farbotko, H. Adams, H. Sterly, S. Bush, K. van der Geest, H. Wiegel, H. Ashraf, A. Baldwin, G. Bettini, S. Blondin, M. de Bruijn, D. Durand-Delacre, C. Fröhlich, G. Gioli, L. Guaita, E. Hut, F. X. Jarawura, M. Lamers, S. Lietaer, S. L. Nash, E. Piguet, D. Rothe, P. Sakdapolrak, L. Smith, B. Tripathy Furlong, E. Turhan, J. Warner, C. Zickgraf, R. Black, and M. Hulme. Climate migration myths. Nature Climate Change 9 (12):901-903.
https://libra.unine.ch/export/DL/42400.pdf
Blondin, S, « Environmental migrations in Central Asia: a multifaceted approach to the issue. » Central Asian Survey 38 (2): 275-292.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02634937.2018.1519778
Boas, I., Farbotko, C., Adams, H. […], Blondin, S. et al. « Climate migration myths ». Nature Climate change 9: 901–903.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-019-0633-3
2018
Piguet, E., Theories of voluntary and forced migration. In Routledge Handbook of Environmental Migration and Displacement, eds. R. McLeman and F. Gemenne, 17-28. London: Routledge.
https://libra.unine.ch/export/DL/42379.pdf
Piguet, E., Kaenzig R., and Guélat J., The uneven geography of research on « environmental migration ». Population and Environment 39 (4):357–383.
https://libra.unine.ch/export/DL/43412.pdf
Brüning, L., and Piguet, E., Changements environnementaux et migration en Afrique de l’Ouest. Une revue des études de cas. Belgeo – Revue belge de géographie 1:1-26.
https://journals.openedition.org/belgeo/28836
2017
Piguet, E., Die klimabedingte Migration – eine Bedrohung für Europa ? In Zukunft der Migration, eds. W. Haug and G. Kreis, 142-149. Zürich: NZZ LIBRO.
https://www.nzz-libro.ch/9783038102410/zukunft-der-migration
Piguet, E., Guélat, J. and Kaenzig, R. 2015 (forthcoming): The Geography of Research on Migration, Climate Change and the Environment. In Gemenne, F., Ionesco, D. and Mokhnacheva, D. (eds.) The Atlas of Environmnental Migration. Routledge. (URL)
Guélat, J., Piguet, E. and Kaenzig, R. 2015 (forthcoming): Empirical research on migration, climate change and the environment: mapping the world’s case studies. UNINE MAPS working paper.
Kaenzig, R. and Warn, I. 2015: Identificando temas claves en migración, medio ambiente y cambio
climático en América del Sur: un primer panorama regional. Serie Migración, Medio Ambiente y Cambio Climático. 1-4. (URL)
2014
Piguet, E. and Laczko, F. (eds.), 2014: People on the Move in a Changing Climate. The Regional Impact of Environmental Change on Migration. Dordrecht, Heidelberg, New York, London: Springer. (URL)
Kaenzig, R. 2014: Can glacial retreat lead to migration? A critical discussion of the impact of glacier shrinkage upon population mobility in the Bolivian Andes. Population and Environment. 1-17. (URL)
2013
Piguet, E. 2013: From « primitive migration » to « climate refugees » – The curious fate of the natural environment in migration studies. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 103 (1). 148-162.(URL)
Piguet, E. and Laczko, F. forthcoming: People on the Move in a Changing Climate: Comparing the Impact of Environmental Change on Migration in Different Regions of the World. Neuchâtel / Geneva: Springer.
Piguet, E. and Laczko, F. 2013: People on the Move in a Changing Climate: A Bibliography. Neuchâtel / Geneva: IOM
Delju, A. H., Ceylan, A., Piguet, E. and Rebetez, M. 2013: Observed climate variability and change in Urmia Lake Basin, Iran. Theoretical and Applied Climatology 111 (1-2). 285-296.(URL)
2012
Piguet, E. 2012: Migration: The drivers of human migration. Nature Climate Change 2 (6). 400-401.(URL)
Piguet, E. 2012: Des apatrides du climat ? Annales de Géographie 683. 86-100.(URL)
Anzellini, V. 2012: Entre désastre et réinstallation: le déplacement des populations suite à la catastrophe de Gramalote, Colombie. Master thesis: University of Neuchâtel.(URL)
Piguet, E., Pécoud, A. and de Guchteneire, P. (eds.) 2011: Migration and Climate Change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (links to abstract, catalog RERO or purchase here)
Piguet, E., Pécoud, A. and de Guchteneire, P. 2011: Migration and Climate Change: An Overview. Refugee Survey Quarterly 30 (3). 1-23.(URL)
Guélat, J. 2011: Migration et Environnement, étude de cas sur les flux migratoires à destination de La Paz et El Alto, Bolivie. Master Thesis: University of Neuchâtel.(link rero doc)
Kaenzig, R. et Piguet, E. 2011: Migration et changement climatique en Amérique Latine : Quels enjeux? VertigO 11 (3). 1-14.(URL)
Kaenzig, R. e Piguet, E. 2011: Migração e mudança climática em America Latina. Revista Interdisciplinar da Mobilidade Humana XIX (36). 49-74.(URL)
Piguet, E., Pécoud, A. et de Guchteneire, P. 2011: Changements climatiques et migrations : quels risques, quelles politiques ? L’information géographique 75. 86-109.(URL)
Rebetez, M. 2011. The main climate change forecasts that might cause human displacements. In Piguet, E., Pécoud, A. and de Guchteneire, P. (eds) Migration and climate change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 37-48.
2010
Piguet, E. 2010: Linking climate change, environmental degradation and migration: A methodological overview. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change 1 (4). 517-524.(URL)
Piguet, E. 2010: Climate and migration: A synthesis. In Afifi, T. and Jäger, J. (eds.), Environment, forced migration and social vulnerability. Bonn: Springer, 73-86.
Piguet, E., Pécoud, A. et de Guchteneire, P. 2010: La circulation des personnes: Migrations et changements climatiques. Working Paper MAPS 10.(URL)
Cometti, G. 2010: Réchauffement climatique et migrations forcées: Le cas de Tuvalu. Master thesis. Graduate Institute ePapers: Geneva.(URL)
2008
Piguet, E. 2008: Migrations et changement climatique. Futuribles – Analyses et Prospectives 341. 31-43.(URL)
Piguet, E. 2008: Climate change and forced migration. New Issues in Refugee Research – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Research Paper 153.(URL)
Perception des évolutions environnementales et mobilités des populations en Afrique sub-saharienne (PEEMPASS)
Environmental change perception and mobilities in Western Africa
Les conséquences des changements environnementaux sur les mobilités humaines sont des enjeux majeurs du réchauffement climatique. L’Afrique sub-saharienne est en première ligne en raison de conditions environnementales difficiles et de moyens limités pour y faire face. Ce projet vise à mieux comprendre les interactions environnement-mobilité en étudiant simultanément les données environnementales et climatiques objectives, la perception de leur évolution par les populations et les stratégies d’adaptation qui en découlent.
Contenu et objectifs du travail de recherche
L’objectif de ce projet est d’améliorer la compréhension du rôle des perceptions des changements climatiques sur la décision de migrer à l’échelle des ménages en Afrique de l’Ouest. Nous proposons une démarche qui combine approches quantitatives et qualitatives. Dans une première phase, des enquêtes socio-économiques préexistantes et des données climatologiques seront traitées conjointement. Cette analyse permettra de comprendre les liens entre conditions climatiques, perceptions et décision de migrer ainsi que les caractéristiques des ménages concernés. Dans une deuxième phase, nous réaliserons des enquêtes de terrain au Sénégal afin de comprendre les logiques de prises de décision et d’adaptation en fonction des contextes de vie et de la vulnérabilité. L’objectif final est de proposer un cadre interprétatif général du rôle des perceptions des changements climatiques dans la décision de migrer. Nous définirons par ailleurs les seuils de vulnérabilité aux changements climatiques qui conditionnent la marge de manoeuvre des individus. Les résultats contribueront à une meilleure compréhension des impacts climatiques sur les mobilités et seront utiles dans l’élaboration de programmes d’adaptation.
Mots-clés
Changement climatique, migration, mobilité, perception, Afrique sub-saharienne, Sénégal
Documents
Résumé projet
Posters
Sénégal
Loïc Brüning, janvier 2017
Arona Fall, Février 2018
Tadjikistan
Sur la route du Bartang, « Oshtorkhona »
Juillet 2017
Janvier 2018
