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

Author

Listed:
  • Marion Borderon

    (Universität Wien)

  • Patrick Sakdapolrak

    (Universität Wien)

  • Raya Muttarak

    (International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA))

  • Endale Kebede

    (Wirtschaftsuniversität Wien)

  • Raffaella Pagogna

    (Universität Wien)

  • Eva Sporer

    (Universität Wien)

Abstract

Background: Despite an increase in scholarly and policy interest regarding the impacts of environmental change on migration, empirical knowledge in the field remains varied, patchy, and limited. Generalised discourse on environmental migration frequently oversimplifies the complex channels through which environmental change influences the migration process Objective: This paper aims to systematise the existing empirical evidence on migration influenced by environmental change with a focus on Africa, the continent most vulnerable to climate change. Methods: We select 53 qualitative and quantitative studies on the influence of environmental change on migration from the comprehensive Climig database and systematically analyse the literature considering the multidimensional drivers of migration. Results: Environmental change influences migration in Africa in an indirect way by affecting other drivers of migration, including sociodemographic, economic, and political factors. How and in what direction environmental change influences migration depends on socioeconomic and geographical contexts, demographic characteristics, and the type and duration of migration. Conclusions: The contextually contingent nature of migration–environment relationships prevents us from drawing a universal conclusion, whether environmental change will increase or suppress migration in Africa. However, this study unravels the complex interactions between the nature and duration of the environmental pressure, the livelihood of the populations, the role of kinship ties and the role of demographic differentials on migration response. Contribution: The review provides an initial systematic and comprehensive summary of empirical evidence on the environmental drivers of migration in Africa. It also discusses the implications of the scale, materials, and methods used in the 53 studies.

Suggested Citation

  • Marion Borderon & Patrick Sakdapolrak & Raya Muttarak & Endale Kebede & Raffaella Pagogna & Eva Sporer, 2019. "Migration influenced by environmental change in Africa: A systematic review of empirical evidence," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 41(18), pages 491-544.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:41:y:2019:i:18
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2019.41.18
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    Cited by:

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    2. Mengistu Dessalegn & Liza Debevec & Alan Nicol & Eva Ludi, 2023. "A Critical Examination of Rural Out-Migration Studies in Ethiopia: Considering Impacts on Agriculture in the Sending Communities," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, January.
    3. Bhaskar Jyoti Neog, 2022. "Temperature shocks and rural labour markets: evidence from India," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 171(1), pages 1-20, March.
    4. Helga E. Lister & Karien Mostert & Tanita Botha & Simoné van der Linde & Elaine van Wyk & Su-Ané Rocher & Richelle Laing & Lucy Wu & Selma Müller & Alexander des Tombe & Tebogo Kganyago & Nonhlanhla Z, 2022. "South African Healthcare Professionals’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Environmental Sustainability in Healthcare: A Mixed-Methods Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-14, August.
    5. Marion Borderon & Kelsea B. Best & Karen Bailey & Doug L. Hopping & Mackenzie Dove & Chelsea L. Cervantes de Blois, 2021. "The risks of invisibilization of populations and places in environment-migration research," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(1), pages 1-11, December.
    6. Florence De Longueville & Pierre Ozer & François Gemenne & Sabine Henry & Ole Mertz & Jonas Ø. Nielsen, 2020. "Comparing climate change perceptions and meteorological data in rural West Africa to improve the understanding of household decisions to migrate," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 123-141, May.
    7. Hermans, Kathleen & Wiederkehr, Charlotte & Groth, Juliane & Sakdapolrak, Patrick, 2023. "What we know and do not know about reciprocal pathways of environmental change and migration: Lessons from Ethiopia," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 28(3), pages 1-1.
    8. Cris Beauchemin, 2020. "Profil démographique des personnes d'origine subsaharienne en France," Working Papers 2020-2, French Institute for Demographic Studies.
    9. Carla Rhode & Tanja Stitteneder, 2020. "ifo Migrationsmonitor: Klima und Migration," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 73(03), pages 58-63, March.
    10. Marc Helbling & Daniel Auer & Daniel Meierrieks & Malcolm Mistry & Max Schaub, 2021. "Climate change literacy and migration potential: micro-level evidence from Africa," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 169(1), pages 1-13, November.
    11. Yongwang Cao & Xiong He & Chunshan Zhou, 2023. "Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Population Migration under Different Population Agglomeration Patterns—A Case Study of Urban Agglomeration in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-25, April.
    12. Kerstin K. Zander & Stephen T. Garnett & Harald Sterly & Sonja Ayeb-Karlsson & Barbora Šedová & Hermann Lotze-Campen & Carmen Richerzhagen & Hunter S. Baggen, 2022. "Topic modelling exposes disciplinary divergence in research on the nexus between human mobility and the environment," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 9(1), pages 1-9, December.
    13. Dimitri Defrance & Esther Delesalle & Flore Gubert, 2020. "Is migration drought-induced in Mali? An empirical analysis using panel data on Malian localities over the 1987-2009 period," Working Papers DT/2020/01, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    14. Qirui Li & Cyrus Samimi, 2023. "Assessing Human Mobility and Its Climatic and Socioeconomic Factors for Sustainable Development in Sub-Saharan Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-16, July.
    15. Hélène Benveniste & Jesús Crespo Cuaresma & Matthew Gidden & Raya Muttarak, 2021. "Tracing international migration in projections of income and inequality across the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 166(3), pages 1-22, June.
    16. Frederic Noel Kamta & Janpeter Schilling & Jürgen Scheffran, 2020. "Insecurity, Resource Scarcity, and Migration to Camps of Internally Displaced Persons in Northeast Nigeria," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-15, August.
    17. Thiede, Brian C. & Chen, Joyce & Mueller, Valerie & Jia, Yuanyuan & Hultquist, Carolynne, 2020. "It’s Raining Babies? Flooding and Fertility Choices in Bangladesh," SocArXiv cz482, Center for Open Science.
    18. Erik Aschenbrand, 2022. "How Can We Promote Sustainable Regional Development and Biodiversity Conservation in Regions with Demographic Decline? The Case of UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Elbe River Landscape Brandenburg, Germany," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-18, September.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    migration; systematic review; Africa; climate change; drivers of migration; environmental change;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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