Climate change, migration and urbanisation in contemporary Namibia

Scientists are in agreement that climate change is a real threat to people and the planet, worldwide. Human activities are believed to be the primary cause for this change. In countries, such as Namibia, in which the majority of people in rural areas largely depend on rainfed agriculture and water resources for their livelihood, the rapid changing climate may mean that more people will likely move to the urban centres, no matter restrictive migration measures in place. The intricate relationship between climate change and human mobility, however, is a phenomenon not yet very well-articulated or established. In Namibia, while migrating to an urban area in some instances might offer potential opportunities -in the form of employment, better economic status and standard of living for migrants- but the move not only comes with negative effects and challenges for the migrants but also for urban governance in delivering services to the increasing urban masses. This study used a hybrid methodological approach by which a critical analysis and the consolidation of the existing literature on climate change, migration and urbanisation was combined and complemented with supplementary in-depth interviews carried out with 13 participants with a migratory background. The objective of the study was to investigates the nexus between climate change and migration, and subsequently examines the relevance of climate induced rural-urban mobility in Namibia. The findings of the study indicate that Namibia’s increasing changing climate patterns magnifies the existing problems of rural-urban migration, resulting in Namibia’s internal migration phenomenon to be determined by more than the usual factors of rural-urban migration.