Focus on environmental risks and migration: causes and consequences

Adger, W. Neil; Arnell, Nigel W.; Black, Richard; Dercon, Stefan; Geddes, Andrew; Thomas, David

Abstract

Environmental change poses risks to societies, including disrupting social and economic systems such as migration. At the same time, migration is an effective adaptation to environmental and other risks. We review novel science on interactions between migration, environmental risks and climate change. We highlight emergent findings, including how dominant flows of rural to urban migration mean that populations are exposed to new risks within destination areas and the requirement for urban sustainability. We highlight the issue of lack of mobility as a major issue limiting the effectiveness of migration as an adaptation strategy and leading to potentially trapped populations. The paper presents scenarios of future migration that show both displacement and trapped populations over the incoming decades. Papers in the special issue bring new insights from demography, human geography, political science and environmental science to this emerging field.

Citation

Adger, W. N., Arnell, N. W., Black, R., Dercon, S., Geddes, A., & Thomas, D. (2015). Focus on environmental risks and migration: causes and consequences. Environmental Research Letters, 10, Article 060201. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/6/060201

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 12, 2015
• Publication Date: Jun 16, 2015
• Deposit Date: May 18, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: May 18, 2016
• Journal: Environmental Research Letters
• Electronic ISSN: 1748-9326
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Article Number: 060201
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/6/060201
• Publisher URL: http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/10/6/060201/meta