Migration can strengthen adaptation to climate change. The potential of migration-as-adaptation builds on a world of intensifying global mobility and global connectedness and the increasing possibility of geographically spreading risks. But what if mobility is impeded and connectivity disrupted? And what happens if geographically distant places face risks simultaneously due to the global and systemic character or multiplicity of crises? This paper points to fundamental gaps in research on migration-as-adaptation, which largely neglects the questions of adaptation limits. It argues that an understanding of the limits of migration-as-adaptation needs to address (1) migration as an inherent feature of social systems under stress, (2) the unequal and contested nature of adaptation goals, and (3) immobility, disconnectedness and simultaneous exposure as the core mechanisms that limit the adaptive potential of migration. The paper proposes a novel translocal-mobilities perspective to address the multi-scalar, multi-local, relational and intersectional dynamics of the limits of migration-as-adaptation. It formulates core questions for research on the limits of migration as adaptation. A comprehensive understanding will help the scientific community to build more realistic scenarios on climate change and migration and provide entry points for policies to avoid reaching adaptation limits and to mitigate negative consequences. 

The limits of migration as adaptation. A conceptual approach towards the role of immobility, disconnectedness and simultaneous exposure in translocal livelihoods systems


 Defense ministries regularly frame climate security in their national security strategies. Recently, “civil” ministries also begun mentioning climate security. However, they do not mean the same thing. This article develops four indicators to assess the commitment of climate security framings to an understanding of climate security as either human/environmental or national security issue. It applies the indicators to fifty submissions of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) by civil ministries and seventy defense publications. The paper finds that NDC commonly refer to climate changes’ anthropogenic origins and biophysical impacts but rarely to indirect consequences such as migration or conflict. In contrast, military administrations rarely mention anthropogenic origins but warn more often than NDC of indirect consequences. This shows that a civil domestic discourse on climate security has emerged, more attuned to human security and environmental security and more conducive to climate change mitigation and adaptation. The paper argues that organizational theory can explain these differences in securitization: defense and civil ministries frame climate security differently so that it falls in line with their respective mandates and established organizational features. The article concludes with a checklist for assessing framings of climate security.

/pdf/tracking-climate-securitization-framings-of-climate-security-3grzyq31.pdf

Tracking Climate Securitization: Framings of Climate Security by Civil and Defense Ministries

The right framing of climate and other environmental change is crucial to guide policy responses towards preventing human suffering, displacement, and violent conflict. This study analyzes how ministries of defense and other security policy actors from 93 countries framed climate and other environmental change in national security strategy documents (NSSD) published between 2000 and 2020. An inductive content analysis reveals three shortcomings in the representations of environmental and climate change in these documents: First, representations of direct impacts are overly dominated by a focus on disasters. Second, references to indirect climate impacts do not reflect the current state of research. Third, a share of references to climate and other environmental change represents the planetary dimension of change in problematic ways. Additionally, the global scope of the analysis reveals regional differences in climate securitization: Framings of climate migration were mostly raised by potential destination countries, which often have high historical emissions, fueling concerns of climate injustice. By contrast, questionable statements on environmental and climate conflicts were published in the Global North and South alike. All in all, this suggests that the securitization of environmental and climate change are global phenomena. They do, however, not adequately reflect the planetary uncertainties of the Anthropocene. 

Barking up the tree wrongly? How national security strategies frame climate and other environmental change as security issues

Despite suffering significantly from the adverse impacts of climate change and human-induced hazards, many people at risk deliberately choose not to migrate from hazard-prone areas in coastal Bangladesh. As many of them encounter significant challenges in maintaining their livelihoods, ascertaining how and under what circumstances voluntary non-migration decisions occur is crucial. Only a handful of studies have investigated whether individuals and groups who decide to stay put in the face of climatic hazards consider their decision to be an adaptive action. In this regard, this study contributes to the existing literature by empirically investigating the voluntary non-migration decision as an adaptation strategy through an exploration of the factors affecting this decision. We employed a systematic random sampling technique and selected 627 respondents from two climatic hazard-prone coastal districts: Khulna and Satkhira. Using the Generalized Structural Equation Model (GSEM), we found that voluntary non-migrants (84% of total respondents) appeared to enjoy the significant advantage of access to their communities' basic need provision and social support. Furthermore, the social, psychological, and economic opportunities found at their existing location (e.g., better income prospects, affordable living costs, receipt of financial help during post-disaster periods, and skills allowing them to stay in that location), as well as their access to local natural resources, strengthened their social capital and thus influenced their desire to stay. Together, these factors enhanced people’s adaptability to climatic shocks and motivated them to choose voluntary non-migration as an adaptation option. 

Environmental non-migration as adaptation in hazard-prone areas: Evidence from coastal Bangladesh

What drives environmental (Non-)migration around the Himalayan Region? Evidence from rural Nepal

‘Staying’ as climate change adaptation strategy : A proposed research agenda

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‘Staying’ as climate change adaptation strategy : A proposed research agenda