Migration as a Risk Management Strategy in the Context of Climate Change: Evidence from the Bolivian Andes
Regine Brandt & Raoul Kaenzig
| Abstract |
Mountain regions are among the most vulnerable areas with regard to
global environmental changes. In the Bolivian Andes, for example,
environmental risks, such as those related to climate change, are
numerous and often closely intertwined with social risks. Rural
households are therefore characterized by high mobility, which is a
traditional strategy of risk management. Nowadays, most rural
households are involved in multi-residency or circular migratory
movements at a regional, national, and international scale. Taking
the case of two rural areas close to the city of La Paz, we
analyzed migration patterns and drivers behind migrant household
decisions in the Bolivian Andes. Data were collected through
semi-structured interviews with selected respondents from 68
households. The drivers for migration were categorized, their
relative importance was calculated, and generalized linear mixed
models were applied for statistical analyses. Our results underline
that migration is a traditional peasant household strategy to
increase income and manage livelihood risks under rising economic
pressures, scarcity of land, insufficient local off-farm work
opportunities, and low agricultural productivity. Migration
predominantly occurs to nearby urban areas located in the same
region. Climatic variability and water scarcity, which have
increased through climate change, play crucial roles as additional
stressors for agricultural production. Our results suggest that
environmental factors do not drive migration independently, but are
rather combined with socio-economic factors. There is a need for
more research on the links between environmental changes driven by
climate change and other factors and their effects on migration
dynamics and rural development in the Bolivian Andes and adjacent
areas. |
| Keywords |
Bolivian Andes Climate change Glacier retreat Migration Peasant farming Water scarcity |
| Citation | Brandt, R., & Kaenzig, R. (2016). Migration as a Risk Management Strategy in the Context of Climate Change: Evidence from the Bolivian Andes. In L. Susanne (Ed.), Migration, Risk Management and Climate Change: Evidence and Policy Responses (pp. 43-61). Amsterdam: Springer. |
| Type | Book chapter (English) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Editor | Lachmuth Susanne |
| Book title | Migration, Risk Management and Climate Change: Evidence and Policy Responses |
| Publisher | Springer (Amsterdam) |
| Pages | 43-61 |
| Series title | Global Migration Issues |
| URL | http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-42922-9_3 |
| Related project | CliMig |