Migration as an Adaptation Strategy to Climate Change: Influencing Factors in North-western Ghana (original) (raw)
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Migration is at the centre of demographic research on the populationenvironment nexus. Increasing concerns about the impacts of environmental events on human population are fuelling interest on the relationship between migration and environmental change. Using data from the Climate Change Collective Learning and Observatory Network Ghana project, we employ binary logistic regression to examine migration intentions of households in response to major community stressors including climate-related ones. The results indicate that the type of community stressor that affects households most does not differentiate migration intentions in Ghana's forest-savannah transition zone: Even though the majority of the respondents mentioned climate-related events as the stressor that affects them the most, such events do not appear to directly explain migration intentions. However, socio-demographic factors such as age, household size and current migration status are significant predictors of migration intentions, with younger household heads, heads of migrant households and heads of smaller households being relatively more likely to have migration intentions than other household heads. We conclude that migration drivers are multifaceted and deserve further research because even in areas with perceived environmental stress, climate-related events may not be the primary motivation for migration intentions.
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Ghana’s environment has been severely affected by climate change in the past 10 to 15 years, increasing the frequency of natural hazards, which in turn have led to disasters and changed migration patterns. Human-made hazards augment the livelihood loss and food insecurity of natural hazards, increasing migration. The increase in migration intensifies the impacts of natural and human hazards, creating a feedback loop. This policy brief will analyse the complex interconnections between migration, environment and climate change (MECC) in Ghana, review the Government’s past and current efforts towards addressing this nexus and propose recommendations on the way forward.
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In Ghana, the agricultural sector is climate-dependent and susceptible to threatening impacts of climate change, yet, little is known about climate change adaptation in rural farming communities. This article examines the effects of, and local adaptation response to, climate change in rural farming communities in the Jaman North District of Ghana. Using meteorological data, changes in rainfall and temperature over the past 30 years were analyzed. In addition, social research methods were used to analyse interviews and household survey data on climate change impacts on, and adaption responses of rural communities. Results showed that the changing weather patterns, in the form of erratic rainfall and increasing temperatures, have become an additional burden to rural farming communities who are already faced with limited level of mechanization.
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Despite the international significance attached to climate change adaptation, there remains a lack of understanding of the barriers that impede the effective implementation of adaptation strategies by households across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Better understanding of the vulnerability of agriculture-dependent households to climate variability requires exploration of the barriers that constrain the implementation of adaptation strategies. This paper uses case studies from northeast Ghana and a systematic literature review to assess the barriers that restrict effective implementation of climate adaptations in SSA. Results suggest that households are constrained by financial barriers, socio-cultural barriers, institutional barriers, technological barriers and a lack of information on climate change characteristics. We examine how the various barriers interact at different levels to influence the adaptation process. Findings highlight that the development of early warning systems, effective communication of climate information and an understanding of the local context within which adaptations take place, are necessary pre-requisites to enhance climate adaptations and rural livelihoods. Households need to be supported through the provision of micro-credit schemes, community empowerment and extension initiatives aimed at enhancing social networks within farming communities in order to reduce their vulnerability to the adverse impacts of climate change and variability.
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