Lecture series Climate Change and Migration:
How climate crisis and other crises affect (circular) migration processes in the Sahel
06.12.2022, 16:15 - 17:45 (CET)
Online via Zoom
with Olaf Bernau & Moctar Dan Yaye (discussant)
Abstract: In the Sahel, the human-induced climate change has been noticeable since the end of the 1960s. The two drought catastrophes of 1968-1974 and 1984/1985 have become particularly well known. Both times, hundreds of thousands of people set off, albeit not during but after the drought. And they did not migrate far away, but in the immediate vicinity. Often, climate flight has combined with the circular migration that has been common in the Sahel for centuries anyway, especially among (semi-)nomadic pastoralists. At the same time, there is much to suggest that the climate crisis in the Sahel will continue to worsen. In this context, farmers and pastoralists will continue to resort to local mobility and adaptation strategies. But the climate crisis also has negative consequences for urban regions. And it is there that young, often well-educated people find themselves engaged in long-distance migration, some as far away as Europe. In this sense, the lecture will address the different migration realities in the Sahel, also taking into account that the climate crisis is closely linked to other crises, such as the crisis of the state, democracy and security.
More information can be found here.
