Circular Migration and Local Adaptation in the Mountainous Community of Las Palomas (Mexico)
Recent literature highlights the potential of migration as a part of successful adaptation strategies in the face of external stressors (Afifi et al., Migration and development, 2015; Bardsley and Hugo, Population Environ 32(2–3):238–262, 2010; Black et a
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Circular Migration and Local Adaptation in the Mountainous Community of Las Palomas (Mexico) Noemi Cascone, Ana Elisa Peña del Valle Isla, and Andrea Milan
4.1 Introduction Building on a broad academic consensus, the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) showed that human activity has a significant negative impact on the climate, which in turn adversely affects populations living in vulnerable environments. Climate change is projected to influence population distribution in the coming decades (IPCC 2007). Hence, the relationship between climate change, environmental change and human mobility is at the core of numerous studies across diverse fields of research (Warner 2011; McAdam 2010). Mountain areas cover about 20 % of the Earth’s surface, and accommodate approximately 10 % of the global population. Furthermore, they provide key natural resources such as water, energy, minerals, forest and agricultural products to approximately half of the world’s population. Additionally, mountains represent essential repositories for the world’s ecosystem and’ biological diversity, and serve as natural habitats for endangered species (Godde et al. 2000; Smethurst 2000; Viviroli et al. 2007). However, because of their inaccessibility and high dependence on small scale agricultural farming activities in marginal areas, mountains in the southern hemisphere are highly sensitive to the adverse impacts of climate change (Beniston 2003; IPCC 2013, 2014; Jodha 1992; Messerli et al. 2004). Indeed, N. Cascone (*) • A. Milan Institute for Environmental & Human Security, United Nations University, Bonn, Germany e-mail: [email protected]; [email protected] A.E. Peña del Valle Isla Research Programme on Climate Change, National Autonomous University of México, México, Mexico e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 A. Milan et al. (eds.), Migration, Risk Management and Climate Change: Evidence and Policy Responses, Global Migration Issues 6, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42922-9_4
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around 73 % of mountain inhabitants are located in rural areas where they are highly dependent on natural resources for their livelihood. Moreover, their livelihood is subject to physical and economic isolation, land steepness and fragmentation, and low temperatures. However, comparatively few studies have explored the relationship between climate change, environmental change, drivers of livelihood change and human migration in such areas (Kollmair and Banerjee 2011; Milan and Ho 2014; Milan and Ruano 2014; Milan et al. 2015a). The most comprehensive review on migration and global environmental change to date further points out that in the future, environmental change will significantly impact demographic, economic, political, and social drivers of migration. While the pressure to move is likely to increase, climate change is expect to cause some migration flows to rise but others will decline because people will not be able to leave even if they w
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