Climate Variability, Land Ownership and Migration: Evidence from Thailand about Gender Impacts

Citation:

Curran, Sara R., and Jacqueline Meijer-Irons. 2014. "Climate Variability, Land Ownership and Migration: Evidence from Thailand About Gender Impacts." Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy 4 (1): 37-74.

Authors: Sara R. Curran, Jacqueline Meijer-Irons

Abstract:

Scholars point to climate change, often in the form of more frequent and severe drought, as a potential driver of migration in the developing world, particularly for places where populations rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. To date, however, there have been few large-scale, longitudinal studies that explore the relationship between climate change and migration. This study significantly extends current scholarship by evaluating distinctive effects of climatic variation and models these effects on men’s and women’s responsiveness to drought and rainfall. Our study also investigates how land ownership moderates these effects. We find small, but significant, increases in migration above existing migratory levels during periods of prolonged climatic stress, and that these patterns differ both by gender and land tenure.

Topics: Agriculture, Displacement & Migration, Climate Displacement, Environment, Climate Change, Gender, Land Tenure, Livelihoods Regions: Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Thailand

Year: 2014