Do Changes in Weather Patterns and the Environment Lead to Migration in the MENA Region?

Abstract

Migration is one of several strategies used by households to respond to changes in climate and environmental conditions as well as extreme weather events. Yet while there is a burgeoning literature on climate change and migration and other adaptation strategies worldwide, the evidence available for the MENA region remains limited, in part because of a lack of survey and other data. This chapter is based on new data collected in 2011 in Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Syria, and Yemen in two climate affected areas per country. The chapter provides an analysis of the impact of changes in weather patterns and the environment (as perceived by households) on migration, both by members residing in the households (temporary migration) and former household members who have left (permanent migration). The results suggest that perceptions of negative changes in weather patterns and the environment are indeed associated with a higher likelihood of migrating temporarily or permanently.