Migration: a critical climate change resilience strategy

The document examines the relationship between climate change and migration in Africa, challenging the narrative of mass international 'climate refugee' flows. It posits that migration is an active resilience strategy used by households to diversify income and spread risk, though the most vulnerable are often trapped by a lack of resources. The brief highlights the prevalence of internal migration, the risks of unplanned urbanisation, and the need for African policymakers to develop governance frameworks tailored to local realities rather than relying on international models.

• Climate change is a significant driver of migration in Africa, but it predominantly triggers internal movement within a country rather than international migration.
• Migration serves as a critical resilience and adaptation strategy for vulnerable communities, allowing families to diversify income and spread risk through remittances and temporary movement.
• The most impoverished individuals often lack the financial and social resources required to migrate, creating a 'poverty trap' where climate change increases vulnerability while simultaneously reducing the ability to adapt through movement.
• Urbanisation is a major outcome of climate change, with sub-Saharan Africa projected to have 86 million internal climate migrants by 2050, often leading to the growth of vulnerable informal settlements.
• Isolating climate change as the sole driver of migration is difficult because it typically interacts with complex economic, social, and political factors.
• At the end of 2019, 2 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were displaced due to climate-linked disasters.

APA

Mbiyozo, A.-N. (2020). Migration: a critical climate change resilience strategy. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policy-brief-151.pdf

Chicago

Mbiyozo, Aimée-Noël. Migration: a critical climate change resilience strategy. Institute for Security Studies, 2020. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policy-brief-151.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mbiyozo |first1=Aimée-Noël |title=Migration: a critical climate change resilience strategy |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=2020 |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policy-brief-151.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mbiyozo2020migration, author = {Mbiyozo, Aimée-Noël}, title = {{Migration: a critical climate change resilience strategy}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2020}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policy-brief-151.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }