Climate-Induced Migration in West Africa

Although West Africa’s contribution to global climate change is very minimal, its geographical location and weak adaptive capacity makes it highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and variability. The livelihoods of people in the dry regions of West Africa, in particular, are adversely affected by increased temperature and fluctuating rainfall patterns because they depend on rain-fed agriculture and ecosystem services. Flooding is also a common climate-induced hazard in some West African countries. However, only a few researchers have examined the nature of climate-induced migration in the sub-region. This chapter examines how migration is used as a strategy to deal with climate change and variability in West Africa. While it is difficult to separate climatic drivers from the socio-economic causes of migration, seasonal and permanent migration are increasingly used by households to deal with climate change and variability in some communities in West Africa. Floods have also caused population displacement in parts of West Africa. While human mobility occurs in response to changes in climatic variables, migration is not adequately incorporated into planned climate change adaptation strategies being implemented by governments in the sub-region. This chapter, therefore, recommends that migration should be incorporated into climate change adaptation and development policies and programs in the sub-region.