Balance between place attachment and migration based on subjective adaptive capacity in response to climate change: the case of Famenin County in Western Iran

Abstract

The effects of climate change have disturbed the living patterns of many people around the globe during the past decade and it has been a key contributing factor to mass migrations. The ‘adaptation’ approach is currently considered the most effective available solution for balancing out these effects. As a result, many researchers are trying to find out how to increase the adaptive capacity of individuals and communities in response to the effects of climate change. The effect of place attachment as a factor which connects human societies to the surrounding environment is undeniable. In this regard, the present study attempts to analyse the role of place attachment in increasing the tolerance of individuals who are in direct contact with the effects of climate change in the conceptual framework of subjective adaptive capacity and migration based on a subjective approach while taking into account the meaningful elements of place. Famenin County in western Iran has experienced severe drought resulting from climate change during the past decade, and farming, which was once the main source of income for the inhabitants, has almost been crippled in the county. Therefore, Famenin was chosen as a suitable case for study. In order to examine the conceptual model of the study, 200 questionnaires were distributed among the inhabitants of the county who have not yet migrated. The model was run using the Amos 23.0 software. The results of data analysis indicate that the inhabitants’ climate change impact perception has occurred through their attachment to the surrounding environment, which has led to a notable increase in their subjective adaptive capacity and has discouraged migration. It can be proposed that a balance exits between subjective adaptive capacity and climate change impact perception in which the place attachment factor can tilt the balance in favour of more adaptation and less migration.