Migration as an adaptive strategy to climate change in Ethiopia: Venturing into unexplored territories

Abstract

Ethiopia contends with the profound repercussions of climate change, notably prolonged droughts disrupting the lives of millions. Despite concerted mitigation efforts, a dearth of understanding prevails regarding adaptation strategies among affected individuals and communities. This study meticulously examines household adaptation mechanisms to climate change, with a particular focus on migration as an adaptive response. Utilizing Grounded theory method of qualitative methodology, our research rigorously scrutinizes migration's efficacy in bolstering adaptive capacities within Ethiopia's climatically vulnerable Kembata Zone. In the Kembata Zone of Ethiopia, agricultural communities contend with multifaceted climate change impacts—temperature surges, erratic rainfall patterns, prolonged dry seasons, crop diseases, and diminished land productivity. This research accentuates migration not merely as a key but an effective adaptive strategy in this context. Our investigation illuminates that farmer households sends members to diverse domestic and international destinations as a strategy of climate change adaptation. Significantly, seasonal, and temporary migrations to local destinations emerge as primary strategies for climate change adaptation. Such migration provides farmer households with access to farmland, which is critical for cash and food crop production, countering potential productivity downturns in the areas of origin attributed to climate change. Notably, some households send their members to international destinations, where remittances have been found to play a pivotal role in addressing escalating climate change challenges by financing climate-resilient agricultural activities and livelihoods.