Water, migration and environment in a Mediterranean perspective

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to assess if environmental changes in the Mediterranean influence human mobility in the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region. Human mobility has always been a prominent feature of this geographic area, this, combined with the impact that climate change could have on migration, may pose broader security and geopolitical challenges in the Mediterranean area. Water scarcity has been considered holistically as one of the many environmental changes, which can influence migration and consequently the nexus environment-migration has been examined. The idea that climate changes will result in massive migration has been examined, arguing that the equation climate changes = mass migration outside the region does not consider the migration history of the area, while underestimating the adaptation of the population groups and countries affected by them, and the actions the institutions can put in place to prevent or respond to the events.