Bridging and breaking silos: Transformational governance of the migration–sustainability nexus

Sustainability and migration are typically treated as discrete policy spheres in inter-national, national, and local fora, separated in governance structures and institutions. This results in policy incoherence that hinders just transitions toward more sustainable societies cognizant of mobile realities. This explorative effort identifies the (dis)connec-tions between policy domains using data collected on how the sustainability–migration nexus is governed in four countries with a special emphasis on urban areas: Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States. Results of 73 interviews show that migration and sustainability actors find it challenging to see how they could be working together and that migrants are rarely conceived of as sustainability actors and/or targeted populations of sustainability policy. Despite the cross- sectoral nature of sustainability, it appears that migration and sustainability are sequestered into silos that hinder collabo-rative actions. Lamenting the existence of silos is not enough to encourage new lines of thinking or practice in how sustainability is governed; therefore, we examine the evidence to ascertain current barriers blocking synergetic governance and the opportunities for change perceived by respondents via three critical elements of transformations toward sustainability: structural, systemic, and enabling conditions. We argue that for sustain-ability transitions to happen, a wider set of societal actors needs to be included from policy intention to action, but that this transformation may require more than policy integration via horizontal coordination. It demands reflexivity and pluralistic pathways that close vertical gaps between national and municipal levels and diminish structural inequalities as they intersect with migration type and status

Migration and Environmental Change in Morocco

This open access book studies the migration aspirations and trajectories of people living in two regions in Morocco that are highly affected by environmental change or emigration, namely Tangier and Tinghir, as well as the migration trajectories of immigrants coming from these regions currently living in Belgium. This book departs from the development of a new theoretical framework on the relationship between environmental changes and migration that can be applied to the Moroccan case. Qualitative research conducted in both countries demonstrate how the interplay between migration and environmental factors is not as straightforward as it seems, due to its wider social, political, economic, demographic and environmental context. Findings show how existing cultures of migration, remittances, views on nature and discourses on climate change create distinct abilities, capacities and aspirations to migrate due to environmental changes. The results illustrate how migration and environmental factors evolve gradually and mutually influence each other. In doing so, this book offers new insights in the ways migration can be seen as an adaptation strategy to deal with environmental change in Morocco

The Romanian white-collar immigrants in Brussels: a transnational community under construction

Focusing on a population of white-collar immigrants who chose to move from Romania to Brussels-Capital Region between 2014 and 2019, this article signals the formation of a third wave of Romanian migration. The participants in the study are Romanians residing in Brussels, corresponding to the features of the European Man (Homo Europaeus) and they belong to the "middle class" leaving Romania at an accelerated pace motivated by the desire to achieve a transnational lifestyle and an improvement of subjective well-being. We draw our findings from both quantitative data on mobility in the EU and qualitative research that reveals what are the elements that push, attract, and retain RWCIs to Brussels. It is also an opportunity to reflect upon the notion of sense of place experienced by a population that, despite having only recently moved to Brussels, already shows a high degree of attachment.Depuis la fin des restrictions de mobilité intracommunautaire en 2014, la Région de Bruxelles-Capitale connaît une troisième vague de migration roumaine qui diffère des précédentes par sa composition socio-économique. La recherche investigue les motivations migratoires de ces Roumains issus de la « classe moyenne » récemment arrivés à Bruxelles. Ils sont de plus en plus nombreux à quitter la Roumanie motivés par la recherche d’une meilleure qualité de vie, qui outrepasse les seuls aspects financiers, tout en développant un mode de vie transnational, se rapprochant ainsi des caractéristiques de l’homme européen (Homo Europaeus). Nos conclusions reposent sur l’analyse de données quantitatives sur la mobilité dans l’UE et sur une recherche qualitative combinant une enquête en ligne et des entrevues avec ces nouveaux Bruxellois. A côté de la mise en évidence des facteurs qui poussent, attirent et retiennent ces nouveaux migrants à Bruxelles, l’étude constate un haut degré d’attachement à la capital belge et un désir de s’y investir durablement

The Impact of Vulnerability and Resilience to Environmental Changes on Mobility Patterns in West Africa

From the Sahel to the coast, West Africa is experiencing a variety of climate change impacts, including sea level rise, soil salinization, floods, drought, and desertification, while simultaneously suffering from other forms of environmental degradation. Together, these environmental changes are significantly influencing migration patterns in and out of West Africa. This paper seeks to analyze vulnerability and resilience to environmental changes as they affect and are affected by mobility patterns in the region. We assert that the impact of environmental changes cannot be isolated from other political, social, economic, and demographic pressures that together drive human mobility. In a region where natural resources form the foundation of livelihoods and food security (fishing and agriculture), the relationship between environmental changes and socioeconomic vulnerabilities is of particular concern. This paper therefore draws from four distinct case studies to grasp the variegated and cumulative vulnerability and resilience among local populations as they relate to internal and intraregional migration.Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD

Forced displacement related to the impacts of climate change and disasters

editorial reviewe

Global assessment of impacts on migration and security issues

HELIX - High-End cLimate Impacts and eXtreme

The migration-sustainability paradox: transformations in mobile worlds

This is the final version. Available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record. Migration represents a major transformation of the lives of those involved and has been transformative of societies and economies globally. Yet models of sustainability transformations do not effectively incorporate the movement of populations. There is an apparent migration-sustainability paradox: migration plays a role as a driver of unsustainability as part of economic globalisation, yet simultaneously represents a transformative phenomenon and potential force for sustainable development. We propose criteria by which migration represents an opportunity for sustainable development: increasing aggregate well-being; reduced inequality leading to diverse social benefits; and reduced aggregate environmental burden. We detail the dimensions of the transformative potential of migration and develop a generic framework for migration-sustainability linkages based on environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability, highlighting identity and social transformation dimensions of migration. Such a model overcomes the apparent paradox by explaining the role of societal mobility in achieving sustainable outcomes.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)European Research CouncilUniversity of Exeter European Network Fun

The Migration-Sustainability Paradox: Transformations in Mobile Worlds

Migration represents a major transformation of the lives of those involved and has been transformative of societies and economies globally. Yet models of sustainability transformations do not effectively incorporate the movement of populations. There is an apparent migration-sustainability paradox: migration plays a role as a driver of unsustainability as part of economic globalisation, yet simultaneously represents a transformative phenomenon and potential force for sustainable development. We propose criteria by which migration represents an opportunity for sustainable development: increasing aggregate well-being; reduced inequality leading to diverse social benefits; and reduced aggregate environmental burden. We detail the dimensions of the transformative potential of migration and develop a generic framework for migration-sustainability linkages based on environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability, highlighting identity and social transformation dimensions of migration. Such a model overcomes the apparent paradox by explaining the role of societal mobility in achieving sustainable outcomes

Transnational Ageing and the ‘Zero Generation’: The Role of Moroccan Migrants’ Parents in Care Circulation

This article emphasizes the impacts of international migration on ageing processes and norms within transnational families, and, specifically, analyses the roles of the zero generation, defined as the parents of first-generation migrants (Nedelcu 2009), both as non-migrant counterparts to their children abroad and as ageing migrants themselves. Transnational caregiving research has demonstrated that for many migrants and their families care arrangements must be negotiated across national borders, yet the agency of transnational older adults has been largely neglected. Based on qualitative fieldwork conducted from 2011 to 2013 in Liège, Belgium and Oujda, Morocco, the present article examines the circulation of care between Moroccan adult migrants and their ageing ascendants. This article exposes the duality of migrants’ ascendants as care givers and recipients, asserting firstly, that receiving care is not synonymous with passivity, and that, secondly, migrants’ ascendants are also the initiators of transnational practices. In both roles, this article underlines mobility as a strategy used by migrants’ parents to maintain family solidarity across national borders, but that this care mobility is limited by macro-level migration policies, here exemplified by the Belgian migration regime