Setting the scene national and deltaic migration trends in India, Bangladesh and Ghana

This series is based on the work of the Deltas, Vulnerability and Climate Change: Migration and Adaptation (DECCMA) project, funded by Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) through the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA).Before assessing the impact of climate change on migration from the delta communities it is important to first have an understanding of current migration patterns in the deltas, and how they fit in their national contexts. With this in mind, there are four objectives of this literature on migration: 1) review theories relevant to understanding migration in deltas; 2) review the literature on migration from each of the case study countries with a view to understanding broad migration patterns; and 3) identify existing gaps in the migration literature so as to strengthen the research contribution of the DECCMA project

Setting the scene : climate change and resettlement in context

This literature review provides an overview of resettlement literature including its theoretical context. It aims to re-position current debates on the role of resettlement as a possible adaptation to climate change. Working papers on the history and patterns of resettlement in each of the DEltas, Vulnerability, and Climate Change: Migration as an Adaptation (DECCMA) case study countries will be provided separately. Low-lying resource-dependent coastal communities that are highly exposed to climate change impacts, such as storm surges and shoreline erosion, are an example of communities for whom climate change-induced resettlement may be an adaptation option.UK Department for International Development (DFID

Perceived environmental risks and insecurity reduce future migration intentions in hazardous migration source areas

An analysis of perceptions of motivations for prior migration and migration intentions of households in four low-lying coastal areas in Asia and Africa finds that few households identified environmental risks as the primary driver for past migration decisions. The study examined the extent to which specific elements of perceptions of environment might influence migration intention. Social determinants such as larger households, households with ecosystem-based livelihoods, and those with migrant networks report potential future intentions to migrate that are 6%, 14%, and 90%, respectively higher than those that do not show these characteristics

Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate Change Adaptation and Human Security: A Commissioned Report for the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the Global Environmental Change and Human Security (GECHS) Project

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Al Gore, in an effort to ‘contribute to a sharper focus on the processes and decisions that appear to be necessary to protect the world’s future climate and thereby to reduce the threat to the security of mankind’. In the wake of the 2007 award, the relationship between climate change and security has surfaced as a key concern among national governments and international institutions

Understanding adaptation: households and bushfire risk in Mount Dandenong

© 2014 Dr. Colette MortreuxDespite growing evidence of the need for climate change adaptation, it is not well understood. Adaptation is a complex social phenomenon in which climate risk is negotiated and acted upon in social and environmental contexts. This complexity makes adaptation difficult to research and there are few empirical studies that investigate adaptation in practice. In lieu of evidence about adaptation practices, many researchers instead assess the capacity to adapt, despite little evidence to suggest that adaptive capacity explains the practice of adaptation. This thesis makes a contribution to knowledge about adaptation to climate change by examining the extent to which households in Mt. Dandenong are adapting to bushfire risk, and the extent to which their adaptation practices are explained by their adaptive capacity. It studies household preparation for bushfires in Mount Dandenong as this is a good proxy for adaptation practices, and it compares this with an assessment of the their adaptive capacity (by examining their wealth, health, education, knowledge, and social capital). The research then examines alternative factors that might be explaining or influencing adaptation in the case study. The thesis finds that very few households are adapting well, despite a high level of adaptive capacity. There is a tenuous relationship between adaptive capacity and adaptation within the sample. There is a disparity between what people could do to adapt, and what they actually do. High adaptive capacity does not ensure that adaptation occurs. The findings suggest that to understand the adaptation practices of households, greater attention needs to be paid to the factors that trigger people to apply their available capacities

Between adaptive capacity and action: new insights into climate change adaptation at the household scale

Research on social vulnerability and adaptation to climate change assumes that increasing amounts of adaptive capacity increase the likelihood of actions to adapt to climate change. We test this assumption as it applies at the scale of households, through a study of the relationship between adaptive capacity and household actions to adapt to wildfire risk in Mount Dandenong, Australia. Here we show a weak relationship exists between adaptive capacity and adaptation, such that high adaptive capacity does not clearly result in a correspondingly high level of adaptation. Three factors appear to mediate the relationship between household adaptive capacity and adaptation: their attitude to risk, their experience of risk, and their expectations of authorities. The findings suggest that to understand the adaptation practices of households, greater attention needs to be paid to socio-psychological factors that trigger people to apply their available capacities

Equitable local outcomes in adaptation to sea-level rise: year 2 project report 2012

© 2012 The University of MelbourneThis is the second year project report for Australian Research Council Linkage Project titled 'Equitable Outcomes in Adaptation to Sea Level Rise'

A snapshot of the lived values of Port Albert: results from a mail-out survey

© University of MelbourneThis report provides a summary of the findings of a mail-out survey regarding 'lived values' which was conducted in Port Albert in mid 2012

Technology-Facilitated Domestic Violence Against Immigrant and Refugee Women : A Qualitative Study

Digital technologies are increasingly being used as tools for the perpetration of domestic violence. Little empirical research to date has explored the nature and impacts of technology-facilitated domestic violence (TFDV), and even less attention has been paid to the experiences of immigrant and refugee women. This article examines the nature and impacts of TFDV as experienced by immigrant and refugee women. Drawing on interviews with 29 victim-survivors and 20 stakeholders, we argue that although immigrant and refugee women may experience TFDV in similar ways to non-immigrant and refugee women, they face unique challenges, such as language barriers, cultural bias from support services, lack of financial resources, lack of trust in state institutions, and additional challenges with justice and migration systems. Immigrant and refugee women also face multiple structural layers of oppression and social inequality. Accordingly, we argue that a multifaceted approach is required to address TFDV that includes culturally sensitive and specific law reform, education, and training