Trends, determinants and underpinning conditions of rural−rural migration

Abstract

Abstract

This paper uses the case of Zambia to advance a new understanding of the rural–rural mobility dynamics in the context of climate change. Focusing on trends, determinants and underpinning conditions of rural–rural migration, analysis draws on documentary analyses of climate change policy and legal frameworks alongside interviews with state and non-state actors. . Findings indicate a growing recognition that Zambia has increasingly been experiencing extreme climatic events, particularily droughts, which frequently induce migration from the southern region to wetter and fertile agricultural central regions. The study shows the centrality of facilitating factors such as language and social networks in driving migration. While state actors show a concern that migration may cause environmental degradation and increase land tensions in the destination communities, rural–rural migration is not a central feature of climate‑adaptation strategies. Ultimately, the paper critiques push–pull frameworks that attempt to explain climate-induced migration, and instead advances an approach that places social-cultural perspectives at the center of migration dynamics.