Repositorio
Institucional

Radel, Claudia

Schmook, Birgit#Carte, Lindsey#Mardero, Sofia

Toward a Political Ecology of Migration: Land, Labor Migration, and Climate Change in Northwestern Nicaragua

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

WORLD DEVELOPMENT

en

"Smallholder labor migration and its relationship to climate change adaptation has received increasing attention, with migration often represented either as part of successful adaptive livelihood diversification or as symptomatic of a lack of in-place adaptive capacity. Using a case study, we focus on the relationship between labor migration, agrarian livelihood diversification, and climate change to further a more nuanced understanding of ""migration as adaptation"" than is implied by a simple dichotomy of success versus failure. Smallholder diversification, both on- and off-farm, has largely been framed as a risk spreading practice that lowers climate change vulnerability. But after decades of advocating livelihood diversification, with labor migration now increasingly a part of smallholder livelihood activities, it is urgent to pose a number of questions: Why do smallholders migrate? How does labor migration unfold for them and with what outcomes? Our primary goal here is to explore the nature of the relationship of labor migration to climate change and climate change adaptation. Through empirical fieldwork in northwestern Nicaragua, we explore the role of labor migration in smallholder household production and reproduction, as families confront increasingly difficult climatic conditions for agricultural production and a relative absence of the state within a neoliberal political economy. Our analysis draws on household surveys and qualitative interviews and focus groups we carried out in the municipality of Somotillo, in northwestern Nicaragua, over three years (2013-15). Our findings demonstrate that household labor migration neither facilitates adaptation to climate change nor reflects a failure to adapt, but rather reflects the weak position of smallholders in interlocking relations of power and the relative land scarcity experienced by many. We argue that labor migration barely maintains semi-subsistence agricultural production and reinforces existing social inequalities, raising questions regarding a conceptualization of ""migration as adaptation"" and the benefits of this type of livelihood diversification. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved."

artículo original#presentación de congreso

We would like to thank our field and data entry assistants (Santos Esteban Cruz Montoya, Lisa Green, Juan Carlos Joo Chang, Rose Long, Juan Carlos Ocampo, Jose Joel Ordofiez Pineda, and Andres Zamudio) and the research participants in Somotillo, Nicaragua. We also thank Morey Burnham, Paige Fischer, Zhao Ma, and Laura Vang Rasmussen for comments on drafts. This publication is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number 1056811.

Agradecemos a nuestros asistentes de campo y de ingreso de datos (Santos Esteban Cruz Montoya, Lisa Green, Juan Carlos Joo Chang, Rose Long, Juan Carlos Ocampo, José Joel Ordóñez Pineda y Andrés Zamudio) y a los participantes de la investigación en Somotillo, Nicaragua. También agradecemos a Morey Burnham, Paige Fischer, Zhao Ma y Laura Vang Rasmussen por sus comentarios sobre los borradores. Esta publicación se basa en el trabajo financiado por la Fundación Nacional de Ciencias (NSF) con el número de subvención 1056811.

10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.04.023

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livelihood diversification# double exposure# drought# environmental migration# neoliberalism# political economy# south-south migration

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.04.023

Development Studies# Economics

diversificación de los medios de vida# exposición doble# sequía# migración ambiental# neoliberalismo# economía política# migración sur-sur

Ciencias Ambientales (Aspectos Sociales)

Sociología

Agricultura

WOS:000433272600021

Toward a Political Ecology of Migration: Land, Labor Migration, and Climate Change in Northwestern Nicaragua

artículo original#presentación de congreso

version publicada

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

WORLD DEVELOPMENT

Estudios de Desarrollo# Ciencias económicas

0305-750X

en

NSF 1056811

We would like to thank our field and data entry assistants (Santos Esteban Cruz Montoya, Lisa Green, Juan Carlos Joo Chang, Rose Long, Juan Carlos Ocampo, Jose Joel Ordofiez Pineda, and Andres Zamudio) and the research participants in Somotillo, Nicaragua. We also thank Morey Burnham, Paige Fischer, Zhao Ma, and Laura Vang Rasmussen for comments on drafts. This publication is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number 1056811.

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hibrida#verde

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