The literature on population and environment linkages has long recognized that migration (or labour mobility) – either temporary, semi-permanent, or permanent – is a livelihood adaptation strategy among small holder farmers and pastoralists to population and environmental change. As markets have gradually penetrated into rural areas over the past several hundred years, increasing numbers of small farmers use the dry seasons as an opportunity to earn off farm wages. So, there’s really nothing new in some of Brown’s observations, and we need to be aware of the variable nature of labour mobility.

The environmental security literature has not recognized very well the variability and frequency of labour mobility as an adaptation strategy in confronting environmental scarcities. Too often, migration and environmental change – whether linked to climate change or more immediate human environmental impacts – is presented as resulting in permanent movements of people, often accross boarders.

The interesting issue that emerges from climate change and labour mobility is whether the scale of labour mobility will increase significantly with increasingly widespread climate change impacts, who is most at risk from these climate impacts, and whether and how people will adapt to these stresses on their livelihoods.

It’s these processes of adaptation, or failed adaptation that we need to examine closely for signs and indicators of causal links to insecurity and conflict.

Tom Deligiannis