The next instalment of the ICCCAD Seminar Series will be taking place at 3 pm on Thursday, August 6. Dr. Joanne Jordan will be presenting in a seminar titled ‘Migration as an Adaptation to Coastal Erosion? Evidence from Chaukatali in South-east Bangladesh’

About the seminar:

Migration was initially characterised as a problematic outcome of climate change, as a failure to adapt, however more recently there has been a shift towards recognising the opportunities of migration as an adaptation to environmental and other risks. This paper aims to build on this emerging theoretical and empirical case-based literature, specifically; it examines the effects of environmental factors on migration, and its implications for adaptation, through case-study research in Chaukatali in South-east Bangladesh. It establishes an environmental factor – coastal erosion, as the dominant driver of migration; however this driver has induced a wide array of different migration dynamics. The case-study evidence determines that there are four factors (attachment to place, economic capital, education and social networks) that influence these diverse migration outcomes. While each factor can be interpreted as having its own unique value, it is the interaction of these factors that determines the specific nature of this movement at various spatial and temporal scales. In turn, these diverse types/patterns of movement create a range of outcomes, both positive and negative; which have implications on whether migration is interpreted as an effective adaptation or a failure to adapt. Specifically, this study emphasises the importance of giving attention to those that lack resources and assets and are thus, ‘trapped’ in locations exposed to risk through a process of cumulative impoverishment.

 

About the speaker:

 

Dr. Joanne Jordan is a Lecturer in Climate Change and Development, Institute for Development Policy and Management, University of Manchester and a Visiting Researcher at International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD), Independent University Bangladesh. She is an environmental social scientist, with experience in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Cambodia. Her particular interests lie in the interconnected problems of climate change, poverty and complex notions of risk. Currently, she is carrying out a study on ‘Urban Climate Resilience: How does Land Tenure affect Climate Change Adaptation in Dhaka (2014-2016).

 

Dr. Jordan has completed her PhD on ‘Social Capital and Local Resilience to Climate Stress in South-west Bangladesh’ at Queen’s University Belfast. She is a qualified Environmental Planner with a BSc (Hons) in Environmental Planning and a Postgraduate Diploma in Town and Country Planning and Landscape both at Queen’s University Belfast, and a MSc in Environmental Sustainability at the University of Edinburgh.

Dr. Jordan was a Chapter Scientist for the IPCC WGII (2011-2013). Prior to working at the University of Manchester, she was a Post-doctorate Research Fellow at the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), Sciences Po Paris (2012-2013), working on the CapAdapt project, which focused on ‘Adaptive Capacity to Climate Stress in South-east Bangladesh’. Prior to her PhD, I worked as an Independent Consultant, conducting research on divided, racialised and violent cities, empirically focusing on Belfast, as part of the Contested Cities Project at Queen’s University Belfast. Prior to that, she was a Research Intern with Community Forestry International in Cambodia on a Sustainable Livelihoods and Non timber forest product project, and a Conservation Volunteer with Greenforce and Trekforce in Peru and Belize.