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Perception of environmental change and perception of change in daily life in environmental migration

Jelena Luyts, Université de Namur
Florence De Longueville, Facultés Universitaires Notre-Dame de la Paix, Belgium
Etienne Piguet, Université de Neuchâtel
Loïc Bruening, Université de Neuchâtel
Sabine J. F. Henry, University of Namur

This research evaluates the interest and added value of adopting a new approach in studying migration in West Africa, based on perceived change in daily life. While it is now well established in literature that considering the perception of environmental change gives a better understanding on the migratory process, the complexity of the latter suggests the possibility of improvement. This new perspective would facilitate data collection and increase the reliability of survey data, as change of daily life is more tangible and less prone to social desirability. Furthermore, in the complex framework of migration, this information can come to complement others. To confirm the interest of this approach, two steps are undertaken in the present study. Firstly, compare perception of environmental change and perception of change in daily life to see if there is a potential link between both. This would suggest the relevance of the perception of change in daily life. Secondly, Assess the relevance of the latter in comparison with the perception of environmental change through different regression models. The first results suggest that the perception of change in daily life indeed brings new information towards the understanding of the migratory process.

Keywords: Migrant populations, Internal migration, Population geography

See paper.

  Presented in Session 103. Human Mobility and the Environment