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Gender, Environmental Change, and Migration Aspirations and Abilities in Tangier and Tinghir, Morocco

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Abstract

Gender plays a role in all aspects of migration but is underrepresented in migration theories, particularly relating to environmental migration. In this research I address how men and women experience vulnerabilities to environmental change differently and how these vulnerabilities are reflected in their aspirations and ability to migrate. I focus on two urban areas in Morocco with distinct migration histories and environmental contexts: Tangier and Tinghir. I conducted qualitative interviews with a total of 48 informants. My findings indicate that vulnerability to environmental change and aspirations and ability to migrate are influenced by access to social, financial, and economic resources, and are structured by gender. Further, my analyses identified interactions among gender, generation, migration networks, and place of residence and explain why populations most affected by environmental change are unable to migrate, increasing gender inequalities within these regions.

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Notes

  1. Brain-be BELSPO – Making Migration Work for Adaptation to Environmental Changes. A Belgian Appraisal (MIGRADAPT) under Grant [BR/175/A4/MIGRADAPT]; Brain-be BELSPO [BR/175/A4/MIGRADAPT].

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Brain-be BELSPO – Making Migration Work for Adaptation to Environmental Changes. A Belgian Appraisal (MIGRADAPT) under Grant [BR/175/A4/MIGRADAPT]; Brain-be BELSPO [BR/175/A4/MIGRADAPT].

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  1. Centre for Migration and Intercultural Studies, University of Antwerp, Lange Nieuwsstraat 55, 2000, Antwerp, Belgium

    Lore Van Praag

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  1. Lore Van Praag
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Correspondence to Lore Van Praag.

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The author declares that she has no conflicts of interest. This research was funded by BELSPO - Belgian Science Policy Office.

Ethical Statement

All procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the University of Antwerp, and they were reviewed and used by all partners of the BELSPO research project. However, the research was not reviewed by the Ethics Committee of the University of Antwerp. All participants were informed about the project and asked to explicitly provide their informed consent.

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Van Praag, L. Gender, Environmental Change, and Migration Aspirations and Abilities in Tangier and Tinghir, Morocco. Hum Ecol 50, 23–34 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-021-00296-z

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