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Migration as an Adaptation to Climate Change

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Abstract

This article presents a conceptual model to investigate population migration as a possible adaptive response to risks associated with climate change. The model reflects established theories of human migration behaviour, and is based upon the concepts of vulnerability, exposure to risk and adaptive capacity, as developed in the climate change research community. The application of the model is illustrated using the case of 1930s migration patterns in rural Eastern Oklahoma, which took place during a period of repeated crop failures due to drought and flooding.

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  1. Department of Geography, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada

    R. McLeman & B. Smit

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McLeman, R., Smit, B. Migration as an Adaptation to Climate Change. Climatic Change 76, 31–53 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-005-9000-7

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