Migration has globally become a hot topic in political agendas over the decades. Socio-economic inequalities, political instability, globalization and disasters have caused people to voluntarily or involuntarily leave their homes. Environmental drivers of migration, including but not limited to environmental degradation, excess or shortage of water, water pollution and climatic extremes are increasingly lauded with the increasing impacts of climate change. Among them, water-related drivers are instrumental “push” and “pull” factors, shaping people’s decision to migrate. On the one hand, water attracts people to certain locations, as it provides bases for survival and better livelihoods. On the other hand, increasing pressure upon water resources may trigger conflicts and cause voluntary or forced migration at different levels. There is a need to explore the complex relationship between water and migration. This course aims to work toward this need and contextualize “water” within the migration debates and inform practitioners, policymakers and researchers to develop novel mechanisms for the assessment of and response to water-related migration.
This online course is also available in French.
See the UNU-INWEH website for more information about this course.