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Cited by 71Climate Change, Adaptation, MigrationClimate change impacts on agricultureRangeland Management and Livestock Ecology

Climate anomalies, land degradation, and rural out-migration in Uganda

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Call, Maia, Gray, Clark·2020·Population and Environment
DOI 10.1007/s11111-020-00349-3PMC PMC8442715
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Abstract

Globally, rural livelihoods are increasingly challenged by the dual threats of land degradation and climate change. These issues are of particular concern in sub-Saharan Africa, where land degradation is believed to be severe and where climate change will bring higher temperatures and shifts in rainfall. To date, however, we know little about the relative effects of these various potential environmental stressors on migration. To examine these processes, we link longitudinal data from 850 Ugandan households with environmental data on soils, forests, and climate, and then analyze these data using approaches that account for potential spatial and temporal confounders. Our findings reveal that climate anomalies, rather than land degradation, are the primary contributor to environmental migration in Uganda, with heat stress of particular importance. Short hot spells increase temporary migration, an element of a diversified household livelihood strategy, while long-term heat stress induces permanent migration through an agricultural livelihoods pathway.

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  • Rising temperature is the most threatening component of environmental change to rural Ugandans.

    “This suggests that rising temperature is the most threatening component of environmental change to rural Ugandans (Call and Gray, 2020 [43]).”

    From A Systematic Review of International and Internal Climate-Induced Migration in Africa (2023) · cites this paper as Call and Gray, 2020 [43]

  • Climate anomalies, rather than land degradation, are the primary contributors to environmentally induced migration among Ugandan agricultural households, with heat stress being the most pressing environmental stressor.

    “Evidence suggests that climate anomalies, rather than land degradation are the primary contributors to environmentally induced migration among Ugandan agricultural households, with heat stress being the most pressing environmental stressor (Call and Gray, 2020 [43]).”

    From A Systematic Review of International and Internal Climate-Induced Migration in Africa (2023) · cites this paper as Call and Gray, 2020 [43]

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Authors
Call, M., & Gray, C.
Affiliations
  • National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (US)
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
Corresponding author
Gray, Clark
ORCID
Venue
Population and Environment
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2020-05-30
Volume
41
Issue
4
Pages
507-528
ISSN
  • 0199-0039 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-7810
DOI
10.1007/s11111-020-00349-3
PMC
PMC8442715
OpenAlex
W3031261580
Cited by
71
References
15
Citations by year
2026: 19 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 3
FWCI
11.04
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Population and Environment (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • Carolina Digital Repository (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (BCS-1226817, DBI-1639145)
  • National Institutes of Health (HD007168, HD050924)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Climate change impacts on agriculture
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law › Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology
Keywords
climate anomalies, land degradation, rural exodus, environmental migration, heat stress, hot spells, temporary migration, permanent migration, agricultural livelihoods, Uganda

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