Making Migration Work for Adaptation. A Belgian Appraisal (The MIGRADAPT Project)

In the dichotomy between migrants and refugees/asylum-seekers, the former are typically cast as economically motivated, and set apart from refugees fleeing war and persecution. Yet environmental changes are increasingly a part of complex migration journeys calling into question the distinction made between migrants and refugees. At the same time, in international negotiations on climate change, migration is increasingly presented as a possible adaptation strategy to the impacts of climate change. However, only few studies exist to show under which conditions migration could actually be a feasible adaptation strategy, and none of them address migration to Belgium. This is the goal of the MIGRADAPT project. This paper sets the theoretical framework of this project which is delineated into two major components; 1) To analyse the role of environmental factors as influencing traditional migration drivers throughout migrants fragmented journeys (with a particular attention to perceptions), and 2) To understand under which socio-economic and political conditions migrants in Belgium can support the adaptation and resilience of their communities of origin.