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Perceptions of migration as an adaptation strategy in the face of environmental changes in three regions of Senegal

Abstract

This paper explores perceptions of mobility in relation to the coping strategies of households and communities of origin in three regions of Senegal affected by environmental change: the Gandiolais, the groundnut basin and the Futa Toro. Thus, this paper first presents the impacts of major environmental changes that affect them, and then thematically analyses the perceptions of internal migrants and non-migrant villagers with regard to migrants' monetary remittances. Finally, we show that there are high expectations from origin households towards their migrants in terms of contribution to adaptive capacities. The importance given to mobility by migrants and non-migrants as an internalized, often unconscious means of adaptation partly explains the reluctance observed for return migration and a certain prevalence of long-term migration as a major adaptation strategy.