Risk of Environmental & Climate Migration: Evidence from Banjul Gambia

Nfamara K Dampha– Mar 14, 2019

Several studies explore the nexus between migration, climate change, and other environmental challenges. However, there is limited investigation using both qualitative and quantitative methods in establishing the above linkages based on households’ risk perception.

Using a household survey approach, we find that avoiding climate and environmentally-induced migration requires pro-activeness in reducing households’ risk and enhancing their adaptive capacity. Anchored on the New Economics Theory, households in The Gambia’s capital city, Banjul are employing migration, as an early avoidance behavior strategy to avert devastating climate change impacts (e.g. rising sea levels) threatening the island city. Accordingly, the findings of our study revealed as follow.

First, net migration rate in Banjul has declined by 113% between 1983 and 2013.

Second, 64% of current households in Banjul express positive Willingness to Migrate (WTM) any time before 2050 with an if condition.

Third, on average, current households in Banjul are 33% more likely to migrate if they perceive that climate and environmentally-induced factors are primarily responsible for the city’s high out-migration rate, ceteris paribus.

Fourth, over 30,000 Islanders in Banjul are at risk of becoming Environmental Migrants (EMs) with a mean global Sea Level Rise of 1.0m by 2100, if no aggressive adaptation is considered now.

And finally, according to the British Environmentalist, Norman Myers and a recent World Bank report (2018) there are over 60 million EMs (2 times more than UN recognized refugees) globally and that estimate is projected to range from 143 to 200 million by 2050, including 86million from Sub-Saharan Africa.

Among others, we recommend that The Gambia government and Islanders in Banjul utilize internal migration as a risk-reduction and adaptation strategy for sustainability purposes. And for long-term planning, the government needs to commence a national consultation to strategically identify and gradually mobilize resources to develop a second capital city for the benefit of current and future generations of Gambians.

Shrinking Islands, the impact of climate change, Gambia and Senegal

ActionAid International The Gambia– Dec 5, 2017

This video is produced under the Agro-ecology and Resilience Project being implemented by ActionAid which seeks to improve the welfare of poor and vulnerable communities in The Gambia and Senegal. It shows the impact of climate change on four islands namely: Fayako, Rofangue, Diamniadio and Maya in the Department (District) of Foundiougne, Kaolack Region in Senegal. The islands are shrinking as a result of the rising sea level.

Rising sea levels threaten UNESCO site in Senegal | Al Jazeera English

Al Jazeera English – Apr 15, 2018

The island of Saint Louis in Senegal was listed in 2000 as a UNESCO World Heritage site, but it has since fallen into disrepair. Without urgent intervention, more than 300 years of colonial history could be lost as rising sea levels gradually swallow up the city. Now, hundreds of climate migrants are on the move.

Senegal’s former capital threatened by rising sea levels

AFP News Agency – May 22, 2013

St Louis, the former colonial capital of Senegal and one of the country’s most popular tourist destinations, is today under threat from rising sea levels. A sad example of the threat was provided by Doun Baba Dieye, a nearby village which has been completely submerged. Duration: 01:44

Rising Sea Levels Challenge Fishermen in Senegal

Voice of America – Jul 23, 2019

Saint Louis, Senegal is home to generations of fishermen who say they know no other life or way to make a living. But rising sea levels and new international regulations are forcing them to change how they work. Esha Sarai has more. Originally published at – https://morigin.voanews.eu/a/5010961….

Rising sea levels threatening many livelihoods at Senegal’s coast

CGTN Africa– Sep 19, 2015

The effects of global warming are threatening many livelihoods in Senegal. The country’s coastline, which supports large amounts of income streams is rapidly being eroded. Leslie Mirungu reports.

Rising Sea Levels Endanger Senegalese Islands

Voice of America – Dec 2, 2015

Senegal’s Saloum Delta region is an egregious example of how rising sea levels caused by global warming endanger coastal communities around the world. Zlatica Hoke reports on the damage being caused by sea salt on the Senegalese islands.

Senegal faces rising sea levels, expanding deserts

Al Jazeera English – May 9, 2022

World leaders and delegates are meeting in Ivory Coast’s capital Abidjan to find ways to protect biodiversity. The main goal of this COP 15 meeting is to stop fertile land from becoming desert. The United Nations estimates that 12 million hectares (30 million acres) of arable land is lost every year. Al Jazeera’s Nicolas Haque reports from an affected village of Nadialde in Senegal’s Podor region.

Saint Helena: Breathtaking nature in one of the most remote places on earth | DW Documentary

DW Documentary – May 20, 2022

The small island of St. Helena in the South Atlantic is home to unique fauna and flora. Many of the more than 400 species living here are found nowhere else in the world. To ensure that it stays that way, the inhabitants are committed to preserving biodiversity in extraordinary ways.

It is one of the most remote, isolated corners of the world, a small island of volcanic origin in the southern Atlantic Ocean. Located between southern Africa and South America, the remote island became famous as the former French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte’s place of exile. Today, St. Helena is still a British overseas territory.

St. Helena is also an insider tip for explorers and true nature lovers. The main reason is its breath-taking natural beauty, which thrives in a temperate subtropical climate. In order to preserve their homeland and its unusual biodiversity, the locals – the “Saints”, as the islanders proudly call themselves – decided to come together to protect it. Their achievements have surpassed all expectations.

A wildlife and nature film that showcases this unique island at the ‘end of the world’ – and its astonishing environmental victories.

Man unknowingly buys former plantation house where his ancestors were enslaved

60 Minutes May 15, 2022

An Air Force veteran wanted a new house for large family gatherings; he ended up getting an incredible link to his family’s past. #60Minutes #BlackHistory #News “60 Minutes” is the most successful television broadcast in history. Offering hard-hitting investigative reports, interviews, feature segments and profiles of people in the news, the broadcast began in 1968 and is still a hit, over 50 seasons later, regularly making Nielsen’s Top 10.