Climate Change, Environment and Migration in the Sahel : Selected Issues with a Focus on Senegal and Mali

The research project micle – “Migration, Climate and Environmental Changes in the Sahel” –
investigates the social-ecological conditions of population movements in Mali and Senegal.The overall goal of the project is to contribute to a better understanding of the complex relationships between (climate-related) environmental changes and migration, following an inter- and transdisciplinary approach.
This first working paper of the research project provides a summarized state-of-the-art of selected issues analyzed within the project:
•an outline of the current scientific debate on climate change, environment and migration
•climatic and environmental conditions in the Sahel in general and Mali and Senegal in particular
•the changing patterns of migration into and from West Africa
•the most important international, regional and national policies concerning migration in both countries
•an overview of the conceptual approach of the micle project.
The Sahel, and particularly West Africa, has a long history of population movements and represents a multitude of migration patterns and trajectories. For a few years now, internal and international migrations have increased in both countries. However, causes and motives for migration are manifold, and the relationship between ecosystem changes and population mobility is complex.