Redrawing Humanity’s Map

This book, which combines eight years of research, is about the impact of climate extremes on human migration and displacement. The author addresses how climate impacts and the associated environmental changes are reflected in our social systems. It furthermore provides examples in what ways governments promote or hinder adaptation to climate change with a view to human mobility. Individuals and institutions are already searching for sustainable solutions across the migration cycle to uplift communities. In numerous countries the author conducted qualitative interviews and focus group discussions with people who had to leave their ancestral homelands due to climate impacts, with groups trying to support them, and also with those who want to prevent migration. These exchanges produced not only a compendium of scientific work, but also a complex overall picture and a personal impression of the state of our planet and the people who live on it.

Migration is part of our history, the history of humanity. But increasingly climate shocks are shaping human geographies, threatening coastlines, flooding settlements and heating up cities. The book provides insights into the different contexts in which people experience the effects of climate change and how it shapes their migration decisions. Many have become uprooted wanderers because increasing storms, droughts, and floods drive them away repeatedly. High levels of socio-economic inequality leave people exposed to food insecurity in the aftermath of disasters. Their testimony holds a powerful warning: Climate protection is the prerequisite for human development.