PhD Project: Mongkon Thongchaithanawut (IfGR, University of Vienna)

Duration: 2021 – 2024

Funding: Ernst Mach Grant ASEA-UNINET

Abstract

Changing climate potentially increases risks to human systems, including health, livelihoods, food security, water supply, human security, and economic growth. It is acknowledged that migration is one among several responses to tackle climatic threats. However, the nexus between climate change and migration remains poorly documented. This study examines how interplay among various drivers, including the environment, determine rural population to migrate and explores the influence of climate shocks in places of origin and destination on migrants themselves, their left-behind members, and the circulation of financial remittances. This study is based on empirical research in Thailand and Vietnam. The panel datasets, Thailand Vietnam Socio Economic Panel (TVSEP), and the gridded time-series climate datasets, CRU TS, are employed to come up with evidence, thereby contributing to the literature on climate-related migration as well as migration-as-adaptation.