BEAT THE HEAT aims to analyse the coping and adaptation capacities of different vulnerable groups in the neighbourhoods of Lunetten, Utrecht, The Netherlands and Karail in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Based on this comparative empirical study, we will develop a) a variety of local-led coping and adaptation strategies for heat stress taken by different vulnerable groups; and b) concrete action perspectives for local governments/NGOs for enhancing such capacities, and to have governance arrangements in place for those who cannot cope but want to stay at their place (voluntary non-migrants). 

• dr. Heleen Mees

• prof. dr. Dina Siegel
• mr. dr. V. (Vasileios) Gerasopoulos

• prof. dr. Ajay Bailey

Natural disasters and environmental change are major drivers for temporary or permanent migration. In the context of changing global climate, it is important to understand the “push” factors as related to migration decision-making. Also important, the EU-funded HoMe project will investigate the factors contributing to non-migration decisions. It will formulate a new analytical framework for examining the historical grounding of migration decisions. It will develop a model to explain migration patterns and to predict future migration decisions. The results will provide insight into climate change-induced migration and the rationale of staying put, which is absent from current policy dialogue in the emerging field of environmental non-migration.

The HoMe (Historical Grounding of Migration Decisions of People at Environmental Risks) project will provide insights on historical reasons of migration decisions (to migrate or to not migrate) of people at environmental risks. Current research on environmental migration claims that mostly the poor are migrating due to disaster. However, motivations of environmental non-migration go beyond resources constraints and are understudied and not yet understood as migration decisions. The factors contributing to non-migration are supposed to be not simply the inverse of those that motivate to migrate. Rather it is assumed, non-migration is also influenced by the settlement history of a community. Going beyond the state-of-the-art, this project will develop for the first time an analytical framework using Ostrom’s socio-ecological system framework for examining the historical grounding of migration decisions. Second, it will model how changes of the social, political and environmental conditions over time influence migration decisions using agent-based modelling. Third, the model will be used to explore possible future migration decisions based on alternative scenarios of changing societal and environmental conditions in the future making use of the findings from the influence of the historical grounding. This novel and timely study will significantly advance scientific knowledge on environmental migration and the respective modelling capabilities, particularly in the emerging field of 'Environmental Non-Migration'. Results will provide a major contribution to global adaptation policy frameworks, including the SDGs and the EU’s Agenda on Migration. The realisation of this cutting-edge project will substantially support the applicant to achieve higher level of professional maturity. It will be hosted by two excellent, highly experienced and internationally renowned institutes: University of Colorado Boulder (outbound) and Technische Universität Dresden (inbound).

• Prof. Lori M. Hunter (CU Boulder
• USA); Prof. Jochen Schanze (TU Dresden
• Germany)