The Political Ecology of Philippine Migration in a Changing Climate

Abstract

In a warming planet, climate variability, extreme weather events, and sea-level rise are putting pressure on poor and precarious rural and urban households to seek livelihood opportunities abroad. This phenomenon is evident in the Philippines, a country highly vulnerable to climate change and a leading exporter of migrant workers. This paper examines the intricate relationship among climate change impacts and interventions, (mal)adaptation of poor rural and urban households, and climate-induced (im)mobility. While the Philippine literature already demonstrates many of the complexities of the climate-migration nexus, there is still a need to examine understudied topics such as the effects of both climate change impacts and interventions, the role of other environmental and economic crises that overlap with climate change, and the implications of and conditions leading to climate immobility. Uncovering these additional complexities, especially through a political ecology lens, emphasizes the need to interrogate and inform both migration and climate/disaster governance.