Challenging climate change and migration discourse: Different understandings of timescale and temporality in the Maldives

Arnall, Alex; Kothari, Uma

doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2015.01.011

Cited by 100 publications

(90 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…In considering how the interviewees view time in the context of the climate change and migration nexus, the observations here match existing work to a large degree (Brace and Geoghegan 2011;Doyle 2013;Arnall and Kothari 2015). One common theme from the interviewees was that the environmental changes they observe are localized, hence the focus on local space and place described in the previous section as well as highlighting what the islanders themselves have the possibility of changing.…”

Section: Tempophiliasupporting

confidence: 64%

“…Gaps remain in understanding the experiences of low-lying islanders in the Indian Ocean, where Maldives is often represented as a key case study for climate change and migration (Kothari 2014;Arnall and Kothari 2015). The new evidence presented in this article from the Indian Ocean archipelagos of Maldives and Lakshadweep informs the theory of understanding why islander perceptions diverge from dominant, external discourses.…”

Section: Climate Change and Migrationmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…tempophilia, contrasts with climate change discourses and images which are often presented as being the present-day threat to island communities from rising sea levels (Farbotko and Lazrus 2012;Arnall and Kothari 2015). Consequently, both views are tempophilic.…”

Section: Tempophiliamentioning

confidence: 97%

“…He shows significant acceptance amongst the Marshallese of the challenges brought by climate change, yet they understand responses to be domestic and not including migration-ultimately because they wish to stay on their islands because they are home. Time has long been studied as part of people's perceptions of changes around them and responses to those changes (Fabian 2014) including for climate change (Slawinski and Bansal 2012;Fincher et al 2014;Arnall and Kothari 2015). At times, this debate is framed as expert (or elite) understanding of the long-term future under climate change clashing with non-experts (or non-elites) who are so focused on the immediate and the present that they are unable to deal with wider, longer-term topics, such as climate change.…”

Section: Topophilia and Tempophiliamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…One common theme from the interviewees was that the environmental changes they observe are localized, hence the focus on local space and place described in the previous section as well as highlighting what the islanders themselves have the possibility of changing. Another common theme was that the sense of urgency and the future crisis indicated by elites, in Arnall and Kothari's (2015) framing, is not repeated by the Maldivians or Lakshadweepers.…”

Section: Tempophiliamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

Here and now: perceptions of Indian Ocean islanders on the climate change and migration nexus

Kelman

Upadhyay

Simonelli

et al. 2017

Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography

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Empirical studies exploring the links between climate change and migration are increasing.Often, perceptions are not fully explored from the people most affected by the climate change and migration nexus. This article contributes to filling this gap by eliciting and analyzing perceptions regarding climate change and migration from an understudied population labelled as being amongst those most immediately and directly affected by climate change: IndianOcean islanders. Open-ended, semi-structured interviews were conducted in two case study communities in Maldives (Kaafu Guraidhoo with 17 interviews and Raa Dhuvafaaru with 18 interviews) and two case study communities in Lakshadweep, India (Kavaratti with 35 interviews and Minicoy with 26 interviews). The results present the interviewees' perceptions of climatic variability and change that they experience; how they perceive the causes of these changes; and links to migration decisions. The interviews demonstrate that perceptions of climate change, of migration, and of the links or lack thereof between the two are centred on the interviewees' own experiences, their own locations, and the immediate timeframe.External information and direction has limited influence. Their perceptions are framed as being the 'here and now' through topophilia (here) and tempophilia (now). The islanders' views do not avoid, but rather encompass, long-term livelihoods and the future. Such a future might be in another location, but the anchor is expressing future hopes and aspirations through the here and now. It is not linked to the wide-scale, long-term issue of climate change.

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Section: Tempophiliasupporting

confidence: 64%

Section: Climate Change and Migrationmentioning

confidence: 69%

Section: Tempophiliamentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Topophilia and Tempophiliamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Tempophiliamentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Here and now: perceptions of Indian Ocean islanders on the climate change and migration nexus

Kelman

Upadhyay

Simonelli

et al. 2017

Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Climate change, migration, and the crisis of humanism

Baldwin

2017

WIREs Climate Change

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Climate change is more and more said to be a problem of migration. The common refrain is that climate change will bear in some way on patterns of human mobility, resulting in either insecurity, humanitarian crises, or all manner of inventive adaptive responses. The inherent challenge in such claims is, however, that of causality: the degree to which climate change influences migration alongside the myriad social, political, and economic reasons people migrate. This challenge is far from being settled. Importantly, the unsettled question of causality exposes how the crisis of humanism is central to the construction of the climate migrant or climate refugee. Coming to terms with this crisis means having to confront how issues of power and knowledge shape how we understand the relationship between climate change and migration. But even more importantly it means having to ask probing questions about what it means to be human today. The study develops these arguments through an engagement with the concept of the monster and with Timothy Morton's concept of the hyperobject. WIREs Clim Change 2017, 8:e460. doi: 10.1002/wcc.460 This article is categorized under: Trans‐Disciplinary Perspectives > Humanities and the Creative Arts

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Nationally Determined Contributions: Material climate commitments and discursive positioning in the NDCs

Mills‐Novoa

Liverman

2019

WIREs Climate Change

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In the lead‐up to the 2015 Conference of Parties meeting in Paris, 186 countries, representing over 95% of global emissions, submitted Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The NDCs outline national goals for greenhouse gas emission reductions and identify financial needs for unfolding mitigation and adaptation efforts. In this study, we review various analyses of the NDCs that cover the aggregate impact and strength of emissions reduction commitments and discuss recent literature on the adequacy and sectoral focus of the NDCs. We then argue that the NDCs are more than just goal setting reports; they are important discursive documents that are contested, negotiated, and ongoing. To supplement the existing literature, we examine the discursive narratives embedded in the NDCs from the 19 founding nations of the Climate Vulnerable Forum and the top 10 greenhouse gas emitters. Our literature review of quantitative and sectoral aspects of the NDCs highlights the inadequacy of the NDC commitments in the context of limiting warming to 2°C, discusses the uncertainties in the promised mitigation strategies, and identifies the reliance of many countries on policies such as those on forests or renewable energy. Our own analysis of the discourses in the NDCs adds critical depth by highlighting the stark contrasts in NDC discourses between North and South, as well as between historical emitters and emerging economies. These contrasts reflect deeper debates regarding justice and equity between nations within the UNFCCC negotiations. This article is categorized under: Climate and Development > Decoupling Emissions from Development

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Challenging climate change and migration discourse: Different understandings of timescale and temporality in the Maldives

Cited by 100 publications

References 48 publications

Here and now: perceptions of Indian Ocean islanders on the climate change and migration nexus

Here and now: perceptions of Indian Ocean islanders on the climate change and migration nexus

Climate change, migration, and the crisis of humanism

Nationally Determined Contributions: Material climate commitments and discursive positioning in the NDCs

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