Human Capital and Mobility at the Service of the Green Economy

Over the course of the last decade, the uncertainty and gloomy forecasts of global poverty, inequality and climate change impact on socio-ecological systems in the next few years have given impetus to calls and widespread global resolve to decouple economic development from environmental and natural capital degradation and enhance sustainable development .These concerns have largely informed the ongoing global shift and growing emphasis on green economy as a sustainable growth strategy to stem this scenario and to build the sustainable “Future We Want” and more recently, to “build back better” from the COVID-19 pandemic. The vision of green economy is to be realised by instituting the necessary measures, strategies and policies to facilitate sustainable development, just, inclusive and resilient societies for all. Following the launch of the EU Green Deal in 2019, and the increasing global shift to green economy, it is envisaged that these initiatives would help to address the challenges of technical skills gaps and skills shortage in facilitating the transition to green economy. In spite of the corresponding ongoing efforts to promote regular migration channels, skills development and to attract talent from abroad, there has been limited policy and scientific discussion on the link and the critical role of migration in contributing to the green economy. This has thus underscored the need to examine the potential of labour migration, human mobility, skills development and transfer to address the skills requirements of the green economy. This discussion paper aims to contribute to the growing scientific and policy discussion by exploring the links between human mobility and the green economy. The discussion would help to identify points of entry and avenues to leverage labour migration in propelling the transition to greater sustainability, and building inclusive, just and resilient societies and argues for the inclusion of labour (migration) and mobility as part of green growth strategies.By exploring existing good examples and lessons learnt, this paper identifies pointers as to how they could be replicated in other countries. Also, the paper highlights gaps in current understanding of the topic and proposes further avenues for discussion and research in this domain. The paper argues for the inclusion of labour (migration) and mobility as part of green growth strategies<br/

Understanding Climate Change and Drought Perceptions, Impact and Responses in the Rural Savannah, West Africa

Rural societies in West Africa have long employed a variety of coping and adaptation strategies to periods of climate variability and risks. These strategies have mostly been shaped by prevail-ing indigenous knowledge systems and shared understandings of the underlying causes of cli-mate events. Despite the increasing scientific and policy attention to climate perceptions and integration of indigenous knowledge in climate change policy development and governance, there is still a lag in going further to probe and consider the socio-cultural and cognitive systems that shape local appreciation of climate change risks and responses. Based largely on qualitative interviews, and complementary household surveys, the paper draws on the concepts of ‘mental’ and ‘cognised’ models to examine drought and climate change risk perceptions and responses in the rural savannah of North-eastern Ghana. Local farmers generally allude to changes in rainfall patterns and prolonged intra-seasonal dry spells. Based on subscriptions to local models of blame in explaining climate risks and impacts, it is also seen that prevailing socio-cultural beliefs and understandings of environmental events tend to inform the responses of farmers in address-ing these perceived risks and impacts. The call is for ongoing policy processes to consider the complexity, different actors and context (socio-cultural, institutional, power structures) in enhancing sustainable adaptation and mitigation measures in vulnerable rural communities

North-SouthMigration and Remittances in Ghana

Migrant remittances play an important role in the economic development and the improvement of household welfare in Ghana. The movement of youth from rural Northern Ghana to the South has been a recurrent  research focus. This paper examines the dynamics of north-south  migration of the youth and resulting remittances in Ghana using Accra and Kumasi as study areas. The paper shows that the youth embark on the southward journey with the anticipation of getting employed so as to earn money to be able to remit to support and improve the wellbeing of relations back home. Also, the paper highlights that the young migrants remit varying amounts of money. These monies have been put to different uses, much of which is used in buying food for consumption, the  maintenance of the household and other ventures. The study notes that the mode of savings, the duration and place of stay, the level of income and sex to a larger extent determine the amount of money, frequency and the likelihood that a migrant will remit at any point in time. Most  importantly, the migration of the youth from Northern to Southern Ghana and the remittances sent, play an important role in improving household wellbeing.Keywords: Remittances, Northern Ghana, North-South Migration, Accra, Kumasi, Sus

Narratives of Migration : Complex Answers of a Society in Transformation, Ghana

Northern Ghana, by virtue of its location in the semi-arid Savannah Ecological Zone is not only exposed to environmental risks and effects, but also generally characterised by persistent migration of people to the southern fringes of the country since time immemorial. In consequence, migration in the area has often been attributed to the effects of climatic and environmental change on the livelihoods. Yet, recent debates on the environmental change and migration nexus have been contentious. Empirical evidence in the area and the West African point to a highly mobile Sahel, where population movements have generally characterised and shaped the social organisation and population dynamics of the people. These observations have necessitated the need for research to transcend the environmental change question in order to fully appreciate migration dynamics in the region. In line with these ongoing scientific debates on the migration-environmental change interrelationship within the Sahel, this research engages the question of an unambiguous relationship between climate change impacts on agrarian livelihoods and productivity on the one hand, and migration dynamics on the other hand, in Northern Ghana. Based on qualitative data and complementary quantitative statistical data in the Bongo District of north-eastern Ghana, the research draws on the concepts of ‘cultures of migration’ and ‘travelling models’ to examine the following research questions: how do people perceive climate change and its impact on agriculture in the area? What is the relationship between persistent outmigration and the effects of environmental risks in northern Ghana? And lastly, how has migration evolved and affected agriculture, development and population dynamics in the study area? The research points to observed changes in the climate and environmental conditions in the study area. These observed changes are manifested in the highly variable and erratic rainfall pattern as well as high temperatures that have characterised the area. The local climate change narratives in the area indicate a period of ‘good’ rainfall pattern and buoyant agriculture hitherto the droughts and famines that hit the Sahel in the early 1980s. However the situation in recent times has been a highly variable rainfall pattern, high temperatures and prolonged seasonal dry spells. This has invariably affected the mainstay of rain-fed agriculture and with implications for food security and poverty reduction in the area. Aside from environmental changes, the issue of broken gutters and mismanagement of irrigation infrastructure, lack of agricultural inputs, declining soil fertility and lack of land have all contributed to the declining yields over the years. In spite of suggestions to the effect that recent variability in rainfall pattern accounts for the poor agriculture in the area, historical rainfall data and general climate models seem to give the impression of rainfall anomalies being a characteristic of the climatic regime of the area and hence may not be a recent occurrence. As such, recent claims of changes in the rainfall pattern in the Bongo area may stem from people’s accumulated knowledge of past experiences and current environmental happenings. Nonetheless, observed changes in the rainfall pattern and declining agricultural productivity in the area have been attributed to moral transgression and disregard for customs and traditions. On the other hand, other people also subscribe to conventional scientific explanations like the destruction of forest vegetation and unfavourable farming practices in the area. This has seen interventions aimed at tackling climate and environmental changes and the poor agricultural yields along cultural and scientific models of blame. The research further highlights migration in Northern Ghana as a very complex phenomenon that has generally been part of the way of live of people. It is elaborated that migration is one of the responses that people make in the bid to cope with declining agricultural productivity, high levels of poverty and general food insecurity in the area. In addition to the conventional north-south migration of mostly males, the area has witnessed an imperceptible in-migration of persons into the district. A new migration trend that is gathering momentum, however, is the movement of persons, mostly middle aged women, to work as farm hands or labour in the rural areas of the Northern Region of Ghana. The research notes that although the role of failing agriculture in contributing to movement cannot entirely be discounted, there is not enough evidence to suggest that climatic/environmental change directly accounts for migration of people, as climate determinists may want to state as the situation in Northern Ghana. The research recognises that environmental risks and the associated effects may be true of the situation in the study area and as such people migrating as a coping strategy. But the same can be said of migration being an enduring theme in the area. Environmental risks and effects may thus be contextual or background factors to migration, but historical antecedents and changing socio-cultural constellations have served to sustain these movements by establishing enduring ‘cultures of migration’ in the area. Human mobility in the Bongo area and for that matter Northern Ghana is thus envisioned to be an integral part of the social lives of the people rather than a spontaneous or ‘knee-jerk’ response to environmental risks. The effects of migration in the in the study area have been both positive and negative. Apart from migrant remittances contributing to improvement in household welfare, the prolonged duration of stay at destination areas has seen changes in household structure and the shortage of the needed household labour for the strenuous small-scale farming, which is typical of farming activities in northern Ghana. Also, it is also shown that migrants as agents of change have contributed to community development and social transformation in the Bongo area. Migrant returnees have contributed to infrastructural development, the transfer of knowledge and experience in farming techniques. In-migrants, on the other hand, have contributed in imparting knowledge, employable skills and stimulating economic activities in the area. It is further highlighted that in spite of the persistent exodus of people, there is a seemingly growing disinterest in migrating to the south of the country. The growing disinterest stems from the unfavourable economic conditions and bad experiences of people who have returned from southern Ghana in recent times. From the empirical insights therefore, the research acknowledges that the effects of environmental risks on livelihoods and economic motivations cannot entirely be absolved in the explanation of migration dynamics in the study area. It is, however, stressed that the migration phenomenon is inalienably part of the socio-cultural and economic organisation of rural communities in Northern Ghana. The overemphasis of environmental risk factors and natural resources scarcity as the primary causes of migration in the area may therefore be insufficient and unsustainable. This is because migration is rooted in the minds of people and hence will continue to be persistent irrespective of the environmental, climatic and agricultural situation in the area. In view of this, the research therefore makes several policy recommendations at dealing with the loss of human capital, poverty reduction, bridging the north-south development gap in the country and improving agriculture as well as effective environmental management

A transnational family story:A narrative inquiry on the emotional and intergenerational notions of ‘home’

At the core of migratory experiences lie key questions pertaining to one’s emotional changing Self: the complexity of conflicting identities, feelings of (un)belonging, varying degrees of emotional place (un)attachment, and the fundamental (re)conceptualizations of ‘home. Though well-studied from various angles, ‘home’ asan emotional concept in the context of generational family migration research has many gains yet to be made. Through an in-depth study on three generations of one author’s own family, this paper provides personal insight into the intergenerational and emotional dimensions of this topic. Unanimously, the findings demonstrate that notions of ‘home’ as where family is remain predominant, with ties to transnationally dispersed family members rendering ‘home’ as multiple. Places of familial heritage further remain central in conceptualizations of ‘home’ through a retainment of cultural practices and values derived from familial homelands. Despite these cross-generational similarities, challenges and emotional uncertainties on the topic are seen to be increasingly prevalent in the youngest generation. Above all, interviewees’ post-migration reflections demonstrate that such conceptualizations are intricate, relational and do not exist in an emotional vacuum

‘I am Here to Peidu’:Children's Education as a Motive for Women's Return Migration

This study investigates the relationship between children's education and return migration patterns among Chinese migrant women through the practice of peidu (accompanying children during their studies). Drawing on in-depth interviews with 11 mothers aged 30–55 and participant observations in Qianshan, we examined how and why migrant women shape their return migration decisions around their children's education. Our research is contextualised within the existing literature on circular migration, structural constraints, upward social mobility, and the challenges faced by both transnational and internal peidu mothers. The findings reveal that mothers' primary motivation for returning is their aspiration to enhance their children's life opportunities through education. We observed an intergenerational shift in parenting approaches, with peidu evolving from accompanying children through senior high school to supporting younger children's education, reflecting changing childcare norms in China. The study also highlights how internal peidu mothers navigate emotional pressures while balancing full-time employment with childcare responsibilities and how their access to family support varies depending on their proximity to schools versus family networks. The post-peidu period frequently triggers thoughts of spousal reunion, which can occasionally lead to renewed outmigration, suggesting that educational accompaniment plays a significant role in shaping circular migration patterns.</p