Introduction

This book aims to demonstrate the complex interplay between environmental change and the development of migration aspirations and trajectories in the Moroccan context. Its objective is to show how environmental changes have resulted in the development of migration aspirations and have caused people to migrate over the last decades and, at an accelerating speed, continue to do so. Migration has been of all times and spaces, and people have migrated, both voluntarily and involuntarily, for environmental, economic, political, humanitarian, social, and cultural reasons (Castles et al. 2014). However, recently, environmental changes seem to have put other migration reasons increasingly under pressure (Massey 1990; Massey et al. 1998; Bates 2002; Carling 2002, 2014; De Haas 2010a, b; McLeman and Gemenne 2018b). More particularly, the increasing rate and altering nature of environmental changes add urgency to already existing factors encouraging migration (Evans 2009; TGOFS 2011; IPCC 2014) and even trigger new migratory movements (Gemenne and Blocher 2016).

Connecting Environmental Changes, Migration Causality, and Transnational Practices. Insights from the Moroccan Diaspora in Belgium

In this chapter we turn to relevant findings arising from fieldwork conducted in Belgium in the context of the MIGRADAPT project. Although the Moroccan case study that forms the core of this book must be interpreted independently from the empirical data provided in this chapter (and vice versa), both case studies hinge on the same theoretical framework and are, as such, inherently complementary and connected, although not meant to be directly comparative.

Applying Insights of Theories of Migration to the Study of Environmental Migration Aspirations

The growing interest in environmental migration has led to a wide range of organisations raising awareness on this topic. Politicians and policymakers, for instance, are using arguments that reference environmental migration in their political discourses or increasingly reflect on how to manage this seemingly emerging trend. The rise of this topic on ‘the agenda’ of policymakers, politicians, non-governmental organisations, and artists, to name a few, immediately calls for some scientific support, framing, or input, which is suddenly in high demand. Also, from a scientific perspective, how people are dealing with ongoing and increasing environmental changes lays bare existing social, ethnic, and gender inequalities. To be specific, when studying environmental changes and disasters, more knowledge can be derived about a society’s social and economic structure, relationship dynamics, and the nature of its adaptation capacity. Additionally, more knowledge can be gained about how external communities or countries are related to the studied society (Oliver-Smith 1999).

Research Context and Methods

This book contributes to wider research efforts undertaken under MIGRADAPT, which stands for: Making Migration Work for Adaptation to Environmental Changes. A Belgian Appraisal. This project is funded by the Belgian Science Policy Office (Belspo) and is a joint collaboration between four Belgian institutions: Liège University’s Hugo Observatory (Coordinator); Université Libre de Bruxelles’s CEDD (Centre d’Etudes du Développement Durable), University of Antwerp’s CeMIS (Center for Migration and Integration Studies); and the Royal Museum for Central Africa.

The Nexus Between Environmental Changes, Culture of Migration, and Migration Aspirations

In this chapter, I delve deeper into the role played by ‘cultures of migration’ in the development of migration aspirations in both Tinghir and Tangier, and how these cultures of migration interact with environmental factors. This chapter builds further on previous insights from migration systems theory, which posits that migration results in multiple flows of material goods, ideas and money (Mabogunje 1970; Levitt 1998). In other words, this theory states that migration results in more than exchanges and flows of people. By building further on the concept of ‘cumulative causation’ (Myrdal 1957), migration systems theory advances that migration results in the transformation of social and economic structures, facilitating more migration. This idea is crucial to fully understand the development of migration aspirations because it pays attention to how contextual feedback loops can either positively or negatively stimulate the further development of migration aspirations (De Haas 2010). Hence, cultures of migration are established through the information sent by emigrants that have left a given region and provide feedback on their migration experiences in the country of destination to their migrant networks living in their region of origin and which ultimately result in shared ideas and beliefs on migration in a particular region (Timmerman et al. 2014).

Perceptions and Explanations of Environmental Change in Morocco

As demonstrated in the previous chapters, land in Morocco is mainly used for farming and pastoral activities. These activities are more vulnerable to the consequences of increased precipitation and drought due to climate change. Various modern and traditional adaptation strategies – among which migration to urban centres or abroad – have been used to deal with environmental changes. This suggests that a large share of inhabitants are in some way aware of the changes in their natural environment and already familiar with adaptation strategies (Schilling et al. 2012; Mertz et al. 2009). However, in most studies, researchers focusing on this topic do not relate this to people’s overall views on environmental change and the adaptation strategies employed by the actors involved. When they do, they hardly focus on people living in the MENA region (Nielsen and D’haen 2014); West-Africa (Mertz et al. 2010, 2012; Afifi 2011; De Longueville et al. 2020); DR Congo (Bele et al. 2014; Few et al. 2017); and India (Howe et al. 2014). The only exception is the study on Morocco by Nguyen and Wodon (2014); Wodon et al. 2014). Hence, it is unclear how these environmental changes are actually perceived and how they influence the ways people view and respond to them, and (actively) develop adaptation strategies to deal with such changes (cf. Chap. 10.1007/978-3-030-61390-7_6). This is especially important since perceptions of environmental changes and the risks associated with them vary across and within cultures (Vedwan 2006; Mertz et al. 2009, 2010; Leclerc et al. 2013). Furthermore, there is a perception bias with regard to the perceived environmental changes, as some types of changes, such as rainfall patterns, are more easily noted and compared to others, such as temperature changes (Howe et al. 2014; Few et al. 2017; De Longueville et al. 2020; Bele et al. 2014). Additionally, people mainly remark on changes when these apply to their livelihood activities (Bele et al. 2014; Howe et al. 2014; Wodon et al. 2014; De Longueville et al. 2020). In current research and policymaking, ongoing debates on environmental migration and displacement too frequently assume that everyone perceives environmental change in a similar fashion. This becomes problematic in debates on environmental migration or climate refugees when environmental changes are assumed to automatically result in some kind of (forced) migration, leaving little space for the views and agency of the people involved (Stern 2000; McLeman and Gemenne 2018; Khare and Khare 2006; Rigby 2016).

How Environmental Change Relates to the Development of Adaptation Strategies and Migration Aspirations

The focus on perceived environmental changes and risks is a necessary precondition before people’s vulnerabilities and abilities to migrate can be taken into account (Adam 2005). This approach contrasts with previous research on environmental migration that has mainly focused on the vulnerabilities of people towards environmental changes. This vulnerability approach is, for instance, widely used in reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC 2014) and refers to the potential loss or harm one encounters or could encounter when facing environmental changes. This vulnerability is assumed to depend on the nature of the physical risks one could be exposed to and inherent sensitivity one has. The latter refers, for instance, to the type of economic activities of a community. For example, communities that rely heavily on agricultural activities are more sensitive to water scarcity and suffer more from drought, than other communities. It is within this framework that migration is often seen as a potential adaptation strategy to deal with environmental changes (Smit and Wandel 2006; Gemenne 2010). However, this framework hardly considers people’s own perceived vulnerabilities or risks or resilience towards environmental change. Hence, this vulnerability approach diminishes the agency of the actors involved and their active role in the development of migration aspirations and trajectories related to environmental changes and risks. Furthermore, as already stated by McLeman et al. (2016), the use of this framework of adaptation and the focus on the use of vulnerability may not encompass all drivers of environmental migration. This could certainly apply to the Moroccan context in which environmental changes mostly occur gradually and are to a lesser extent immediately visible to the human eye.

Environmental Change and Migration in Morocco: What Has Been Done So Far?

Before we delve further into the relationship between migration and environmental change, it is important to gain more insight into the migration history of Moroccans going abroad and the specific environmental changes faced by people in Morocco. Therefore, in the first part of this chapter, we outline the history of Moroccan migration to Europe in general and to Belgium in particular. Morocco provides an interesting case of study with regard to environmental migration, as in the second half of the twentieth century, Morocco evolved into one of the world’s leading emigration countries. Moroccan migration is one of the unexpected outcomes in which colonial migration, labour migration, family reunification, and, most recently, undocumented migration combine. Hence, there is a high degree of internal differentiation and dynamics within the migrant population of Morocco (De Haas 2007).

How Environmental Changes Result in Migration Aspirations and Other Adaptation Strategies of Moroccan Inhabitants and Migrants in Belgium

This book provides a unique approach to the Moroccan context. Many researchers have conducted fieldwork in Morocco, departing from migration studies (e.g., De Haas 2003, 2006, 2010; Czaika and De Haas 2011; De Haas and El Ghanjou 2000), while others solely focused on environmental and climate changes (e.g., Schilling et al. 2012), leaving the interplay between both to be explored more in-depth. The Moroccan context offers a unique research context because it is confronted with gradual environmental change over the last decades and has initiated considerable action at the national level to develop policies or strategies to counteract these changes. Hence, Morocco in 2019 ranked among the leading countries in the fight against climate change on the Climate Change Performance Index (Burck et al. 2019). Furthermore, Morocco evolved into one of the world’s leading emigration countries in the second half of the twentieth century, being characterized by unexpected developments, including colonial migration, labour migration, family reunification, and, recently, undocumented migration. This led to a high degree of internal differentiation within the Moroccan migrant population and strong and influential migrant networks (De Haas 2007; Schilling et al. 2012; cf. Chap. 10.1007/978-3-030-61390-7_3).