Coastal vulnerability and migration in Ghana
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Date
2015-04-17
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Ghana
Abstract
Coastal vulnerability to sea level rise and other hazards is expected to
push migration due to loss of land, habitat and livelihood security. The
migration literature on Ghana rarely links coastal environmental
systems with migration. This study aimed (i) to assess the
vulnerability of Ghana's coasts to inundation and erosion (ii) to
explore the relation between coastal vulnerability and population
change through migration. We used data from Ghana's 2000 and 2010
Population and Housing Censuses and remotely sensed data to
develop a coastal vulnerability index (CVI) comprising physical and
socioeconomic vulnerability. The physical vulnerability index (PVI)
was based on coastal elevation, geomorphology, geology, local
subsidence,. shoreline change, tidal range and wave height. The
socioeconomic vulnerability index (SVI) was based on economic
activity, socio-demographic characteristics and housing conditions.
Due to unavailability of explicit out-migration data at the district level,
we estimated net migration using the Census Survival Ratio method.
The results of the PVI revealed that districts in the farthest western
and eastern coasts are highly vulnerable. The SVI showed the eastern
coastal districts as the most vulnerable. Consequently, three districts
in the eastern coast of Ghana with the highest combined CVI also tend
to have very high deficit migration. Simple linear regression models
show a negative correlation between coastal vulnerability and net
migration. The technique employed in this study provides an
improved assessment of coastal vulnerability and contributes to
evaluating the environment-migration nexus
Description
School of social sciences colloquium
Keywords
coastal vulnerability index (CVI), migration, livelihood security, Housing Censuses, socioeconomic vulnerability index (SVI)