The impacts of environmental change and degradation on human populations, including the possibility of sharp increases in the number of people considered “environmental migrants” have gained considerable attention. Migrating communities may try to distribute their members along particular lines of kinship, gender, marriage and/or services linked to land exploitation and agriculture. This paper explores archives and narratives of African migrants in northwestern Benin and northeastern Ghana. These regions have been marked by severe ecological change and resource deterioration over the years, as well as changes in marital patterns, family relations and customary practices. In the case of Benin, the paper looks at different ethnic groups that migrated from neighboring countries to the study region. It then focuses on the Biali, who undertake marriage journeys after practicing rituals, which are often related to agricultural activities. The Frafra (Ghana), who, in their bid to out-migrate as a livelihood/coping strategy in the advent of environmental deterioration and rainfall variability, are confronted with high bride prices, changing family relations and customary practices. The paper concludes by highlighting socio-cultural changes that ensue in the face of outmigration among different ethnic groups, especially the Biali and Frafra, and the relationship between non-environmental and environmental factors, and mobility strategies.
References
[1]
Yaro, J.A. Migration in West Africa: Patterns, Issues and Challenges; Centre for Migration Studies, University of Ghana: Legon, Ghana, 2008; pp. 1–17.
[2]
Arthur, J.A. International labour migration patterns in West Africa. Afr. Stud. Rev. 1991, 34, 65–87, doi:10.2307/524120.
[3]
Adepoju, A. Patterns of Migration in West Africa. In At Home in the World? International Migration and Development in Contemporary Ghana and West Africa; Manuh, T., Ed.; Sub-Saharan Publishers: Accra, Ghana, 2005.
[4]
Quan, J. Changes in Intra-Family Land Relations. In Changes in “Costumary” Land Tenure Systems in Africa; Cotula, L., Ed.; International Institute for Environment and Development: London, UK, 2007; pp. 51–63.
[5]
De Haas, H. The Myth of Invasion: Irregular Migration from West Africa to the Maghreb and the European Union. IMI Research Report; University of Oxford: Oxford, UK, 2007.
[6]
De Haas, H. Irregular Migration from West Africa to the Maghreb and the European Union: An Overview of Recent Trends. No. 32; International Organization for Migration: Geneva, Switzerland, 2008.
[7]
Adepoju, A. Illegals and expulsion in Africa: The nigerian experience. Int. Migr. Rev. 1984, 18, 426–436, doi:10.2307/2545878.
[8]
Anarfi, J.; Kwankye, S.; Ababio, O.M.; Tiemoko, R. Migration from and to Ghana: Background Paper. Migration DRC Working Paper, No. C4; Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalization, and Poverty: Sussex, UK, 2003; pp. 1–38.
[9]
Brouwers, J.H.A.M. Rural People’s Response to Soil Fertility Decline: The Adja Case (Benin); Wageningen Agricultural University: Wageningen, The Netherlands, 1993.
[10]
Hessling, M. La Solidarité Africaine est encore une Realité: A Study of Urban Migration in Benin, West Africa(in French). In Proceedings of the National Conference of Untergraduate Research, Asheville, NC, USA, 6–8 April 2006.
[11]
Adepoju, A. Issues and recent trends in international migration in Sub-Saharan Africa. Int. Soc. Sci. J. 2000, 52, 383–394.
[12]
Le Meur, P.Y. State making and the politics of the frontier in Central Benin. Dev. Change 2006, 37, 871–900, doi:10.1111/j.1467-7660.2006.00505.x.
[13]
Yaro, J.A.; Codjoe, S.N.A.; Agyei-Mensah, S.; Darkwah, A.; Kwankye, S.O. Migration and Population Dynamics: Changing Community Formations in Ghana. Centre for Migration Technical Working Paper, No. 2; University of Ghana: Legon, Ghana, 2011.
[14]
Cleveland, D.A. Migration in West Africa: A savanna village perspective. Africa 1991, 61, 222–246, doi:10.2307/1160616.
[15]
Killingray, D. Military and labour recruitment in the gold coast during the Second World War. J. Afr. Hist. 1982, 23, 83–85, doi:10.1017/S0021853700020259.
[16]
Van der Geest, K. The Dagara Farmer at Home and Away: Migration, Environment and Development in Ghana. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2011.
[17]
Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). Socio-Economic and Demographic Trends Analysis. Population Data Analysis Reports; GSS: Accra, Ghana, 2005.
[18]
Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). Patterns and Trends of Poverty in Ghana: 1991–2006; GSS: Accra, Ghana, 2007.
[19]
Dietz, A.J.; Ruben, R.; Verhagen, A. The Impact of Climate Change on Drylands with aFocus on West Africa; Kluwer Academic Publishers: Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2004; Volume 39, pp. 149–171.
[20]
Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). 2000 Population and Housing Census: Summary Report of Results; GSS: Accra, Ghana, 2002.
[21]
Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). 1984 Population and Housing Census of Ghana: Special Report onLocalities by Local Authorities; GSS: Accra, Ghana, 1989.
[22]
Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). 2000 Population and Housing Census: SummaryReport of Final Results. GSS: Accra, Ghana, 2012.
[23]
Armah, F.A.; Yawson, D.O.; Yengoh, G.T.; Odoi, J.O.; Afrifa, E.K.A. Impact of floods on livelihood and vulnerability of natural resource dependent communities in northern Ghana. Water 2010, 2, 120–139, doi:10.3390/w2020120.
[24]
Nabila, J.S. Rural Depopulation in Northern Ghana with Special Reference to the Migration of the FraFra People. In Proceedings of the West African Regional Seminar on Population Studies, Accra, Ghana, 30 November–4 December 1972.
[25]
Hashim, I. Research Report on Children’s Independent Migration from Northeastern Central Ghana; Development and Research Centre on Migration: Brighton, UK, 2005.
[26]
International Organization for Migration (IOM). Migration au Bénin: Profile National 2011; IOM: Geneva, Switzerland, 2011.
[27]
Zinzindohoué, E. Etat des Lieux de la Sécurité Alimentaire Dans le Département del’Atacora (au Nord Ouest du Bénin) et Analyse des Politiques Publiques. (in French); Centre for Education and Research in Humanitarian Action (CERAH): Genève, Switzerland, 2012.
[28]
National Institute of Statistics and Economic Analysis (INSAE). Cahier des villages et quartiers de ville Département de l’Atacora, Direction des études Démographiques(in French). INSAE: Cotonou, Benin, 2004.
[29]
Doevenspeck, M. Migrations rurales, accès au foncier et rapports interethniques au sud du Borgou (Bénin) Une approche méthodologique plurielle. Afr. Spectr. 2004, 39, 359–380. (in French).
[30]
Abdul-Korah, G.B. “Now if you have sons you are dead”: Migration, gender and family economy in Twentieth Century Northwestern Ghana. J. Asian Afr. Stud. 2011, 18, 390–403, doi:10.1177/0021909611400016.
[31]
Myers, N. Environmental refugees. Popul. Environ. 1997, 19, 167–182, doi:10.1023/A:1024623431924.
[32]
Castles, S. Environmental Change and Forced Migration: Making Sense of the Debate; United Nations High Commission for Refugees: Geneva, Switzerland, 2002; Volume 70, pp. 1–14.
[33]
Myers, N. Environmental refugees in a globally warmed world. BioScience 1993, 43, 752–761, doi:10.2307/1312319.
[34]
Scheffran, J.; Marmer, E.; Sow, P. Migration as a contribution to resilience and innovation in climate adaptation: Social networks and co-development in west Africa. Appl. Geogr. 2012, 33, 119–127, doi:10.1016/j.apgeog.2011.10.002.
[35]
Homer-Dixon, F.T. On the threshold: Environmental changes as causes of acute conflict. Int. Secur. 1991, 16, 76–116, doi:10.2307/2539061.
[36]
Black, R. Environmental Refugees: Myth or Reality?. New Issues in Refugee Research; United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees: Geneva, Switzerland, 2001; Volume 34, pp. 1–19.
[37]
Black, R.; Adger, W.N.; Arnell, N.W.; Dercon, S.; Geddes, A.; Thomas, D.S.G. The effect of environment al change on migration. Globle Environ. Change 2011, 21, S3–S11, doi:10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2011.10.001.
[38]
Nkomo, J.C.; Nyong, A.O.; Kulindwa, K. The Impacts of Climate Change in Africa. In Final Draft Submitted to the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change; Institute for Security Studies: Pretoria, South Africa, 2006; pp. 1–51.
[39]
De Bruijn, M.; van Dijk, R.; Foeken, D. Mobile Africa: An Introduction. In Mobile Africa: Changing Patterns of Movement in Africa and Beyond; de Bruijn, M., van Dijk, R., Foeken, D., Eds.; Bril: Leiden, The Netherlands, 2001; pp. 1–7.
[40]
Schapendonk, J. Turbulent trajectories: Sub-Saharan African migrants on their way to the European union. Societies 2012, 2, 27–41, doi:10.3390/soc2020027.
[41]
De Bruijn, M. Mobility and Society in the Sahel: An Exploration of Mobile Margins and Global Governance. In Cultures of Migration: African Perspectives; Hahn, H.P., Klute, G., Eds.; LIT Verlag: Münster, Germany, 2007; pp. 109–128.
[42]
Skinner, E.P. Labour migration and its relationship to socio-cultural change in mossi society. Africa 1960, 30, 375–401, doi:10.2307/1157599.
[43]
Sanders, T. Territorial and Magical Migrations in Tanzania. In Mobile Africa: Changing Patterns of Movement in Africa and Beyond; de Bruijn, M., van Dijk, R., Foeken, D., Eds.; Bril: Leiden, The Netherlands, 2001; pp. 27–46.
[44]
Sanders, T. Beyond Bodies: Rainmaking and Sense Making in Tanzania; University of Toronto Press: Toronto, ON, Canada, 2008.
[45]
Cassiman, A. Home and away: Mental geographies of young migrant workers and their belonging to the family house in Northern Ghana. Hous. Theory Soc. 2008, 25, 14–30, doi:10.1080/14036090601151210.
[46]
Fortes, M. Some aspects of migration and mobility in Ghana. J. AsianAfr. Stud. 1971, 6, 1–20.
[47]
Grindal, B.T. Why the Young Leave Home: Witchcraft, Authority and the Ambiguity of Evil in Sisaland. In Ghana’s North: Research on Culture, Religion, and Politics of Societies in Transition; Kroger, F., Meier, B., Eds.; Peter Lang: Frankfurt, Germany, 2003; pp. 45–59.
[48]
Ghana Statistical Service (GSS). Internal Migration. Migration Research Study in Ghana; GSS: Accra, Ghana, 1995; Volume 1.
[49]
Frempong-Ainguah, F.; Badasu, D.; Codjoe, S.N.A. North-South Independent Child Migration: The Push and Pull Factors. In Independent Migration of Children in Ghana; Anarfi, J., Kwankye, S.O., Eds.; Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), University of Ghana: Legon, Ghana, 2009; pp. 71–100.
[50]
Lentz, C. Land, Mobility, and belonging in West Africa; Indiana University Press: Bloomington, IN, USA, 2013.
[51]
Mensah-Bonsu, A. Migration and Environmental Pressure in Northern Ghana. Ph.D. Thesis, Free University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2003.
[52]
Mohammed, J.A.; Apusigah, A.A. Report of Baseline Study on Human Trafficking and Forced Labour in Northern Ghana; International Labour Organization: Accra, Ghana and Geneva, Switzerland, 2005. Available online: https://www.academia.edu/1625770/Human_Trafficking_and_Forced_Labour_in_Ghana (accssed on 11 October 2013).
[53]
Kiansi, Y. Impact du mariage Biali sur le développement dans la sous-préfecture de Matéri(in French). Master Thesis, Université Abomey Calavi, Abomey Calavi, Benin, 1993.
[54]
Kouagou, A.M.N. Fondements Socioculturels de la Persistance du Mariage Par échange en Milieu Berba de Matéri au Bénin(in French). Master Thesis, Université Abomey Calavi, Abomey Calavi, Benin, 2012.
[55]
Houngbo, E.N. Dynamiques de Pauvreté et Pratiques Agricoles de Conservation de l’Environnement en Milieu Rural Africain. Le cas du plateau Adja au Sud du Bénin(in French). Ph.D. Thesis, Université d’Abomey-Calavi, Abomey Calavi, Benin, 2008.
[56]
Botchi-Morel, C. Femmes et Développement Durable en Afrique Noire. Essai de Compréhension de la Relation Entre le Contexte Matrimonial Ajatado du Kufo et le développement Durable(in French). Ph.D. Thesis, Université de Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland, 2007.
[57]
Cindy, F.C.; Ling, L. Marriage and migration in transitional China: A field study of Gaozhou, Western Guangdong. Environ. Plann. 2002, 34, 619–638, doi:10.1068/a34116.
[58]
Chauveau, J.P.; Jacob, J.P.; le Meur, P.-Y. L’organisation de la mobilité dans les sociétés rurales du Sud. Autrepart 2004, 30, 3–23. (in French), doi:10.3917/autr.030.0003.
[59]
Lange, A.D. “In Sulemitenga Things Are There”: A Study on the Images of the West Northeast Ghana. Master Thesis, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2003.
[60]
Hart, K. Migration and tribal identity among the frafras of Ghana. J. Asian Afr. Stud. 1971, 6, 21–36, doi:10.1177/002190967100600102.
[61]
District Planning and Coordinating Unit (DPCU). Strategic Environmental Assessment of Bongo District Medium Term Development Plan from 2010–2013 under the National Framework; Bongo District: Bongo, Ghana, 2010.
[62]
District Capacity Building Project (DISCAP). Decentralised Poverty Monitoring and Evaluation Exercise: Bongo District; Regional Planning and Coordinating Units: Bolgatanga, Ghana, 2005.
[63]
Der, B.G. God and sacrifice in the traditional religions of the Kasena and Dagaba of Northern Ghana. J. Relig. Afr. 1980, 11, 172–187, doi:10.1163/157006680X00124.
[64]
Amenga-Etego, R. Mending the Broken Pieces: Indigenous Religion and Sustainable Rural Development in Northern Ghana; Africa World press: Trenton, NJ, USA, 2011.
[65]
Roncoli, C.; Crane, T.; Orlove, B. Fielding Climate Change in Cultural Anthropology. In Anthropology and Climate Change: From Encounters to Action; Crate, S., Nuttal, M., Eds.; Left Coast press: Walnut Creek, CA, USA, 2009; pp. 81–115.
[66]
Eguavoen, I. Climate change and trajectories of blame in Northern Ghana. Anthropol. Noteb. 2013, 19, 5–24.
[67]
Eguavoen, I.; Schraven, B. The Ambiguous Representation of the Savannah Landscape and Its New Political Relevance in Ghana. In Rural development in Northern Ghana; Yaro, J.A., Ed.; Nova Science Publishers Inc.: Hauppauge, NY, USA, 2013; pp. 207–223.
[68]
Cornevin, R. La République Populaire du Bénin: Des Origines Dahoméennes à Nos jours(in French). Maisonneuve et Larose: Paris, France, 1981.
[69]
Arenstam, G.S.J.; Nicholls, R.J. Island abandonment and sea-level rise: An historical analog from the Chesapeake Bay, USA. Global Environ. Change 2006, 16, 40–47.
[70]
J？ger, J.; Frühmann, J.; Grünberger, S.; Vag, A. Environmental Change and Forced Migration Scenarios, Synthesis Report. Available online: http://www.each-for.eu/documents/EACH-FOR_Synthesis_Report_090515.pdf (accssed on 11 October 2013).
[71]
McLeman, R.; Smit, B. Migration as an adaptation to climate change. Clim. Change 2006, 76, 31–53, doi:10.1007/s10584-005-9000-7.
[72]
Mercier, P. Tradition, Changement, Histoire: Les “Somba” du Dahomey Septentrional. (in French); Anthropos: Paris, France, 1968; p. 533.
[73]
Biondi, G.; Rickards, O.; Martinez-Larbarga, C.; Taraborelli, T.; Cimenelli, B.; Gruppioni, G. Biodemography and genetics of the berba of benin. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 1996, 99, 519–535, doi:10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199604)99:4<519::AID-AJPA2>3.0.CO;2-P.
[74]
Institut National de la Statistique et de l’Analyse Economique (INSAE). Répartition spatiale, Structure par sexe et age et migration de la Population du Bénin. (in French); INSAE: Cotonou, Benin, 2003; Volume 1.
[75]
Henson, B.J.; Tomkins, B. A Sociolinguistic Survey of the Biali Language Area. SIL Electronic Survey Report, 2011-011; International Society of Limnology (SIL): Dallas, TX, USA, 2011.
[76]
Piguet, E. Linking climate change, environmental degradation, and migration: A methodological overview. Wires. Clim. Change 2010, 1, 517–524, doi:10.1002/wcc.54.
Interview extract: Mussa, Mossi Male-Age: 47 years, Nodi Tula, 19 March 2013, duration: 60 min.
[79]
Interview extract: Mansur, Mossi Male-Age: 42 years, Tantéga, 22 March 2013, duration: 55 min.
[80]
Policy Quarterly Report N. 5181 for the French General West African Government, Natitingou, 25 April 1933. 7,. Benin National Archives, Porto Novo, Republic of Benin, Box 1E47.
[81]
Colonial Circular N. 907 written by the Lieutenant Governor of Dahomey for the Atacora Circle, 26 April 1923. 4,. Benin National Archives, Porto Novo, Box 1E42.
[82]
Odotei, I. Ghanaian Migrant Fishermen in the Republic of Benin; Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana: Accra, Ghana, 1991.
[83]
Overa, R. Institutions, Mobility and Resilience in the Fante Migratory Fisheries in West Africa; Chr. Michelsen Institute for Development Studies and Human Right: Bergen, Norway, 2001.
[84]
General Report N. 106 on the general situation of the Circle of Atacora during the year 1914 for the General French West African Government, 15 February 1915. 25–26,. Benin National Archives, Porto Novo, Box 1E42.
[85]
Interview extract: Bukari, Zarma Male-Age: 29 years, Tantéga, 22 March, 2013, duration: 60 min.
[86]
Alber, E. Within the Thicket of Intergenerational Sibling Relations: A Case Study from Northern Benin. In The Anthropology of Sibling Relations: Shared Parentage, Experience, and Exchange; Albert, E., Coe, C., Thelen, T., Eds.; Palgrave Macmillan: New York, NY, USA, 2013; pp. 73–96.
[87]
Meillassoux, C. Femmes, Greniers et Capitaux. (in French); Editions Maspèro: Paris, France, 1975.
[88]
Webber, P. Agrarian change in Kusasi, North-East Ghana. J. Int. Afr. Inst. 1996, 66, 437–457, doi:10.2307/1160961.
[89]
Plange, N.K. Underdevelopment in Northern Ghana: Natural causes or colonial capitalism? Rev. Afr. Polit. Econ. 1979, 6, 4–14.
Meier, B. Living in the Bush: Representations of Urban Life Among Northern Ghanaian Migrants. In Ghana’s North: Research on Culture, Religion, and Politics of Societies in Transition; Kroger, F., Meier, B., Eds.; Peter Lang: Frankfurt, Germany, 2003; pp. 61–78.
[92]
Interview extract: Ben, Frafra Male-Age 36 years, Gowrie-Kunkua, 25 March 2012, duration: 42 min.
[93]
Interview extract: Michael, Frafra Male-Age 29 years, Bongo-Tingre, 10 October 2012, duration: 58 min.
[94]
Grier, B. Pawns, porters and petty traders: Women in the transition to cash crop agriculture in colonial Ghana. Signs 1992, 17, 304–328.
[95]
Awumbila, M.; Arddayfio-Schandorf, E. Gendered poverty, migration and livelihood strategies of female porters. Nowag. J. Geogr. 2008, 62, 171–179.
[96]
Cassiman, A. Home call: Absence, presence and migration in rural northern Ghana. Afr. Identities 2010, 8, 21–40, doi:10.1080/14725840903438269.
[97]
Adaawen, S.A.; Owusu, B. North-South migration and remittances in Ghana. Afr. Rev. Econ. Financ. 2014, 5, 1–39. in press.
