South-South Migration Dynamics between Mozambique and Malawi: The Impact of Climate Change and Socioeconomic Factors (1980-2023).

• Grant number: 24/21600-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: June 01, 2025
• End date: February 29, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Demography - Spatial Distribution
• Principal Investigator: Roberto Luiz Do Carmo
• Grantee: Tomás Pita Cebola
• Host Institution: Instituto de Filosofia e Ciências Humanas (IFCH). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This project aims to analyze the transformations in South-South international migration, focusing on Malawian immigrants in Mozambique from 1980 to 2023. It argues that while the early 1980s saw the civil war in Mozambique (1976-1992) shape the migration of Mozambicans to Malawi and their return after the end of the war (1992), current migration has increasingly been driven by economic and environmental factors affecting the world, resulting in "climate migration" (Renaud et al., 2007). With the growing presence of multinational corporations and mega-projects exploiting natural resources such as coal, gas, oil, gold, and precious stones (Patrício, 2016; Mosca and Selemane, 2011; Raimundo, 2011), Mozambique has witnessed an increase in immigrant flows, including Malawians, who constitute the largest group of immigrants in the country (INE, 2017). However, the hypothesis is raised that economic attractions as a migratory driver should be analyzed in conjunction with the increasingly frequent environmental disasters in the region, including cyclones such as IDAI (2019) and the constant cycles of floods and droughts, which have led to migration of affected populations in both countries (Fauvet, 2023; WORLD BANK, 2023). Investigating the factors contributing to migration in the Southern Africa region, focusing on Mozambique and Malawi and considering the environmental issue, offers an original and still underexplored contribution to the urgent global debate on the environmental consequences of migration.