Environmental Migration in Mexico: Developing Institutional Capacity to Meet Emerging Challenges
(2025) In IIIEE Master Thesis IMEM02 20251The International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics
- Abstract
- In the face of climate change, environmental migration has become a pressing issue, particularly for countries like Mexico, which are highly vulnerable to climate-related risks and have a long-standing history of structural inequality. Although the environmental drivers of migration have been widely acknowledged, the institutional capacity to address the challenges that accompany them remains underexplored. In this sense, this research examines how environmental migration is addressed in Mexico, employing a qualitative approach that combines documentary analysis with semi-structured interviews. The study applies an adapted institutional capacity framework encompassing eight dimensions: planning instruments, technical and human capacities,... (More)
- In the face of climate change, environmental migration has become a pressing issue, particularly for countries like Mexico, which are highly vulnerable to climate-related risks and have a long-standing history of structural inequality. Although the environmental drivers of migration have been widely acknowledged, the institutional capacity to address the challenges that accompany them remains underexplored. In this sense, this research examines how environmental migration is addressed in Mexico, employing a qualitative approach that combines documentary analysis with semi-structured interviews. The study applies an adapted institutional capacity framework encompassing eight dimensions: planning instruments, technical and human capacities, financial resources, political will and prioritisation, coordination and integration, public participation and agency, knowledge, research and data, and climate justice. The findings indicate that, although there is a growing recognition of the links between climate change and human mobility, institutional responses remain fragmented, underdeveloped, and largely reactive. The absence of a national policy framework, limited coordination across sectors, and weak financial and technical capacities constrain the ability to respond in a timely and effective manner. Public participation is virtually absent, and efforts are often led by civil society or depend on local political will. However, recent efforts, such as the relocation of the community of El Bosque, the first one acknowledged by the Mexican government as climate-displaced, point to opportunities for advancing the agenda and enhancing and adapting existing mechanisms for risk reduction to the context of environmental migration. This research highlights the importance of adopting a participatory and planning approach that enhances institutional capacity and integrates environmental migration into comprehensive climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9209788
- author
- Hernandez Orozco, Luz Adriana LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- IMEM02 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- environmental migration, climate change, institutional capacity
- publication/series
- IIIEE Master Thesis
- report number
- 2025:29
- ISSN
- 1401-9191
- language
- English
- id
- 9209788
- date added to LUP
- 2025-08-19 09:34:20
- date last changed
- 2025-08-19 09:34:20
@misc{9209788,
abstract = {{In the face of climate change, environmental migration has become a pressing issue, particularly for countries like Mexico, which are highly vulnerable to climate-related risks and have a long-standing history of structural inequality. Although the environmental drivers of migration have been widely acknowledged, the institutional capacity to address the challenges that accompany them remains underexplored. In this sense, this research examines how environmental migration is addressed in Mexico, employing a qualitative approach that combines documentary analysis with semi-structured interviews. The study applies an adapted institutional capacity framework encompassing eight dimensions: planning instruments, technical and human capacities, financial resources, political will and prioritisation, coordination and integration, public participation and agency, knowledge, research and data, and climate justice. The findings indicate that, although there is a growing recognition of the links between climate change and human mobility, institutional responses remain fragmented, underdeveloped, and largely reactive. The absence of a national policy framework, limited coordination across sectors, and weak financial and technical capacities constrain the ability to respond in a timely and effective manner. Public participation is virtually absent, and efforts are often led by civil society or depend on local political will. However, recent efforts, such as the relocation of the community of El Bosque, the first one acknowledged by the Mexican government as climate-displaced, point to opportunities for advancing the agenda and enhancing and adapting existing mechanisms for risk reduction to the context of environmental migration. This research highlights the importance of adopting a participatory and planning approach that enhances institutional capacity and integrates environmental migration into comprehensive climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies.}},
author = {{Hernandez Orozco, Luz Adriana}},
issn = {{1401-9191}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
series = {{IIIEE Master Thesis}},
title = {{Environmental Migration in Mexico: Developing Institutional Capacity to Meet Emerging Challenges}},
year = {{2025}},
}