Trajectories of Environmental Migrants: Understanding Migration Destinations of the Coastal Population in Kerala, India

While there is a growing focus on ‘who are environmental migrants,’ the questions ‘where do they go?’ and ‘why there?’ have often been overlooked. We address this gap with data gathered from interviews with migrant and non-migrant households. Our results indicate those fleeing from environmental stress often move to nearby areas, sometimes shifting multiple times before settling down permanently. We also found that climate conditions of the potential destination, its geographic and social proximity to area or origin, and affordability are the most influential factors in destination selection. The relative importance of these factors varied significantly according to respondents’ occupation and migration status.