Search

In this paper, we return to a well-worn but still very live debate: the issue of the 'development' impacts of migration. Drawing on fieldwork in three villages in Northeast Thailand where domestic and some international migration are commonplace, we focus on two often under-examined aspects of migration: the affects of migration, and in particular the affective labour that makes migration possible; and the effects of migration on farming and agriculture. We argue that migration has manifold, under-appreciated impacts on those who remain in the village, whose futures may be curtailed and aspirations thwarted. Non-migrants are not just 'left behind' in the passive sense, they may experience migration as actively constraining and limiting. There are also hidden effects of migration on farming that run counter to agrarian transition pathways promoted by many governments and multilateral agencies. We conclude by identifying three gaps in migration research that sit behind our discussion of the affects and effects of migration: the gap between production/work and reproduction/care; between migrants/the mobile and non-migrants/the immobile; and between migrant and non-migrant spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that integrating displacement considerations into (sub-) national legal and policy frameworks relating to disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) and climate change adaptation (CCA) can play an important role in preventing and preparing for displacement, protecting people during evacuation and throughout displacement, and facilitating durable solutions in the context of disasters and climate change. The manner in which displacement considerations are integrated, including in particular the extent to which human rights-based international standards and guidelines are incorporated, combined with the level of human and financial resources devoted to this issue, can affect implementation at the sub-national level. Ultimately, however, addressing internal displacement in this context is a matter of sustainable development, with DRRM focusing mostly on symptoms, rather than underlying structural causes. The argument is developed with reference to recently completed collaborative research focusing on law, policy, and practice relating to internal displacement in the context of disasters and climate change in 10 countries across Asia and the Pacific. It includes recommendations for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Farmers are ageing across Asia. This is presented as a 'problem' with implications for agricultural productivity, rural poverty and elderly care. Drawing on fieldwork in Thailand we interrogate this assumption. By examining farming as an activity within households that are occupationally diverse and spatially promiscuous, we argue that it is necessary to see farming not as a singular occupation but instead as part of livelihood complexes. We question the raw data used to construct the ageing farming problem and the causalities that flow from it, in rural Thailand and in smallholder farming across Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores mobility transitions in Thailand through the particular experience of two villages in Northeast Thailand over the period from the early 1980s through to 2009. The authors show through the mobility histories of Ban Non Tae and Ban Tha Song Korn that, while rural settlements may have always had a greater degree of mobility than the sedentary peasant paradigm suggests, important changes have taken place over the last quarter of a century in how that mobility is manifested. Personal mobility has increased; the migration of women has become as prevalent as that of men; and a mixture of daily commuting and more permanent moves have replaced seasonal circulation. In the process, mobility has created complex, multi-sited households; has led to a growing geriatrification of farming; and has altered the basis for livelihood sustainability and village resilience. Case studies of two individuals highlight these dynamics and add color to the themes the authors present. In making clear households' changing spatial signatures, the authors also seek to show how national and international development processes are imprinted in village and household histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1980s, rural settlements in the Northeast of Thailand were farming focused, and strategies of living were structured around the need to secure subsistence in the face of a capricious environment and a weak developmental state. More than half of households in the region lived below the poverty line, and the immediate prospects for ‘development’ were not bright. Drawing on a 25-year longitudinal study of two villages in Mahasarakham, the paper describes and reflects on how risk and vulnerability have been re-shaped during a quarter of a century of profound economic and social change. From largely environmental and local, the pattern of risk and opportunity have become increasingly economic and non-local as external events wash across the shores of rural settlements like Ban Non Tae and Ban Tha Song Korn. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine protected areas were established in the Philippines as early as 1974. These early models on Sumilon and Apo Islands and others set forth a framework for coral reef management that has been shown to enhance fish yields to traditional fishers as well as protect and maintain nearshore coral reef habitats for biodiversity and multiple economic uses. The history of marine protected areas in the Philippines is described in relation to their present context. Devolution of authority for management of natural resources to local governments (municipalities and cities) in 1991 is highlighted as a major national policy shift that has supported more localized management efforts. Current policies and laws that influence marine protected areas are explained in relation to field management and results. One community and local government based marine protected area on San Salvador Island is contrasted with a National Marine Park being implemented under the National Integrated Protected Areas System. Important lessons include, among others: the importance of a well-articulated process that includes community participation and ownership in collaboration with municipal governments; the role of multiple stakeholders, government, and donor agencies in planning and management; the creative use of financial mechanisms to create long-term self-supporting marine protected areas; and the need for more integrated forms of coastal management to support marine protected area networks through broad area planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors discuss how the fisher community and the government shared responsibility over time for regenerating and conserving fishery resources in San Salvador Island, Philippines, and rose above the obstacles associated with a de facto open access fishery. The article highlights the creation, management, and impact on ecosystem health, both natural and human, of a marine reserve and sanctuary. It examines key events and arrangements during three distinct phases: pre-project (before 1989), project phase (1989-1993), and post-project (1994-1998). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]