Adaptive Migration: Climate Change, Climate Migration, and Climate Adaptation in Peru's Highlands Communities.

In the current debate about climate-induced migration some scholars argue that rather than understanding migration as a failure to cope with climate change, we should view it as a means of adapting to it. To scrutinize this argument and assess the applicability of the notion of "adaptive migration" the paper examines the role migration plays in the climate adaptation of Peru's highland communities. Drawing on research in two communities located in the country's southwestern highlands, it shows how climate change impacts agriculture and water management threatening the villagers' lives and livelihoods. It also investigates the communities' climate adaptation options and discusses how the villagers deal with them. Moreover, the paper explores how migration intersects with these options especially regarding crop shifts and reorganization of irrigation routines. Lastly, it discusses the range of activities migrants engage in in their home communities highlighting those that contribute to climate adaptation. The paper argues that given that all migrations entail a process of adaptation, the term "adaptive migration" is redundant. Even so, the paper's data suggest that returning migrants sometimes act as promotors and implementors of climate adaptation. To foreground these migrants, the paper encourages scholars to apply the term "migratory adaptation" instead of "adaptive migration." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]