Climate change-Migration and culture

 Firstly, we reflected on the talk held about climate change and migration that we attended.

We discussed the social factors that led to migration, mainly the movement of people from rural areas to urban areas, such as economic factors, job opportunities, and market accessibility.

Then we discussed our main lesson, climate change and migration:

Climate change involves not only physical movement but also spiritual and cultural displacement. 

Settlements are affected by climate change, such as a rise in sea level, untimely rainfall, and changing weather patterns. Climate change harms humans by displacing settlements and causing people to resettle. The community holds a particular culture that is also displaced in between. Communities are connected to nature in such a way that they consider it as important as family; they perform rituals and connect with nature through beliefs and ongoing practices. When they have to migrate due to climate change, these cultures are lost. 

E.g., climate change, like untimely rainfall, causes changes in the time and space of rituals of welcoming first rainfall in Bhutan. This same climate change can cause migration of people since timely rainfall is crucial for farmers to plant and harvest on time, but untimely rainfall can cause a decrease in the production of crops. This issue can lead to people leaving villages for a better opportunity in towns. Gung-tong (empty household) can lead to a decline in celebrating local cultural practices. 

Culture is also important in mitigating climate change. Culture can also be seen as a northern star that guides communities to tie with nature through certain beliefs and practices, like not throwing waste in lakes due to a spiritual belief, which avoids water pollution.

Therefore, culture, migration, and climate change are interconnected.

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