Climate, migration, and the food security context in Burkina Faso and Senegal: introducing Terra Populus

Raphael Nawrotzki, University of Minnesota
Tracy Kugler, University of Minnesota
Allison Schlak, University of Minnesota

Studies investigating the connection between climate, migration, and the local context are difficult to execute because they require the integration of microdata and spatial information. In this article, we introduce the novel publically available data extraction system Terra Populus (TerraPop), which was designed to facilitate population - environment studies. We showcase the use of TerraPop by exploring variations in the climate - migration association in Burkina Faso and Senegal based on differences in the local food security context. Food security was measured as child stunting, wasting, and underweight derived from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and linked to the TerraPop extract of climate and migration information. We find that heat waves decline international migration from Burkina Faso, while excessive precipitation increases international moves from Senegal. Significant interactions further reveal that the adverse effects of heat waves and droughts are strongly amplified in Senegalese departments characterized by high levels of food insecurity.