FS 3.125: Environmental change and migration

Migration has always been connected to mountains. Looking for resources, seeking refuge or searching for better living conditions people have been settling in mountains or out-migrating from them for centuries. During the last decades, many European mountainous areas suffer from depopulation, aging, increased leaving of young women and young educated people and lack of access to basic services. At the same time, tourism, several promising entrepreneurial possibilities, remote working and, mainly, highly repulsive urban way of living, make certain mountain regions attractive for permanent or semi-permanent habitation. Environmental changes, including changes in climate, nature, biodiversity, land-use, ecosystem services etc., are increasingly impacting societies both outside and within mountain areas, including migration. Will increased urban heat push people to higher elevations? Will environmental decline further drain mountains from their last residents? In this session, we welcome papers exploring different patterns, motivations, impacts of migration, both permanent and semi-permanent, to/from mountains: What are the causes behind it, how ready are mountain regions to support newcomers, which populations and industries are mostly affected, etc. We especially welcome papers including challenges/opportunities imposed by environmental change effects, aiming to shed light on one of the most decisive factors of the near future.