Realities of leaving. Why people are moving out of Zambia's troubled South

The nature and causes of migration in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa are still poorly understood. University of Bath researchers surveyed two neighbouring yet contrasting areas of southern Zambia to track where people were moving, and why. Internal migration tends to be at least in part a response to population overload and to land hunger arising from drought and other environmental damage. Unregulated migration of rural people to more fertile and higher rainfall rural areas further north was found to be a dominant pattern, more common than regulated movement from one rural area to another or from rural to urban areas. Contrary to received wisdom, social conflicts and problems are major causes of these movements.

Survey data arose from two qualitative studies done in different areas of Southern Province, Zambia. The Gwembe valley is a relatively harsh and drought-prone environment with a long history of people moving away from it. Monze district was until recently a relatively prosperous farming area, with above average population density and infrastructure. Key research findings were that:

• nearly half of Gwembe migrants moved to farming areas, mostly elsewhere in Southern Province
• close to 60 percent of Monze migrants moved to farming areas north of Lusaka
• contrary to the simple idea that people usually move owing to economic reasons, the majority of migrants said they were moving because of social conditions at home
• 75 percent of Monze migrants said social conflicts that limit access to farming resources (notably land and farming implements) were their main reason for moving
• migrants and their families maintained some social contact, mainly through attending funerals. But these relations are of only minor economic importance.

Three main policy implications arise from the dominant flow of migration from rural areas in Southern Province to rural northern areas, where locals have different cultural, social and agricultural practices from Southern Province people.

• Precautionary land use policies must be developed to prevent the influx of migrant families from disadvantaging local populations. Immigrant families often grow rapidly, want large areas of land to farm and are used to different types of local land controls.
• Planning for new roads, markets, schools and clinics is crucial in migrant destination areas, which typically have little infrastructure, to help them make a successful move.
• Planning for sustainable land use will help head off a domino effect whereby the same environmental and social problems that prompted the current wave of migration from the South, blight other areas.

Source(s):
Economic and social components of migration in two regions of Southern Province, Zambia. Centre for Development Studies Working Paper by Lisa Cliggett (1997) Full document.

Funded by: UK Department for International Development (1996-1997), US Fulbright (1994-1995), US National Science Foundation (1996-1998)

id21 Research Highlight: 1998-August-08

Further Information:
J. Copestake
Centre for Development Studies
University of Bath
Bath BA2 7AY
UK

Tel: +44 (0)1225 826826
Fax: +44 (0) 1225-323423
Contact the contributor: hssjgc@bath.ac.uk

University of Bath