Household access to capital and its effects on drought adaptation and migration: a case study of rural Alberta in the 1930s |
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Authors: | Genevieve Gilbert Robert McLeman |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Geography, University of Ottawa, Room 015 Simard Hall, Ottawa, ON, K1N 6N5, Canada; |
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Abstract: | This article reports findings from an empirical study of the impacts of drought on rural households in southeastern Alberta,
Canada during the 1930s. In that decade, extreme summer heat conditions and low precipitation levels led to repeated crop
failures. These extreme climatic conditions coincided with economic recession, falling commodity prices, and rising unemployment
to create widespread hardship and suffering across the rural population. Thousands of households adapted by leaving the drought-stricken
region and migrating to more northerly regions unaffected by drought, often suffering still further hardship as they reestablished
themselves in a new environment. Through secondary research of historical documents and interviews with surviving migrants
and non-migrants, this study identifies how economic, human, and social capital influenced the adaptive capacity, adaptation
decisions, and migration behavior of rural households and describes how institutional responses affected household adaptation.
Differential access to capital in its various forms was a key factor that distinguished households that adapted via migration
from those that did not. The findings from this study of historical environment-related population change provide insights
that enhance our broader understanding of potential future migration responses to the impacts of anthropogenic climate change
and important considerations for policy-makers and planners seeking to build adaptive capacity in rural populations. |
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