Page 104 - IJPS-10-4

International Journal of

Population Studies

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Navigating planetary human entanglements

through climate change-induced human
mobility in Zimbabwe: An Afrocentric

perspective from the global south

Happy Mathew Tirivangasi*
Department of Social Sciences and Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences,
University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland

Abstract

st
The central question of the 21 century revolves around increasing human entanglement.
Humans are finding it increasingly difficult to survive in the changing environment
caused by climate-induced disasters such as floods, droughts, storms, and heat waves. In
Zimbabwe, this has led to the emergence of human mobility as an adaptation strategy,
with individuals (indigenous and local) relocating to areas offering more favorable
economic and environmental conditions. This study employed Afrocentric theoretical
lenses to describe how both slow and sudden-onset climatic catastrophic events have
affected the agro-economic livelihoods of the indigenous Ndau people, forcing them to
seek better living conditions and safety. As an Afrocentric study, this research examines
*Corresponding author:
Happy Mathew Tirivangasi how historical and cultural factors influence the Ndau people’s mobility decisions. It
(happy.m.tirivangasi@jyu.fi) employed the philosophical sagacity interview method and talking cycles to collect
Citation: Tirivangasi, H.M. (2024). data from seven wards in Chimanimani, Zimbabwe. The findings reveal that the impacts
Navigating planetary human of climate change – both gradual and abrupt – have increased in frequency, intensity,
entanglements through climate duration, and location. The Ndau people have suffered frequent cyclones, storms, and
change-induced human mobility
in Zimbabwe: An Afrocentric heavy rainfall, leading to landslides and floods. These conditions have driven both short-
perspective from the global south. term and long-term climate-induced mobility. Individuals moved locally and regionally
International Journal of Population to find livelihood opportunities and their decisions were most influenced by historical
Studies, 10(4): 98-113.
https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.2983 and cultural ties through kinship. The study advocates for enhancing communities’
preparedness and adaptability to reduce vulnerabilities. It highlights the importance
Received: February 20, 2024
of strong governance, resilience strategies, environmental protections, economic
Accepted: July 12, 2024 diversification, and social support to mitigate disasters; prevent unwanted displacement;
Published Online: September 19, and manage emigration. Furthermore, European narratives often dominate discussions
2024 of African climate-related agro-migration, even though most of these migrants move
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s). within their own countries and regions. As a consequence, this study aims to amplify
This is an Open-Access article African narratives on human mobility and climate change adaptation.
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution, Keywords: Climate change; Mobility; Adaptation; Afrocentricity; Migration; Africa
and reproduction in any medium,
provided the original work is
properly cited.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with 1. Introduction
regard to jurisdictional claims in st
published maps and institutional The central question of the 21 century revolves around increasing human entanglement
affiliations. (Moyo & Ndlovu-Gatsheni, 2022). Humans are increasingly struggling to survive

Volume 10 Issue 4 (2024) 98 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.2983