We explain what migration is and the types of migration that can occur in animals and humans. Also, its causes and consequences.
What is migration?
When we talk about migration, we refer to movement of human populations (or animals, as the case may be) from a usual origin to a new permanent destination where they once again establish their home. It is a term used in the sociological and also biological field, depending on whether we are talking about human migrations or animal migrations.
In the case of animals, these movements can be regular, according to a mating calendar, or definitive, due to pressures of another nature; But in the case of human populations it is usually a more complicated issue, motivated by diverse reasons and which also impacts the target society.
Migration is a phenomenon that humanity has been accustomed to since ancient times since there have always been groups that for one reason or another leave their place of residence to found new towns or join existing ones.
In fact, migrations have been a powerful source of cultural, racial and economic diversity throughout history, which has fostered development through exchange.
However, migration does not always occur in a happy context. Also There are abundant cases of displaced people due to war, famine or natural disasters. who seek asylum and new opportunities in other latitudes, not to mention exiles and populations expelled for racial or political reasons from their homelands, becoming outcasts or wandering citizens until they return to found a home elsewhere.
See also: Urbanization
Types of migration
We have already said that there are two forms of migration, depending on whether we are talking about animals or human beings. However, in the latter case, we can also talk about certain migratory categories, which are:
- Depending on how long the trip lasts. We can speak of temporary migrations, in which the population spends time away from their place of origin and later returns there; or permanent migrations, in which a non-return journey is undertaken to another place.
- Depending on the nature of the displacement. Depending on whether the move is voluntary or not, we can talk about voluntary migration or forced migration, respectively.
- Depending on the destination of the trip. We can talk about internal migrations, when the destination is chosen within the same country, or external migrations, when it is an international destination.
Expand in: Types of migration
Causes of migration
In the case of animal migration, the causes generally have to do with two things:
- Winter and the reproductive season. Many species flee the coming cold by traveling south, or travel over long distances to return to a specific mating or spawning location.
- Habitat alterations. They occur when something breaks the ecological balance of their habitat: the arrival of new species, environmental pollution or natural disasters.
The causes of human migration, however, can be more diverse:
- Economic crisis, poverty or famine. When living conditions in a country or region deteriorate beyond what is bearable, it is common for human populations to begin to migrate, seeking opportunities elsewhere.
- Wars and armed conflicts. Violence often makes cities and countries uninhabitable, forcing their inhabitants to flee to peaceful areas or areas unrelated to the conflict.
- Exiles and persecutions. Changes in the political regime usually entail radical changes in the rules of the game of society, and in these cases some people or groups are forced to abandon their homes and their lives, expelled out of the country, or flee to save their lives.
- Natural disasters. Cataclysms, climate disasters, major industrial or energy accidents, and a large number of accidents that make life difficult in the place of origin.
Consequences of migration
Human migrations usually have great repercussions in both the place of origin and destination, such as:
- Demographic changes. This includes the emptying of cities and regions from the place of origin, generating a cultural and economic vacuum that sometimes complicates things even more for those who remain, and the massive arrival of migrants to the place of destination, generating greater demand for local resources. .
- Cultural and ethnic exchange. The mixture and miscegenation, the hybridization of cultures and races, provides new and fresh inputs both to the destination society and to the genetic pool of its population, enhancing difference, variety and cultural richness.
- Changes in economic dynamics. Emigrants often send money to family members left behind, which represents a new and additional economic movement at the destination. At the same time they provide labor power to their new society and sometimes the wealth they bring with them.
- Xenophobia. Resistance to migration by the inhabitants of the destination can reach dangerous limits and trigger violence, racism and other extreme manifestations.
