Migration and reclamation in Northeast China in response to climatic disasters in North China over the past 300?years |
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Authors: | Yu Ye Xiuqi Fang Mohammad Aftab U Khan |
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Institution: | (1) School of Geography, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China;(2) Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Geneva, Switzerland |
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Abstract: | Climatic disaster-induced migration and its effects on land exploitation of new settlements is a crucial topic that needs
to be researched to better understand the impact of climate change and human adaptation. This paper focuses on the process
and mechanism of migrant–reclamation in Northeast China in response to climatic disasters over the past 300 years. The research
used comparative analysis of key interlinked factors in this response involving drought/flood events, population, cropland
area, farmer revolts, administrations establishment, and land reclamation policies. It draws the following conclusions: (1)
seven peaks of migrants–reclamation in Northeast China were evident, most likely when frequent climatic disasters happened
in North China, such as the drought–flood in 1851–1859, drought in 1875–1877, and drought 1927–1929; (2) six instances of
policy transformation adopted to cope with extreme climatic events, including distinctive examples like changing to a firm
policy prohibiting migration in 1740 and a subsequent lifting of that prohibition in 1860; and (3) the fast expansion of the
northern agricultural boundary since the middle of the nineteenth century in this area benefited from a climate change trend
from a cold period into a warm period. Altogether, over the past 300 years, extreme climatic disasters in North China have
deepened the contradiction between the limited land resources and the rapidly increasing population and have resulted in migration
and reclamation in Northeast China. Climate, policy, and reclamation constructed an organic chain of response that dominated
the land use/cover change process of Northeast China. |
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