ABSTRACT
In this opening chapter, we introduce the main topic and focus for our book – Indigenous communities affected by out-migration – mostly from the perspective of village governance and land management. We make the case that in areas with significant out-migration, the migration–environment nexus involves not only demographic change and the de-territorialization of rural livelihood, but also changes in resource use, and – crucially – change and continuity in village governance. We argue that community is thus an essential component of migration–environment linkages in many rural areas, which cannot be understood without analysing how land use and territorial governance institutions are impacted and respond as migration drives or exacerbates change. After outlining the broad trends of demographic change and changing rural livelihoods that our study area shares with much of Latin America and much of the rural Global south, we briefly introduce Oaxaca, southern Mexico. We end with an explanation of the book’s structure and provide brief chapter synopses.
