Sara Vigil

Dr. Sara Vigil is a Senior Research Fellow in the Gender, Environment, and Development research cluster at SEI Asia, where she leads SEI’s Global Migration and Mobility Programme.

She is a critical social scientist working on the interconnections between climate change, migration, gender,(mal)adaptation, land grabbing, and human rights. Sara employs political economy and feminist political ecology approaches to uncover the multi-scalar drivers and impacts of environmental destruction and migration, striving for equitable policy outcomes. As the lead of the Migration and Mobility Programme, she seeks to expand SEI’s work on migration globally. Sara is committed to addressing socio-environmental injustices through interdisciplinary research and collaborative approaches.

Sara has consulted for numerous international organizations, including the International Organization for Migration, the Danish Refugee Council, UN Women, FAO, UNCCD, and World Vision International. She is a frequent public speaker and has contributed to significant global policy initiatives, including the Platform on Disaster Displacement and the Advisory Group on Human Mobility for the UNFCCC. Sara leads the work package on gender and social equity for the H2020 project: HABITABLE – Linking climate change, habitability, and social tipping points: scenarios for climate migration. Her field research has spanned countries such as Spain, Senegal, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Her latest book, Land Grabbing and Migration in a Changing Climate, was published by Routledge.

Prior to joining SEI, Sara was an FNRS Research fellow at The Hugo Observatory of the University of Liege in Belgium, where she served as policy advisor and research partner for the Migration, Environment, and Climate Change: Evidence for Policy project. She was also a researcher for the MOSAIC project on climate change politics, land grabbing, and conflict led by the International Institute for Social Studies of Erasmus University in The Hague. Earlier, she was a research assistant in the Center of Philosophy, Epistemology, and Politics at the University Paris V-Sorbonne, where she worked on how democracy is shaped by environmental changes.

Sara has lectured on international cooperation, migration governance, and environmental geopolitics at Sciences Po Paris, Paris 13-Sorbonne University, the Brussels School of Journalism and Communication, and Chulalongkorn University. She was also a visiting researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, at the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management.

Dr. Vigil holds a joint PhD degree in Development Studies and Social and Political Sciences from the International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands and the University of Liege in Belgium. She also has a Master’s degree in Sociology from the University Paris V-Sorbonne. Sara is fluent in English, Spanish, and French.

Publications authored externally to SEI

Vigil, Sara. 2019. Geopolitical Ecologies of Environmental Change, Land Grabbing and Migration: Comparative Perspectives from Senegal and Cambodia. Center for Local Democracy. International Institute for Social Studies. Erasmus University Rotterdam and University of Liege.

Vigil, Sara. 2018. “Green Grabbing-Induced Displacement.” In The Handbook on Environmental Displacement and Migration, 370-387, New York: Routledge.

Vigil, Sara. 2017. “Climate Change and Migration. Insights from the Sahel.” In Out of Africa. Why People Migrate., Ledi Publishing, 51–71. Milan, Itali: ISPI.

Melde, Susanne, Luka De Bruyckere, Sara Vigil, and Francois Gemenne. 2017. “‘Implications of Migration, Displacement and Planned Relocation for Adaptation: Empirical Results.’” MECLEP Final Comparative Report. International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Schütte, Stefanie, Anneliese Depoux, Sara Vigil, Corinne Kowalski, François Gemenne, and Antoine Flahault. 2017. “The Influence of Health Concerns in Scientific and Policy Debates on Climate Change.” Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 71 (8): 747.

Vigil, Sara. 2016. “Migrations environnementales? Ramener le politique au cœur du débat.” Cités, Presses Universitaires de France., no. 68: 61–76.

Gemenne, Francois, Julia Blocher, Florence de Longueville, Nathalie Perrin, Sara Vigil, Caroline Zickgraf, and Pierre Ozer. 2015. “How Climate Extremes Are Affecting the Movement of Populations in the Asia Pacific Region.” In Global Implications of Development, Disasters and Climate Change: Responses to Displacement from Asia Pacific, 21–40. New York: Routledge.

Vigil, Sara. 2015. “Une Cause Invisible de Migrations: La Tragédie de l’Accaparement Des Terres.” Politiques Du Capital, Presses Universitaires de France, no. 64: 111–23.

Zickgraf, Caroline, Florence de Longueville, Pierre Ozer, Francois Gemenne, and Sara Vigil. 2016. “The Impact of Vulnerability and Resilience to Environmental Changes on Mobility Patterns in West Africa.” Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development (KNOMAD). Washington, D.C: World Bank.

Vigil, Sara. 2015. “Displacement as a Consequence of Climate Change Mitigation Policies.” Disasters and Displacement in a Changing Climate, Forced Migration Review. University of Oxford, no. 49: 43–45.

Blocher, Julia, Dalila Gharbaoui, and Sara Vigil. 2015. “West Africa: A Testing Ground for Regional Solutions.” Disasters and Displacement in a Changing Climate, Forced Migration Review. University of Oxford, no. 49: 18–20.

Gemenne, Francois, Julia Blocher, Florence de Longueville, Nathalie Perrin, Sara Vigil, Caroline Zickgraf, and Pierre Ozer. 2014. “‘Catastrophes, Changement Climatique et Déplacements Forcés: Dynamiques Régionales de Mobilité En Afrique de l’Ouest.’” Background Paper for the Nansen Initiative.