Sustainable Development

Dr. Aniseh Bro recently traveled to Guatemala as part of her ongoing research in migration drivers and sustainable development. An interdisciplinary scholar who uses quantitative and experimental methods to study the behavioral drivers of individuals’ adaptation to climate change and to model the social and ecological dynamics that shape them, Dr. Bro is part of an international team of migration pattern researchers, “The Complex Migration Flows and Multiple Drivers in Comparative Perspectives (MEMO).” The members of the MEMO consortium were awarded a highly competitive grant from Canada’s Social Science and Humanities Research Council. This six-year, 5.5 million dollar, interdisciplinary, and collaborative project will study the drivers of international human migration. According to the MEMO website, “MEMO is a multidisciplinary research partnership that examines migration patterns focusing on three regional systems. By uncovering new connections between macro-level, contextual drivers (such as economic or political conditions) and individual determinants (such as the cultural and emotional factors that influence a migrant’s personal decisions), the project aims to uncover new knowledge and develop a framework for a better understanding of migration.” 

During her field work, Dr. Bro traveled to Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, and interviewed staff members from Consejo Nacional de Atención al Migrante de Guatemala (CONAMIGUA), a federal agency that has programs to educate the population about the risks of migration (prevention) and to support Guatemalans who have been deported back. The CONAMIGUA staff includes social workers who help repatriate the bodies of migrants who have died in transit or while in the United States. Dr. Bro also interviewed staff members from the departmental capital city San Marcos who assist migrants in the Department of San Marcos and met with a collaborator who works with the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM). 

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