James Morrissey
Research Officer
Bio
Dr James Morrissey, Research Officer, is currently working on the generation of rights-based protection frameworks for groups and individuals made mobile as a result of environmental stress, with a
particular focus on addressing the impacts of climate change. James received his Doctorate in International Development (2011) from the University of Oxford, with a thesis focussed on understanding the impacts of environmental stress on rural-urban migration among subsistence farmers in northern Ethiopia. Prior to this James completed an MPhil (2008), also at the University of Oxford.
Before attending Oxford, James worked in Mozambique, looking at the impacts on local communities, of a mega-dam proposed for construction on the lower Zambezi River. He has also worked at the Disaster Mitigation for Sustainable Livelihoods Programme (DiMP), at the University of Cape Town (UCT), exploring at the impact fires and flooding in Cape Town's informal settlements. James has given seminars on Oxford's MSc in Forced Migration, and has taught undergraduates at UCT and Oslo University College – lecturing on political ecology and disaster risk studies. He has an undergraduate degree in Ocean and Atmosphere Science from UCT (2003 & 2004).
Publications
Morrissey, J. (2012) Book Review: Migration and Climate Change edited by Etienne Piguet, Antoine Pecoud and Paul de Guchteneire. Journal of Refugee Studies, 25, 302-304
Morrissey, J. (2012) Rethinking the 'debate on environmental refugees': From 'maximilists' and 'minimalists' to 'critics' and 'proponents'. Journal of Political Ecology, 19, 36-49.
Morrissey, J. (2012) Contextualising links between migration and environmental change in northern Ethiopia. In: Hastrup, K. and Fog Olwig, K. (eds.) Climate Change and Human Mobility. Cambridge University Press.
Morrissey, J. (2010) Ambiguous, arbitrary and political: Tipping from what to what? In: Shen, X. Downing, E. and Hamza, M. (eds.) Tipping Points in Humanitarian Crises: From hot spots to hot systems. Tokyo: United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security. Source, 13, 22-28.
Morrissey, J. (2009) Environmental Change and Forced Migration: A State of the Art Review. Background Paper for Environmental change and migration: Assessing the evidence and developing norms for response. Oxford, UK 2009. Oxford: Refugee Studies Centre.
Morrissey, J. (2008) Rural-urban migration in Ethiopia. Forced Migration Review, 31, 28-30.
Morrissey, J. (2006) Livelihoods at risk the case of the Mphanda Nkuwa Dam, Real Risk, United Nations, London: Tudor Rose Publishers.
Morrissey, J. (2006) Livelihoods at Risk: The Case of The Mphanda Nkuwa Dam, Maputo, Mozambique, Justiça Ambiental.
Morrissey, J. and Taylor, A. (2005) Fire risk in informal settlements:A South African case study. Open House International, 31 (1), 98-105.
Sonn, L., McGregor, H., Morrissey, J. and Wichmann, T. (2005) August 2004 severe storm: Post flood assessment, Prepared by the Disaster Mitigation for Sustainable Livelihoods Programme at The Environmental and Geographical Sciences Department of The University of Cape Town for The Directorate of Transport, Roads and Stormwater in The City of Cape Town.
