Analyzing of Iran's Provinces Migration with Emphasis on Ecological Footprint

Migration is one of the three main components that shape the growth and dynamics of the population in any country. Human population migration causes cultural, social and environmental changes in the origin and destination of migration. Ecological Footprint is one of the tools that tries to quantify human pressure on the environment. One of the important issues that have been neglected in migration analyzing is the state of the spatial pattern of migration and the spatial pattern of the ecological footprint in Iran. Therefore, in this research, secondary data was used to analyze the situation of these two variables in relation to each other. In this regard, the data of inter-provincial migrations of 2011 to 2016 period and the ecological footprint of the provinces for the year 2016 were prepared. By using the Geographic Information System and the quadrant chart, the situation of two variables was analyzed. The general result of the research in relation to the spatial situation of the pattern of ecological footprint and in- migrants, out- migrants and the net migration of the provinces showed that most of the destination provinces have a higher ecological footprint than the national average. In contrast, most of the origin provinces have a low ecological footprint than the national average. Regarding the net migration, most of the provinces with a positive net migration have high ecological footprint. In general, it can be said that the positive flow of migration goes to provinces that have a higher ecological footprint than the national average.