No peace under the Shea tree. Climate change & conflicts in the Sahel: Debunking the myths
Publication year
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UNCCD Library
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Material Type
Book
In recent years the European Union has been operating a significant shift in its approach to conflicts by advocating more strongly for an integrated approach, which does not just look at conflicts from a security perspective, but rather tries
to integrate development, humanitarian aid and diplomacy into its toolbox of conflict resolution.
The wealth of available information and recommendations on the Sahel region treat climate as yet another emergency unfolding in the region, which has the potential to engender further conflict.
Indeed, conflicts over access to natural resources have been increasingly reported by local media and civil society organisations in the Sahel: the March 2019 massacre at Ogossagou and Welingara (Mali), in which 160 members of
traditional Fulani pastoralists were killed by Dogon militias, is related not only to ethnic tensions, but also to control over land. (4) Analyses of the many Sahel crises however rarely look into research that focuses on climate per se, thus provided recommendations tend to be superficial at best, misleading at worst.
Climate change has been widely perceived as a direct driver of conflict in the Sahel. But from a closer perspective, the link between climate change and Sahelian conflicts is less clear.
MORE CONFLICTS TAKE PLACE IN TIMES OF ABUNDANCE OF RESOURCES AS COMPETITION FOR LAND INTENSIFIES !
Key Finding #1: Climate change is affecting livelihoods and food security in the Sahel region of West Africa, causing land degradation, shortage of water supplies and damaging cropping systems. However, this is not seen to have a direct impact on conflict. Thus, there is, as of now, no evidence of the existence of a direct nexus between climate and security, at least in the Sahel.
Key finding #2: External aid that seeks to tackle both climate change and development has important political significance and political consequences for the region of intervention and is not merely technical support. This means that it should be addressed at the political level, as well as at the technical level.
Key finding #3: When European actors choose to intervene to stem conflict, priority should be given to improving local governance and fighting weak or predatory state institutions, as they are the main drivers of conflict.
to integrate development, humanitarian aid and diplomacy into its toolbox of conflict resolution.
The wealth of available information and recommendations on the Sahel region treat climate as yet another emergency unfolding in the region, which has the potential to engender further conflict.
Indeed, conflicts over access to natural resources have been increasingly reported by local media and civil society organisations in the Sahel: the March 2019 massacre at Ogossagou and Welingara (Mali), in which 160 members of
traditional Fulani pastoralists were killed by Dogon militias, is related not only to ethnic tensions, but also to control over land. (4) Analyses of the many Sahel crises however rarely look into research that focuses on climate per se, thus provided recommendations tend to be superficial at best, misleading at worst.
Climate change has been widely perceived as a direct driver of conflict in the Sahel. But from a closer perspective, the link between climate change and Sahelian conflicts is less clear.
MORE CONFLICTS TAKE PLACE IN TIMES OF ABUNDANCE OF RESOURCES AS COMPETITION FOR LAND INTENSIFIES !
Key Finding #1: Climate change is affecting livelihoods and food security in the Sahel region of West Africa, causing land degradation, shortage of water supplies and damaging cropping systems. However, this is not seen to have a direct impact on conflict. Thus, there is, as of now, no evidence of the existence of a direct nexus between climate and security, at least in the Sahel.
Key finding #2: External aid that seeks to tackle both climate change and development has important political significance and political consequences for the region of intervention and is not merely technical support. This means that it should be addressed at the political level, as well as at the technical level.
Key finding #3: When European actors choose to intervene to stem conflict, priority should be given to improving local governance and fighting weak or predatory state institutions, as they are the main drivers of conflict.
Geographical Keywords
Sahel
Africa
Keywords
conflicts over natural resources
human security
migration
climate change
policy instruments
country analysis
conflict - affected areas
pastoral conflicts
land conflict
governance
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