Climate change and natural resource conflict in ECOWAS and ECCAS regions: implications for state security forces
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17159/ajcr.v23i2.17636Keywords:
Climate change, Conflicts, Natural resources, Sahel, SecurityAbstract
Climate change has emerged as the imminent threat to national security in many regions of the world. Nowhere is this reality more acute than in West and Central Africa where surging population growth, rising urbanisation, persistent environmental degradation, emergence of violent extremist organisations and weak state capacity have created a perfect storm of insecurity. It is against this backdrop that this article examines the nexus and dynamics of climate change and natural resource conflicts in ECOWAS and ECCAS regions, with a view to highlighting its security implications. This study notes that climate change contributes to increased conflict, but along indirect pathways. Across the two regions, climate change is experienced through rising temperatures, droughts and destructive floods, which greatly undermine people’s well-being and compound the fragility of states. This calls for the capacitation of state security forces through orientation and training that foster good understanding of the complex relationship between climate change, peace and security. The study concludes by offering strategic recommendations and policy directions to effectively tackle the climate change and natural resource conflict challenges in the contiguous regions.
References
Adano, W.R. and Daudi, F. (2012) Links between climate change, conflict and governance in Africa, Paper No. 234, Pretoria, Institute for Security Studies.
AFP. (2021) 35 dead as herdsmen, farmers clash in Chad. AFP [Internet], 17 February. Available from: <https://punchng.com/35-dead-as-herdsmen-farmers-clash-in-chad/> [Accessed on 10 April 2022].
AFP. (2022) 12 dead, as farmers, herders, clash in Chad. AFP [Internet], 11 February. Available from: <https://punchng.com/12-dead-as-farmers-herders-clash-in-chad/> [Accessed on 05 April 2022].
Babangida, M. (2021) Banditry: Residents of north-west states reluctantly embrace stringent measures as governors unite. Premium Times [Internet], 12 September. Available from: <https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/headlines/484365-banditry-residents-of-north-west-states-reluctantly-embrace-stringent-measures-as-governors-unite.html> [Accessed on 31 March 2022].
Berdal, M. and Malone, D.M. (2000) Greed and grievance: Economic agendas in civil wars. New York, International Peace Academy.
Bissell, R.E. (1996) The resource dimension of international conflict. In: Crocker, A.C., Hampson, F.O. and Pamela, A. eds. Managing global chaos: sources of and responses to international conflict. Washington DC, Institute for Peace.
Campbell, J. (2019) Farmer herder clashes in Chad follow familiar pattern. Blog Post [Internet]. Available from: <https://www.cfr.org/blog/farmer-herder-clashes-chad-follow-familiar-pattern> [Accessed on 7 November 2023].
Carrington, D. (2019) How water is helping to end the first climate change war. The Guardian [Internet], 18 December. Available from: <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/dec/18/how-water-is-helping-to-end-the-first-climate-change-war/> [Accessed on 10 November 2023].
Congo Basin Forest Partnership. (2021) COP26: Indigenous peoples, protests and a call to end the war on nature – UN [Internet], 15 November. Available from: <https://pfbc-cbfp.org/news-partner/peoples-protests.html> [Accessed on 21 October 2023].
Carré, M. et al. (2022) Climate change, migrations, and the peopling of sine-Saloum mangroves (Senegal) in the past 6000 years, Quaternary Science Reviews [Internet], pp 293. Available from: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277379122003195> [Accessed on 07 November 2023].
Cilliers, J. (2009) Climate change, population pressure, and conflict in Africa. ISS Occasional Paper, No. 178.
Climate Watch. (2023) Historical GHG emissions. [Internet]. Available from: <https://www.climatewatchdata.org/ghg-emissions?end_year=2020&start_year=1990> [Accessed on 10 November 2023].
Dahunsi, A.M. et al. (2022) Spatio-temporal trend of past and future extreme wave climates in the Gulf of Guinea driven by climate change. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 10 (11), pp. 1581. DOI: <https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10111581>.
Department for International Development (DFID). (2006) How climatic change could cripple African agriculture. Africa Today, 8.
Eba’a Atyi, R. et al. (2018) Contributions of central African countries to combat climate change: The urgent need for intersectoral coordination. [Internet] Series no. 2/November. Available from: <https://www.cifor.org/knowledge/publication/7051/> [Accessed on 10 November 2023].
ECOWAS. (2021) ECOWAS, CILSS, and WAEMU communique on COP26 and climate change. [Internet]. Available from: <https://ecowas.int/ecowas-cilss-and-waemu-communique-on-cop26-and-climate-change/> [Accessed on 7 November 2023].
ECOWAS. (2008) ECOWAS conflict prevention framework. Abuja, ECOWAS Commission.
FAO. (2005) Best practices for improving law compliance in the forest sector. FAO
Forestry Paper No. 145. ITTO and FAO [Internet]. Available from: <https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/bib96130.pdf> [Accessed on 10 November 2023].
FAO. (2017) Lake Chad Basin crisis, response strategy (2017–2019). FAO [Internet]. Available from: <https://www.fao.org/3/bs126e/bs126e.pdf> [Accessed on 7 November 2023].
Funder, M. et al. (2012) The nature and causes of natural resource conflicts. In: Addressing climate change and conflict in development cooperation: experiences from natural resource management. Danish Institute for International Studies [Internet]. Available from: <http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep13296.9> [Accessed on 10 April 2022].
Ghosh, J. (2022) Who should be responsible for emissions reductions? IPS-Journal [Internet], 28 March. Available from: <https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/economy-and-ecology/who-should-be-responsible-for-emissions-reductions-5816/> [Accessed on 26 October 2023].
Giresse, P., Maley, J. and Chepstow-Lusty, A. (2023) A focus on the last 1000 years of natural environmental changes in the tropical rainforests of West and Central Africa. Can we detect anthropogenic disturbances? Global and Planetary Change, 220. DOI: <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2022.103995>.
Homer-Dixon, T.F and Blitt, J. (1998) Eco violence: Links among environment, population, and security. Maryland, Rowman and Littlefield.
Homer-Dixon, T.F. (1999) Environment, scarcity, and violence. Princeton, Princeton University Press.
Huntjens, P. and Nachbar, K. (2015) Climate change as a threat multiplier for human disaster and conflict. The Hague Institute for Global Justice. Working Paper 9. The Hague Institute for Global Justice [Internet], May 2015. Available from: <https://thehagueinstituteforglobaljustice.org/portfolio/climate-change-as-a-threat-multiplier-for-human-disaster-and-conflict/> [Accessed on 7 November 2023].
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2007) Summary for policymakers of the synthesis report of the IPCC fourth assessment report. United Nations [Internet], 16 November Available from: <https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/library/documents/bib106938.pdf> [Accessed on 7 November 2023].
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2022) Climate change 2022: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability; summary for policymakers.[Internet].Available from:<https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGII_SummaryForPolicymakers.pdf> [Accessed on 7 November 2023].
Issifu, A.K., Darko, F.D. and Paalo, S.A. (2022) Climate change, migration and farmer-herder conflict in Ghana. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, 39, pp. 421–439.
Kindzeka, M.E. (2021) Cameroon says new clashes kill at least 10, displace hundreds. VOA [Internet], 7 December. Available from: <https://www.voanews.com/a/cameroon-says-new-clashes-kill-at-least-10-displace-hundreds-/6342586.html> [Accessed on 6 November 2023].
Luc, T. (2023) Climate vulnerabilities and food insecurity in Mali. IMF Selected, Issues Paper (SIP/2023/054). Washington, D.C., International Monetary Fund.
Mark, R.W. and Synder, R.C. (1971) The analysis of social conflict: Towards an overview and synthesis. In: Clarett, G.S. ed. Conflict resolution: Contribution of the behavioral sciences. Fremantle, University of Notre Dame.
Melinda, K. (2005) Climate change: Emerging insecurities. In: Dodds, F. and Pippard, T. eds. Human and environmental security: An agenda for change. Oxford, Earthscan.
Mikkel, F. et al. (2012) Addressing climate change and conflict in development cooperation: Experiences from natural resource management. Danish Institute for International Studies. [Internet]. Available from: <http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep13296> [Accessed on 10 April 2022].
Murray, S. (2007) Lake Chad fishermen pack up their nets. BBC News, [Internet], 15 January. Available from: <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6261447.stm> [Accessed on 4 November 2023].
Musa, S.S. et al. (2022) How climate change and insecurity pushed 5 million people to hunger in Chad, Africa. Public Health Challenges. DOI: <https://doi.org/10.1002/puh2.47> [Accessed on 07 November 2023].
Nagarajan, C.et al. (2018) Climate-fragility profile: Lake Chad Basin. Berlin, Adelphi.
Njoya, H.M.et al. (2022) Climate change vulnerability and smallholder farmers’ adaptive responses in the semi-arid Far North Region of Cameroon. Discover Sustainability, 3 (41). DOI: <https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-022-00106-6>.
Ogunrinde, A.T. et al. (2022) Impact of climate change and drought attributes in Nigeria. Atmosphere 13. DOI: <https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos13111874>.
Ojewale, O. (2022) Climate change and pastoralism contribute to the Sahel’s conflict and insecurity, Africa at LSE [Internet], 11 April. Available from: <https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/africaatlse/2022/04/11/climate-change-and-pastoralism-are-part-of-the-sahels-conflict-and-insecurity/> [Accessed on 25 October 2023].
Ojewale, O. (2023) Balancing protection and profit in the Congo Basin, ISS Today [Internet], 14 March. Available from: <https://issafrica.org/iss-today/balancing-protection-and-profit-in-the-congo-basin> [Accessed on 25 October 2023].
Ojo, J.S. (2023) Climate-related armed conflict and communities’ resistance to rural grazing area settlement policy in Nigeria’s Middlebelt. Conflict Resolution Quarterly, pp. 1–21. DOI: <https://doi.org/10.1002/crq.21390>.
Okon-Ekpenyong, J.L. (1989) Potentials of Nigerian boundary corridors as sources of international economic conflict. In: Asiwaju, A.I and Adeniyi, P.O. eds. Borderlands in Africa: A multidisciplinary and comparative focus on Nigeria and West Africa. Lagos, University of Lagos Press.
Onuoha, F.C. (2008) Environmental degradation, livelihood and conflicts the implications of the diminishing water resources of Lake Chad for north-eastern Nigeria. African Journal on Conflict Resolution, 8 (2), pp. 36–61.
Onuoha, F.C. (2010) Climate change, population surge and resource overuse in Lake Chad: Implications for human security in north-eastern zone of Nigeria. In: Mwiturubani, D.A. and Van Wyk, J.A. eds. Climate change and natural resource conflicts in Africa. Institute for Security Studies.
Onuoha, F.C. and Ezirim, E.E. (2010) Climatic change and national security: Exploring the conceptual and empirical connections in Nigeria. Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa, 12 (4), pp. 255–269.
Onuoha, F. C. (2022) Climate change and natural resource conflicts in Africa. A comparative analysis of ECOWAS and ECCAS. Paper presented at the Executive Intelligence Management Course Fifteen (EIMC 15), March 31, at National Institute for Security Studies (NISS), Abuja, Nigeria.
Onyeneke, R.U., Ejike, R.D. and Osuji, E.E. (2022) Does climate change affect crops differently? New evidence from Nigeria. Environment Development and Sustainability. DOI: <https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02714-8>.
Reij, C. and Winterbottom, R. (2015) Scaling up regreening: six steps to success.
A practical approach to forest and landscape restoration, WRI report [Internet]. Available from :<https://www.wri.org/research/scaling-regreening-six-steps-success >[Accessed on 10 November 2023].
Ross, M. (2003) The natural resource curse: How wealth can make you poor. In: Banon, I. and Collier, P. eds. Natural resources and violent conflict: options and actions. The World Bank.
Saghir, J. and Santoro, J. (2018) Urbanization in sub-Saharan Africa. CSIS [Internet]. Available from: <https://www.csis.org/analysis/urbanization-sub-saharan-africa> [Accessed on 25 October 2023].
Schmidt, P. and Muggah, R. (2021) Climate change and Security in West Africa. Igarapé Institute. Strategic paper 52 [Internet], February. Available from: <https://igarape.org.br/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/2021-02-04-AE-52-Climate-Change-and-Security-in-West-Africa.pdf> [Accessed on 10 November 2023].
Schellens, M. K. and Diemer, A. (2020) Natural resource conflicts: Definition and three frameworks to aid analysis. In: Shabliy, E et al. eds. Partnerships for the Goals [Internet]. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals 17. Springer Nature. Available from: <https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-71067-9_81-3> [Accessed on 25 October 2023].
The Democratic Republic of Congo and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2021) The National Adaptation Plan to Climate Change, 2022–2026. [Internet]. Available from: <https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/resource/DRC-NAP_EN.pdf> [Accessed on 10 November 2023].
Turner, M.D. (2004) Political ecology and the moral dimensions of “resource conflicts”: The Case of farmer–herder conflicts in the Sahel. Political Geography, 23 (7), pp 863–889.
United Nations Department of Political Affairs and United Nations Environment Programme. (2015) Natural resources and conflict: A guide for mediation practitioners. Nairobi, UNDPA and UNEP.
UN Humanitarian. (2021) Five things you need to know about the climate emergency in West and Central Africa. UN Humanitarian [Internet], 19 August. Available from: <https://unocha.exposure.co/five-things-you-need-to-know-about-the-climate-emergency-in-west-and-central-africa> [Accessed on 25 October 2023].
UNSG. (2021) Climate change ‘a multiplier effect’, aggravating instability, conflict, terrorism, Secretary-General Warns Security Council. ReliefWeb [Internet], 9 December. Available from: <https://reliefweb.int/report/world/climate-change-multiplier-effect-aggravating-instability-conflict-terrorism-secretary> [Accessed on 25 October 2023].
World Bank. (2023) Chad economic update – Special chapter improving resilience to floods (English). Washington, D.C., World Bank Group.
Yamba, E.I. et al. (2023) Revisiting the agro-climatic zones of Ghana: A re-classification in conformity with climate change and variability. PLOS Climate, 2 (1). DOI: <https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000023>.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 African Journal on Conflict Resolution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
.png){kind=spacer}