Climate Change and State Fragility in the Sahel

Temperatures in the Sahel have risen by nearly 1°C since 1970, at a rate nearly twice the global average. The region faces increasingly variable rainfall, and more frequent droughts and storms.

For many, it is a global hotspot for climate change. At the same time, the Sahel's highly fragile states have limited capacities to adapt to climate-related shocks. Moreover, the region’s weak institutions, political instability, poverty, inequality and historical grievances have the potential to combine with climate change to exacerbate existing tensions and trigger new conflicts. This policy brief, written for FRIDE, explores how international actors can help states across the Sahel address their interrelated climate and conflict challenges by supporting peacebuilding interventions that help build resilience to climate change and climate change responses that help avoid conflict.

This policy brief was posted with the permission of Fride http://fride.org.