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.
Participating experts
You might also be interested in
Air Conditioning Will Not Save Us
It keeps happening. Every summer, unprecedented heat surges through cities across the United States—in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho; in Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio; and in Maryland, Virginia, and New Jersey. Last week, a heat wave melted records in Texas with unrelenting highs well into the 100s for days. And just when residents need it most, the electrical grid fails. Every year, hundreds die from heat-related illness in the U.S., and thousands more end up in emergency rooms from heat stress. Compared to other weather-related disasters, the emergency response to extreme heat from U.S. leaders has been minimal. As a result, many places remain unprepared. How, then, do we make our cities more resilient?
Maintaining Peace While Building Climate Resilience: Lessons from the Central African Republic
Our NAP Global Network team interviews Mariam Amoudou Sidi for insights into how peacebuilding, conflict, and fragility can be integrated into National Adaptation Plan (NAP) processes, from planning to implementation.
Building Peace and Climate Resilience: Aligning peacebuilding and climate adaptation in fragile states
Failure to integrate climate adaptation considerations into peacebuilding plans and post-conflict development agendas can undermine the long-term viability of both.
Increasing conflict in Afghanistan related to ongoing climate change, experts say
'Climate change is not about natural disasters. It is a social disaster,' says former climate negotiator.