Addressing Climate-Related Security Challenges in Lake Chad

The Lake Chad region is experiencing a humanitarian crisis intensified by climate change, conflict, and fragility. Higher temperatures and erratic rainfall are threatening community livelihoods while ongoing conflicts increase vulnerability and complicate coping mechanisms. The article assesses these climate-security interactions through local conflict analysis, identifying four climate-fragility risks and arguing for the necessity of integrating climate considerations into stabilization efforts.

The Lake Chad region is grappling with a dual crisis characterized by humanitarian challenges and climate change. Climate change exacerbates existing political, environmental, economic, and security issues, making life increasingly difficult for local communities reliant on sustainable livelihoods. Concurrently, conflicts between armed opposition groups and state forces exacerbate vulnerability, disrupting traditional coping strategies and further complicating the security landscape in the region.

This article presents insights from a climate-security nexus assessment conducted in the Lake Chad region, focusing on response options given the area’s context. A participatory conflict analysis was undertaken through 229 in-depth interviews conducted by a local research team among affected communities across Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria. This research aims to establish a comprehensive evidence base for understanding the interaction between climate change and security risks in the region.

The assessment identifies four key climate-fragility risks facing the region: (i) Climate and ecological changes threaten livelihood security; (ii) Increasing vulnerability due to conflict exacerbates the ability to cope; (iii) Competition over scarce resources leads to conflicts; and (iv) Livelihood insecurity drives recruitment into armed groups. Addressing these climate risks is deemed essential for successful stabilization and violence reduction efforts in the Lake Chad area.

The Lake Chad basin has been significantly impacted by climate change, leading to humanitarian crises compounded by ongoing conflict and fragility. With rising temperatures and erratic rainfall patterns, the communities surrounding the region face increased difficulty in maintaining their livelihoods. Simultaneously, armed conflict creates additional vulnerability, undermining traditional resilience mechanisms. Understanding the intersection of these factors is critical for developing effective responses to enhance stability.

In conclusion, the Lake Chad region’s stability is tightly linked to the management of climate-related risks. The research highlights the importance of recognizing how climate change exacerbates existing fragility and conflict, creating a cycle of insecurity. To foster lasting peace, response strategies must integrate climate considerations, ensuring that stabilization efforts are comprehensive and address the root causes of conflict and livelihood insecurity.

Original Source: reliefweb.int