One
of the most well known examples of the link between climate-change and conflict
has become land-use conflict in the Sahel.
Numerous predictions of climate variation within the Sahel region say
there will be increasingly drier conditions and more inconsistent
rainfall. Consequently, it has been said
that an increase in violent conflicts over limited resources should also be
anticipated.
An
article by Benjaminsen, et al. (2012) investigates the climate–conflict link in
detail, focusing on a region at the heart of the Sahel, the inland delta of the
Niger River in the Mopti region of Mali. Here, comparisons are drawn between
court data on land-use conflicts, 1992–2009, from the regional Court of Appeal
in Mopti and a qualitative analysis of one of the many land-use conflicts in
the region.
Benjaminsesn
et al, argues the three chief drivers behind these conflicts are as follows:
- · Agricultural encroachment that obstructed the mobility of herders and livestock.
- · Opportunistic behavior of rural actors as a consequence of an increasing political vacuum.
- · Corruption and rent seeking among government officials.
Notably,
there is a dearth of evidence that supports the concept that water scarcity and
rapid environmental change are significant triggers of conflicts in the Sahel. On
analyses of the statistical comparison of temporal variations in rainfall and
land-use disputes little intersection was seen.
Furthermore, civil cases, which are arguably less sensitive to climatic
variations, followed the same fluctuating pattern as land disputes.
Thus, what is seen is interpreted as evidence that land-use conflicts
in the delta region are driven more so by political and economic contexts as opposed to climate variability.
References-
T.
Benjaminsen, K. Alinon, H. Buhaug and J. Buseth. (2012). Does climate change
drive land-use conflicts in the Sahel.
G. Yengoh. (2013). Climate and Food Production: Understanding
Vulnerability from Past Trends in Africa’s Sudan-Sahel
Interesting post Stef. I've really enjoyed your topics linking conflict with climatic change as I think this will become an important issue in the future, particularly related to water resources, with increased demands from populations and the economy and also less predictabilty of rainfall. I was just wondering if you have read anything about international legislation related to the use of rivers, which may be shared by many countries? Are there international laws regulating pollution and limiting extraction within certain countries? Or do the nations further down stream just have to deal with whatever the source country sends/or floats their way? Interested to hear your opinion.
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