Climate change amplifies risks of violent conflicts in Africa

Climate change is intensifying risks of violent conflict across Africa by aggravating food and water insecurity, driving human displacement, and increasing competition over natural resources. The document highlights specific crises, such as the shrinking of Lake Chad and farmer-herder conflicts in the Sahel and Horn of Africa, to illustrate how environmental stressors exacerbate existing vulnerabilities. It calls for the integration of climate-sensitive planning into peacekeeping, reconstruction, and development efforts, emphasizing nature-based solutions and climate-resilient agriculture as key to strengthening resilience and security.

• Climate change functions as a "threat multiplier" for Africa, contributing to increased water and food insecurity, loss of livelihoods, and higher rates of climate-linked human displacement.
• Resource-based violent conflicts between crop farmers and herders have risen in the Horn of Africa and the Sahelian belt, driven by competition for land, pasture, and water.
• The degradation of Lake Chad, which has lost 90% of its water due to climate change, overuse, and drought, has severely impacted the local economy and sparked resource-based conflicts.
• Food insecurity in Africa is driven by a combination of weather extremes, conflict, and economic shocks, which in turn can trigger further social tensions, violence, and displacement.
• The African Union's Peace and Security Council has emphasized the necessity of a "climate-security-development nexus," advocating for climate-sensitive planning in development and peacekeeping to prevent relapses into armed conflict.

APA

Osano, P. (2022). Climate change amplifies risks of violent conflicts in Africa. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/perspectives/climate-change-amplifies-risks-violent-conflicts-africa

Chicago

Osano, Philip. Climate change amplifies risks of violent conflicts in Africa. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2022. https://www.sei.org/perspectives/climate-change-amplifies-risks-violent-conflicts-africa.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Osano |first1=Philip |title=Climate change amplifies risks of violent conflicts in Africa |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=10 January 2022 |url=https://www.sei.org/perspectives/climate-change-amplifies-risks-violent-conflicts-africa |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{osano2022climate, author = {Osano, Philip}, title = {{Climate change amplifies risks of violent conflicts in Africa}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/perspectives/climate-change-amplifies-risks-violent-conflicts-africa}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }