Vulnerability Profile of West Africa

The report analyzes the environmental vulnerability of West Africa, focusing on the interplay between poverty, environmental degradation, and natural hazards. It identifies key sensitivities in health, water availability, and food security, while detailing the diverse farming systems and urban livelihoods that shape resilience. The document emphasizes that vulnerability is exacerbated by social inequities, political conflict, and population growth, and argues for integrated poverty reduction strategies that prioritize diversification and adaptive capacity to mitigate the impacts of climate change and resource scarcity.

• Severe poverty is endemic in West Africa, with over 40% of the population living on less than US$1 per day between 1983 and 1999, primarily in rural areas dependent on agriculture.
• Drought is the most prominent natural hazard in the region, causing widespread famines and significant direct stress on agricultural livelihoods, particularly in countries like Cape Verde, Gambia, Nigeria, Niger, and Senegal.
• Water scarcity and stress are critical issues; as of 2000, Benin, Burkina Faso, and Ghana experienced 'water stress', while Niger faced 'water scarcity'. Projections suggest economic water scarcity for nearly all West African countries by 2025.
• Food insecurity remains a major challenge, with approximately 30.7 million people (14% of the population) undernourished, and famine having affected over 15 million people in the region over the last 25 years.
• Land degradation is increasing due to soil erosion, compaction, and loss of biodiversity, driven by population growth, demand for fuelwood, and the expansion of export-oriented crops like cotton, cacao, and timber.
• Rapid urbanization is creating new vulnerabilities; the urban population of ECOWAS is forecast to grow from 93.5 million in 2000 to 158.5 million by 2015, with Lagos projected to become a 'megacity' of 16 million by 2015.
• Climate change is expected to severely impact arid, semi-arid, and dry sub-humid farming systems through increased drought frequency, while sea-level rise threatens coastal cities such as Banjul, Abidjan, and Lagos.
• Diversification of income and resources is identified as one of the most successful risk management strategies for the poor, involving a mix of crops, migration, and off-farm activities.
• Political conflicts and the resulting refugee movements exacerbate environmental vulnerability, with Guinea hosting the largest number of refugees in the region at the end of 2001.

APA

Dow, K. (2005). Vulnerability Profile of West Africa. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Risk-livelihoods/SEI_Dow_Vulnerability_West_Africa_2005.pdf

Chicago

Dow, Kirstin. Vulnerability Profile of West Africa. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2005. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Risk-livelihoods/SEI_Dow_Vulnerability_West_Africa_2005.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Dow |first1=Kirstin |title=Vulnerability Profile of West Africa |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=March 2005 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Risk-livelihoods/SEI_Dow_Vulnerability_West_Africa_2005.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dow2005vulnerability, author = {Dow, Kirstin}, title = {{Vulnerability Profile of West Africa}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2005}, month = mar, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Risk-livelihoods/SEI_Dow_Vulnerability_West_Africa_2005.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }