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The document examines how communications strategies can build resilience against violent extremism in West and Central Africa, specifically focusing on the Lake Chad Basin and Côte d’Ivoire. It identifies poverty, unemployment, and illiteracy as primary drivers of extremism and highlights the struggle of local civil society organisations (CSOs) to reach rural, low-tech populations. The brief advocates for the use of positive narratives over counter-narratives due to the lack of religious expertise among CSOs and the risk of retaliation from extremist groups. It emphasizes the effectiveness of radio and face-to-face meetings, while noting significant barriers such as language gaps, cultural norms restricting women's participation, and a lack of government-led strategic guidelines.

The LACC Project aims to enhance climate resilience for 45,000 direct beneficiaries in the Lake Chad Basin through four pillars: sustainable resource management, resilient livelihoods, equitable local governance, and the dissemination of best practices. The project addresses severe vulnerabilities including rising temperatures, rainfall variability, and high poverty rates in Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. Key interventions include the construction of solar-powered water harvesting structures, the promotion of agroforestry to sequester an estimated 1,139,225 tCO2eq, and the implementation of the Participatory Seasonal Planning (PSP) methodology for climate information. The project is led by CARE Nederland and the Sahara and Sahel Observatory (OSS), targeting specific regions such as Diffa in Niger, the Far North in Cameroon, and the Lake Province in Chad.

The document highlights a critical lack of accurate health and mortality data for children under five in areas affected by Boko Haram in Nigeria and Cameroon. It identifies severe malnutrition, interrupted vaccination schedules, and psychological trauma as primary consequences of the conflict. The author argues that current counter-terrorism strategies often ignore or actively undermine child development, and recommends funding targeted research, empowering local community-based organisations, and ensuring the rights of children are upheld during security operations.

The report examines the phenomenon of Boko Haram members deserting the group in the Lake Chad Basin, identifying push factors such as military losses by the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) and internal factional rivalry between Shekau and al-Barnawi. It argues that current interventions—limited to detention, judicial processing, and narrow de-radicalisation—are insufficient. The author advocates for a 'third generation' of context-sensitive DDRR that integrates security and development, emphasizing the need for gender- and age-sensitive eligibility criteria to include women and children. The report also highlights the necessity of demobilising community vigilante groups and improving state-community relations to undermine recruitment. It recommends that the Lake Chad Basin Commission lead a regional strategic framework supported by the African Union to harmonise DDRR approaches across Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria.

The report examines the 'gathering storm clouds' of political and economic uncertainty in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) region. It argues that a combination of commodity price collapses, neo-patrimonial governance, and rapid population growth is creating a volatile environment. The analysis highlights a critical gap between population growth and the provision of basic services, alongside a history of 'pseudo-democratic' regimes that resist genuine political transition. The authors warn that without strategic diversification of economies and significant investment in human capital, the region's large youth population could become a catalyst for further instability and violence.

The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), a coalition of Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria, and Chad, along with Benin, was established to combat Boko Haram. While the force has achieved some operational gains since early 2016, it continues to struggle with significant financial shortfalls, political mistrust among member states, and a gap between official claims of operationality and the reality on the ground. The African Union (AU) serves as a critical strategic and technical partner, filling an institutional vacuum left by the Lake Chad Basin Commission's (LCBC) limited experience in peace operations.

The report examines the intersection of domestic law, international investment law, freshwater law, and human rights law in the context of large-scale agricultural investments in Africa. It highlights how foreign investors often secure formal statutory water rights through contracts and treaties that prevail over the informal customary rights of local communities. The document emphasizes the increasing pressure on water resources due to population growth and climate change, particularly in Southern and Northern Africa. It analyzes the role of river basin organizations, such as those for the Senegal, Niger, and Lake Chad basins, in managing transboundary water resources. The report concludes that host states must integrate these parallel legal regimes to ensure sustainable water management and protect the human right to water.

The research examines how the JAS Shiroro cell has successfully expanded into Central Nigeria by blending jihadist ideology with local Fulani banditry. Led by Abubakar Saidu (alias Sadiku), the cell utilizes a flexible approach that tolerates the non-religious vices of bandits in exchange for weapons, fighters, and local knowledge. The group operates from forest camps, conducting attacks and kidnappings, while maintaining supply lines for weapons and finance from Lake Chad. The document also highlights emerging alignments with the Lakurawa group and the broader threat of coordination between various armed factions, arguing that Nigeria's counter-terrorism strategy must expand beyond the Lake Chad Basin to address these regional dynamics.

This report assesses the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), noting that while it faces significant operational challenges, it is making progress in its efforts to combat Boko Haram.

The document assesses the African Union's (AU) counter-terrorism efforts, noting that despite the 1999 Algiers Convention and various peace support operations, terrorism has expanded across the continent. It identifies two primary gaps: the failure to treat deep-seated governance challenges and a reliance on militaristic responses over sustainable preventive measures. The author concludes that while recent AU decisions to enhance the African Standby Force are positive, the AU must prioritise non-military responses targeting poverty and marginalisation to effectively reduce insecurity.

The document outlines the evolution of Boko Haram from its 2009 clashes with security forces to its split into factions and the emergence of ISIS-WA. Key milestones include the 2014 abduction of over 200 Chibok school girls, the expansion of attacks into Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, and the subsequent military efforts by Nigeria to reclaim territory, including the clearance of the Sambisa Forest camp in 2017.

The document assesses how climate variability and anthropogenic factors drive resource scarcity and conflict in Africa, focusing on the African Union's response and specific regional crises in the Lake Chad Basin, Lesotho, the Nile Basin, the Niger Delta, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya, Botswana, and Uganda.

Nigeria's Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) establishes a pathway to net-zero emissions by 2060. The strategy analyzes four decarbonization scenarios—Business As Usual (BAU), Current Policy Scenario (CPS), Gas Economy Scenario (GES), and Renewable Energy Scenario (RES)—concluding that the RES, supported by international aid (RES+), offers the most promising balance of low emissions and economic growth. The report details sectoral mitigation measures for power, AFOLU, industry, transport, and waste, alongside a comprehensive adaptation framework to protect the economy, particularly the agriculture sector, from climate-induced GDP losses. Implementation relies on policy, financial, and technological innovations, including carbon pricing and the establishment of a National Climate Change Fund.

The report attributes the 2022 West African floods to a combination of anthropogenic climate change, which significantly increased the likelihood and intensity of rainfall in the Lake Chad and Lower Niger basins, and systemic vulnerabilities including poor water management, rapid unplanned urbanization, and socioeconomic instability. In the Lake Chad region, climate change made the seasonal rainfall event approximately 80 times more likely and 20% more intense. In the Lower Niger basin, the 7-day maximum rainfall event became about twice as likely and 5% more intense. The human toll was exacerbated by the release of the Lagdo Dam in Cameroon and the proximity of settlements to floodplains.