Toward a shared vision on climate security in Senegal

Photo: CGIAR’s Climate Resilience Initiative and partners meet in Dakar, Senegal to discuss climate security and chart a way forward.

CGIAR News – January 23, 2023

Climate change and variability have numerous security implications in the Sahel region in North Africa, which already has a precarious security situation. Senegal is considered an island of stability in the region, making it a key country to understand – and act upon – the risks posed by climate security.

By Carolina Sarzana, Victor Villa, Sokhna Ramatoulaye Cisse and Grazia Pacillo

Climate change is a worldwide emergency, a global issue that challenges the international community and calls for holistic solutions. As the impacts of climate change intensify, human security is increasingly under pressure. These threats are most prevalent in the Global South, which is least prepared to face climate-related security crises. The case of North Africa’s Sahel, one of the most vulnerable regions in the world, confirms this.

The Sahel region – the ecological transition zone between the tropical forests of Central Africa and the Sahara desert that spans seven countries – is experiencing increased climate stress, which is contributing to resource scarcity and fueling tensions over resource accessibility. There are rivalries between communities over water resources and tension between farmers and herders over control of land. Many other factors point to a bleak climate future for the Sahel.

There is sufficient information for a scientific analysis of climate security in the region, especially considering its high instability and terrorism threats. Senegal’s example is particularly relevant because the country’s neighboring Sudano-Sahelian security landscape is unfavorable to its stability. Senegal is “an island of stability in an ocean of instability,” said Dr. Bakaray Sambe, an expert in stabilization and conflict prevention at the Timbuktu Insitute, a Sengal-based think tank. Senegal, therefore, is surrounded by security threats and needs to develop and implement conflict-prevention strategies.

In this context, the CGIAR’s Climate Resilience initiative, or ClimBeR, which aims to build systemic resilience against climate variability and extremes and contribute to maintaining peace and stability, is committed to investigating climate security risks in Senegal. During a workshop held in October 2022 in Dakar, experts involved with climate and security issues in Senegal, and more broadly in the Sahel, met to discuss Senegal’s security architecture and its relationship with climate.

The workshop discussed how research could help policymakers mitigate the impact of climate conflict, build a community of stakeholders interested in increasing and ensuring climate resilience and sustainable peace, and inform national and sub-national policies and investments to foster climate-resilient peace. Climate-resilient peace is a transformative process that addresses inequitable access to natural resources. It reminds us of the need for responsible management of these resources for sustainable development and climate security.

See more: https://www.cgiar.org/news-events/news/toward-a-shared-vision-on-climate-security-in-senegal/