Africa in general, and the Sahel in particular, is often identified as the region where climate change is most likely to undermine security and trigger violent conflict. This is a function of the region’s history of violent conflict and its perceived vulnerability to climate change.
Africa is vulnerable to natural variations in climate and human-induced climate change. Adapting to these impacts is key to achieving Africa’s development targets, and requires a coordinated and synergistic approach from a diverse range of actors across sectors, as well as better understanding of the drivers of risk and vulnerability. The African Climate Risks Conference (ACRC) is an open platform for sharing the latest African climate research among researchers, policy makers, practitioners and development partners.
Climate change and its disruptive impact on water resources are increasingly recognised as threat multipliers that exacerbate conflict in areas around the world. The workshop will gather practitioners from the MENA region to discuss the role that civil society can play in fostering environmental cooperation and increasing the resilience of their communities vis-à-vis climate change and conflict.
Water conflict and cooperation surrounding riparian countries among the Jordan River has been one of the most contentious issues in the Middle East, at times leading to the use of military force. While there are many studies analyzing current water contention over the lower part of the Jordan River, there is a gap in a comprehensive analysis of factors affecting various cooperation taking place within the basin, linking analysis to future potential areas of cooperation. This report is the result of a research project aimed at filling this gap.
This policy brief analyses the challenges and potentials for cooperation among Middle Eastern countries through water governance. It takes the perspective of water insecurity as an instability multiplier, bringing the matter of water distribution and use to the center of the Middle Eastern conflict.
The NATO Parliamentary Assemblies’ Science and Technology Committee drafted a new report on Food and Water Security in the Middle East and North Africa. The report underlines that pressures on natural resources and connected impacts on food production are factors that contribute to the (in-) security of the MENA region. The document summarizes causes as well as possible technical and governance approaches to improve food and water security in the region. The initiative shows that the role of environmental resources is increasingly taken seriously in the sphere of security policy. The Science and Technology Committee will discuss the draft and recommendations to NATO countries at the Spring Session in Tbilisi from 27-29 May.
There has been a surge in international migration in recent years, reaching a total of 244 million individuals in 2015. Forced displacement has also reached a record high, with 65.3 million individuals displaced worldwide by the end of 2015 – including refugees, IDPs and asylum seekers. Yet while the absolute numbers have increased over the last 15 years, migrants as a percentage of total global population has remained stable at about three percent. A majority of migrants remain on their own continents – nearly nine out of ten African migrants settle on the African continent, while eight out of ten Asian migrants remain in Asia. Forced displacement is predominantly an issue outside wealthy economies:
nine out of ten refugees are hosted by low and middle-income countries.