STOCKHOLM - Today, SIPRI, FES and NUPI are launching a new report titled Climate Change and Security in West Africa: Regional Perspectives on Addressing Climate-related Security Risks. The report examines the linkages between climate change and security in West Africa.
Climate change is altering the security landscape on a global scale, with West African countries experiencing the effects at a faster rate than the rest of the world. The regional impact of climate change is compounded by political tensions, violent conflicts and complex humanitarian emergencies. Changing climate conditions are having a direct effect on natural resource availability, biodiversity and agricultural productivity, exacerbating the human security implications of climate change in West Africa. Projections indicate that unprecedented changes in temperatures and precipitation will occur in the region over the next 10–20 years, further exacerbating the situation. Moreover, violent conflicts are escalating and spilling over into neighbouring countries.
Given the need for locally anchored analyses and responses to climate-related security risks in West Africa, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung’s Peace and Security Centre of Competence Sub-Saharan Africa (FES), the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) organized a series of meetings for West African experts, researchers, and civil society organizations from November 2021 to November 2022. This new report summarizes the working group’s analysis of climate-related security risks in West Africa, responses to those risks and recommendations for actions to address them.
About the editor
Kheira Tarif (Algeria/United Kingdom) is a Researcher in the SIPRI Climate Change and Risk Programme.
To download the full paper, visit: https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/2023-03/fes-reportclimate-a4-03.pdf
