In central Africa, the consequences of climate change are already having a negative impact on the lives and livelihood of citizens, especially those residing in rural areas. There are massive and dynamic climate variations being experienced across the region. At the same time as there is crop flooding in northern Cameroon there are rising temperatures and drought in much of Chad where desertification and scarcity of resources have led to heightened conflicts between crop farmers and cattle herders.
In Chad, the hotspots of climate change-related natural resource conflicts include the Salamat, Sila and Ouaddai provinces. Herders and sedentary farmers have a long and troubled history in southern Chad, where ethnic friction over land is common. In February 2021, about 35 people were killed in clashes involving semi-nomadic herders and farmers in the province of Salamat.
Around Lake Chad, violent conflicts have occurred due to growing water scarcity. The lake’s water has diminished by 70 per cent in the past 50 years, partly due to climate change. However, the population depending on the lake for their livelihoods has increased from 3.5 million in 1960 to over 45 million inhabitants in 2020. In August 2021, about 11,000 civilians fled from Logone and Chari to Chad after a conflict over water between cattle ranchers and fishermen. Forty people were killed and 70 were wounded.
Irregular rainfall patterns in the Lake Chad Basin have created socio-economic shifts that have been linked to recruitment into Boko Haram and the Islamic State as people are pushed to desperate measures to secure their futures.
As competition over land, minerals, fresh water and fishing rights, manifests or escalates parties have sometimes deployed violence in the struggle. There is a consequential linear relationship between climate change, natural resource conflicts and insecurity.