The Links Between Climate and Security in the Sahel

Des #casquesbleus de la #MINUSMA mènent des manœuvres militaires, lors de l’opération #Frelana, afin de participer à la sécurisation des habitants des villages riverains de l’axe #Gossi-#Gao. Photo : MINUSMA/Harandane Dicko

The Sahel region of Africa is routinely cited by the United Nations as one of the regions in the world that is most vulnerable to climate change.

Many of the trends around climate change, like droughts and flooding, are felt more acutely by people in this region than anywhere else in the world. It is also a region with some profound security challenges, including political instability, armed conflict and insurgencies, extreme poverty and high levels of food insecurity. 

The international community has long sought to support peace and security in the region, but the results are mixed. One of the UN’s larger peacekeeping missions is currently deployed to Mali and France is supporting a five country counter-terrorism force known as the G-5 Sahel.  Yet despite these effor…