Winning the Peace: Peacebuilding and Climate Change in Mali and Somalia
Publisher: DanChurchAid, Norwegian Church Aid, and ACTAlliance
Author(s): Hannah Grene, Sidi Guindo, Amadou Guindo, Abdourahamane Kamagnagou, Abdullahi Rashi Abdullahi, and Alma Mølset Andersen
Date: 2020
Topics: Climate Change, Cooperation, Gender, Governance, Land, Livelihoods, Programming
Countries: Mali, Somalia
In our research in Mali and Somalia, we set out to explore how ordinary people are experiencing the combined effects of climate change and conflict. The situation for men and women in Somalia and Mali, right now, is dire. In Somalia, we were told: We used to farm and till the land for ages, now we no longer farm throughout, we depend on relief food and food aid by agencies, recurring droughts and floods have devastated our crop fields. Millions of people in Mali and Somalia have been displaced from their homes, by climate disasters or by conflict. Others struggle to survive on the land. As temperatures continue to rise, even worse catastrophes will occur. Climate change adaptation measures are urgently needed. Not only will the environmental disasters continue apace, but where there is weak governance, a lack of resources, and a lack of legitimate and peaceful decision making mechanisms, climate change will contribute significantly to further violence.