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The Sahel region is facing deep-rooted challenges—environmental, climate change, political and security— that are affecting the prosperity and peace of the region. The area includes mostly arid and semi-arid places; and climate change has a strong influence on the day-to-day economic development of the region, particularly in terms of water, food security, health, ecosystems, and livelihoods.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), temperatures in the Sahel will increase 1.5 times faster than the global average. Rainfall has already become more unpredictable, and so have extreme droughts, flooding and sandstorms have become more frequent, and the predictions are that this trend will continue and increase in the future. Around 70 percent of the population in the region depends on rain-fed agriculture and livestock rearing for their livelihoods. The population has historically demonstrated its capacity to adapt and cope with the negative impacts of such extreme events. However, the impact of climate change, has rapidly increased the frequency of disasters in the past 20 years, which has eroded the adaptation and recovery capacities of the Sahelian population. For many families this implies that there is simply not enough time to recover and rebuild their assets before the next disaster strikes.
The relationship between livelihood, climate and natural disasters, has cumulatively resulted in high competition for access to shrinking natural resources, especially agriculture and pastoral lands and water. This is even more true in a region that is undergoing a rapid population growth and adds to the pressure on natural resources and access to basic services.
Juxtaposing this situation to the presence of terrorist and criminal groups in some parts of the Sahel has also increased the vulnerability of rural communities. Historical grievances have further complicated inter-group relations and political dynamics and State-building processes across the Sahelian countries. The inability of the States to adequately respond to the deep-seated grievances has also been exploited by violent extremists. Notably, extremist groups throughout the region have been able to capitalize on inter-communal divisions, on weak governance and service delivery at local level and the resentment against central governments.
Guided by Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN system in general and UNDP in particular has an important role to accompany governments and support civil society in West Africa and the Sahel in preventing and tackling the impact of climate change on, migration, conflict and security.
1.1. UNDP’s action
UNDP is a major actor for technical assistance on climate change adaptation, resilience building, livelihoods, disaster risk management, and in implementing the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund within the UN system. Together with DPPA and UNEP, it constitutes the core advisory capacity of the UN Climate Security Mechanism and with DPPA, it leads the Joint Program on Building National Capacities for Conflict Prevention. UNDP has designed key tools and approaches deployed UN system-wide on climate change, DRR and conflict prevention, including the UN Common Guidance on Helping Build Resilient Societies, the UNDG Conflict and Development Analysis Tool, and the Guidance on Post Disaster Needs Assessment in Conflict Situations.
UNDP’s action on the climate and security nexus in the Sahel region is led by UNDP’s sub-regional Hub for West and Central Africa in Dakar. It aims to (i) climate-proof conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts, (ii) strengthen conflict-sensitive approaches in climate change and disaster risk reduction policy and programming; and (iii) deliver an integrated/systemic-approach to climate resilience and sustaining peace, in fragile conflict-affected contexts.
The Sahel region is facing deep-rooted challenges—environmental, climate change, political and security— that are affecting the prosperity and peace of the region. The area includes mostly arid and semi-arid places; and climate change has a strong influence on the day-to-day economic development of the region, particularly in terms of water, food security, health, ecosystems, and livelihoods.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), temperatures in the Sahel will increase 1.5 times faster than the global average. Rainfall has already become more unpredictable, and so have extreme droughts, flooding and sandstorms have become more frequent, and the predictions are that this trend will continue and increase in the future. Around 70 percent of the population in the region depends on rain-fed agriculture and livestock rearing for their livelihoods. The population has historically demonstrated its capacity to adapt and cope with the negative impacts of such extreme events. However, the impact of climate change, has rapidly increased the frequency of disasters in the past 20 years, which has eroded the adaptation and recovery capacities of the Sahelian population. For many families this implies that there is simply not enough time to recover and rebuild their assets before the next disaster strikes.
The relationship between livelihood, climate and natural disasters, has cumulatively resulted in high competition for access to shrinking natural resources, especially agriculture and pastoral lands and water. This is even more true in a region that is undergoing a rapid population growth and adds to the pressure on natural resources and access to basic services.
Juxtaposing this situation to the presence of terrorist and criminal groups in some parts of the Sahel has also increased the vulnerability of rural communities. Historical grievances have further complicated inter-group relations and political dynamics and State-building processes across the Sahelian countries. The inability of the States to adequately respond to the deep-seated grievances has also been exploited by violent extremists. Notably, extremist groups throughout the region have been able to capitalize on inter-communal divisions, on weak governance and service delivery at local level and the resentment against central governments.
Guided by Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN system in general and UNDP in particular has an important role to accompany governments and support civil society in West Africa and the Sahel in preventing and tackling the impact of climate change on, migration, conflict and security.
1.1. UNDP’s action
UNDP is a major actor for technical assistance on climate change adaptation, resilience building, livelihoods, disaster risk management, and in implementing the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund within the UN system. Together with DPPA and UNEP, it constitutes the core advisory capacity of the UN Climate Security Mechanism and with DPPA, it leads the Joint Program on Building National Capacities for Conflict Prevention. UNDP has designed key tools and approaches deployed UN system-wide on climate change, DRR and conflict prevention, including the UN Common Guidance on Helping Build Resilient Societies, the UNDG Conflict and Development Analysis Tool, and the Guidance on Post Disaster Needs Assessment in Conflict Situations.
UNDP’s action on the climate and security nexus in the Sahel region is led by UNDP’s sub-regional Hub for West and Central Africa in Dakar. It aims to (i) climate-proof conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts, (ii) strengthen conflict-sensitive approaches in climate change and disaster risk reduction policy and programming; and (iii) deliver an integrated/systemic-approach to climate resilience and sustaining peace, in fragile conflict-affected contexts.
The Sahel region is facing deep-rooted challenges—environmental, climate change, political and security— that are affecting the prosperity and peace of the region. The area includes mostly arid and semi-arid places; and climate change has a strong influence on the day-to-day economic development of the region, particularly in terms of water, food security, health, ecosystems, and livelihoods.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), temperatures in the Sahel will increase 1.5 times faster than the global average. Rainfall has already become more unpredictable, and so have extreme droughts, flooding and sandstorms have become more frequent, and the predictions are that this trend will continue and increase in the future. Around 70 percent of the population in the region depends on rain-fed agriculture and livestock rearing for their livelihoods. The population has historically demonstrated its capacity to adapt and cope with the negative impacts of such extreme events. However, the impact of climate change, has rapidly increased the frequency of disasters in the past 20 years, which has eroded the adaptation and recovery capacities of the Sahelian population. For many families this implies that there is simply not enough time to recover and rebuild their assets before the next disaster strikes.
The relationship between livelihood, climate and natural disasters, has cumulatively resulted in high competition for access to shrinking natural resources, especially agriculture and pastoral lands and water. This is even more true in a region that is undergoing a rapid population growth and adds to the pressure on natural resources and access to basic services.
Juxtaposing this situation to the presence of terrorist and criminal groups in some parts of the Sahel has also increased the vulnerability of rural communities. Historical grievances have further complicated inter-group relations and political dynamics and State-building processes across the Sahelian countries. The inability of the States to adequately respond to the deep-seated grievances has also been exploited by violent extremists. Notably, extremist groups throughout the region have been able to capitalize on inter-communal divisions, on weak governance and service delivery at local level and the resentment against central governments.
Guided by Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN system in general and UNDP in particular has an important role to accompany governments and support civil society in West Africa and the Sahel in preventing and tackling the impact of climate change on, migration, conflict and security.
1.1. UNDP’s action
UNDP is a major actor for technical assistance on climate change adaptation, resilience building, livelihoods, disaster risk management, and in implementing the Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund within the UN system. Together with DPPA and UNEP, it constitutes the core advisory capacity of the UN Climate Security Mechanism and with DPPA, it leads the Joint Program on Building National Capacities for Conflict Prevention. UNDP has designed key tools and approaches deployed UN system-wide on climate change, DRR and conflict prevention, including the UN Common Guidance on Helping Build Resilient Societies, the UNDG Conflict and Development Analysis Tool, and the Guidance on Post Disaster Needs Assessment in Conflict Situations.
UNDP’s action on the climate and security nexus in the Sahel region is led by UNDP’s sub-regional Hub for West and Central Africa in Dakar. It aims to (i) climate-proof conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts, (ii) strengthen conflict-sensitive approaches in climate change and disaster risk reduction policy and programming; and (iii) deliver an integrated/systemic-approach to climate resilience and sustaining peace, in fragile conflict-affected contexts.
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