The United Nations has called for immediate climate mitigation and adaptation in the Sahel to prevent worsening conflict and displacement.

The Special Coordinator for Development in the Sahel and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) made the call.

They warned that without urgent investment in climate mitigation and adaptation, countries in the Sahel risk decades of armed conflict and displacement exacerbated by rising temperatures, resource scarcity, and food insecurity.

In a report, titled Moving from Reaction to Action: Anticipating Vulnerability Hotspots in the Sahel, the UN Special Coordinator for Development in the Sahel, Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, said, ‘Left unchecked, the climate emergency will further imperil Sahelian communities as devastating floods, droughts, and heatwaves decimate access to water, food, and livelihoods, and amplify the risk of conflict.

‘This will ultimately force more people to flee their homes’.

Mar Dieye said the climate crisis, instability and the low level of investments in development in the area are creating a disempowering mix that is heavily taxing Sahelian communities.

He noted that there is also the added risk of jeopardising the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adding that solutions focused on people’s agency and investments require unwavering commitment and dedication from all.

Mar Dieye also stressed the need for the correct data and analysis to know what is coming in order to execute proactive and impactful policy responses.

The report looked at the ten countries covered by the UN Integrated Strategy for the Sahel and its support plan in West and Central Africa – Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, the Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, and Senegal.

The UNHCR Special Advisor for Climate Action, Andrew Harper, for his part, noted that the rising temperatures and extreme weather in the Sahel are worsening armed conflict, hence only a massive boost in collective climate mitigation and adaptation can alleviate the current and future humanitarian consequences.

The Sahel, a vast semi-arid region in Africa that includes the countries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, is experiencing one of the world’s most severe humanitarian and protection crises.

Data from UNHCR shows that nearly 2.7 million people have been internally displaced, and more than 920,000 have sought refuge in neighbouring countries.

Photo source: Oxfam International