Understanding the Peace and Security Dimensions of Human-Environment Relations in East Africa

Date & Time
Jun 18, 2026 | 14.00 - 15.30

Participants
Chair: Charly Facheux, African Wildlife Foundation (Kenya)
Yayo Mengesha, Aksum University (Ethiopia)
Philip Manyi Omenge, Sigtuna Consultancy Limited (Kenya)
Ali Ibrahim, Acacia Dialogue Center (Kenya)

This panel explores the diverse and interconnected conflict dynamics emerging from human–environment relations in East Africa, including human–wildlife conflict, war-induced environmental degradation, and resource-based tensions. Across these contexts, shifting land use, climate variability, population pressures, and fragile governance structures are shown to intensify both ecological strain and social conflict. In the Galana-Kulalu Ecosystem, a key wildlife corridor adjacent to Tsavo-East National Park, population growth, land use change, climate pressures, and infrastructure development are increasingly disrupting its role as an ecological buffer, intensifying human–wildlife conflict. Similarly, in Kafta-Sheraro National Park, war-induced damage has driven significant land cover transformations, including the degradation of natural ecosystems alongside the expansion of human land use, underscoring the long-term ecological consequences of conflict. Across these contexts, environmental degradation and human conflict are shown to be mutually reinforcing. The panel emphasizes the need for integrated governance approaches that bridge formal systems with Indigenous knowledge and community-led strategies, advancing more resilient, conflict-sensitive pathways for environmental peacebuilding.

Human-Wildlife Conflicts: The Case of Galana-Kulalu Cosystem, Kenya

Philip Manyi Omenge, Nyumba Foundation (Kenya)

The Aftermath of Tigray's Armed Conflict on Forested Ecosystems: Insights from Kafta Shiraro National Park, Northern Ethiopia

Yayo Mengesha, Aksum University (Ethiopia)

Integrating Indigenous Knowledge into Environmental Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution in Northern Kenya

Ali Ibrahim, Acacia Dialogue Center (Kenya)