Key Climate Security Actors and Frameworks in Eastern Africa
Publisher: adelphi
Author(s): Lucas Destrijcker, Adrian Foong, Ayan Mahamoud, and Johanna Caitlin Dieffenbacher
Date: 2023
Topics: Climate Change, Cooperation, Governance, Programming
This mapping exercise provides an overview of relevant actors and frameworks in Eastern Africa, focusing on the interlinkages between climate, peace and security in the region so that opportunities, challenges, entry points and targets for greater resource and capacity engagement can be targeted.
Eastern Africa has long faced severe climate impacts, particularly in the form of extreme weather events such as droughts, heatwaves, and floods. In countries like South Sudan, Sudan, Somalia and Kenya amongst others, both slow- and fast-onset climate and environmental shocks have compounded existing fragility and increased risks of violent conflict. Countries in the region consistently score low in terms of vulnerability and readiness to respond to climate pressures. The effects of climate change, particularly a decrease in overall precipitation and an increase in rainfall variability, only make existing fragility worse. In 2022, a multi-year episode of drought led to a sixth consecutive failed agricultural season, pushing millions of people across the region at the brink of famine. Since 2020, extreme food and water scarcity have killed an estimated 8.9 million livestock.