And Then Things Got Complicated: Addressing the Security-Climate-Migration Nexus in the Sahel

The Sahel faces a combination of environmental, development, security, and governance challenges as few other regions do. Climate change, among other effects, underpins the depletion of resources and the expected increase in temperatures, which both drive and multiply the repercussions from internal and international human mobility and the deterioration of human security in the area. The lack of robust governance makes it very difficult to design long-lasting solutions, and the multiple roles played by violent non-state actors that exercise territorial control, threaten local populations, while also offering livelihoods to those who join their ranks, further complicate the picture. Against this background, this paper examines how climate change acts as a multiplier of existing risks in the Sahel, briefly discusses how regional and international actors have been addressing the interplay between climate, migration, and (human) security, and argues that a nexus approach to policy-making is needed to address the complex crises faced by the Sahel.

Paper written as input for the Nexus²⁵ side event at the 2022 Munich Security Conference.