Climate change, ecological degradation, migration and conflict

Name researcher: Han van Dijk
Affiliation: ASC Leiden

Synopsis:

Over the past decades there has been a lot of debate about the relations between climate change, ecological degradation, migration and conflict. Many attribute the increase in conflict to migration of Fulani to the south as a result of climate change and increasing resource scarcity. In this project the available evidence will be carefully assessed and analysed and case studies will be done to study the local mechanisms leading to conflict between Fulani and other population groups and will try to establish the links with the larger scale changes at the level of climate, ecosystem, demography and the political economy of herding. This will be done in close collaboration with the junior researchers and research on decentralisation, cross-border interactions and the role of youth. In this way coordination between the different projects will be achieved as well.

Activities over time

• Literature and document review
• Case studies of conflicts and population movements in selected regions
• Interviews with key informants and experts

Deliverables

• Semester report
• Scientific papers
• Contributions to stakeholder meeting, seminars and conferences
• Blogs
• Policy briefs