Climate wars?

Watch the recording of the webinar here

Please note that this webinar is in English but with one session in French.

As violence reaches unprecedented levels in the Sahel and Central Africa, these regions are hotspots of a toxic nexus of violent conflict, climate stress, and dwindling resources. This webinar explores this nexus, zooming in on how armed groups govern access to coveted resources. Are these conflicts a taster of impending climate wars? Does climate change present an opportunity for rebels, or are other causes more important to understand the drivers of conflict in this part of the world? Join us to hear leading experts and researchers from the region share the latest on this hotly debated topic.

Speakers
Luca Raineri,  Assistant Professor, Institute of Law, Politics and Development, Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa
Thierry Vircoulon, Associate Resarch Fellow, Observatoire Afrique Centrale & French Institute of International Relations
Pabamé Sougnabé, Institute for Research on Pastoralist Development, Chad
Boubacar Ba, Centre d'Analyse sur la Gouvernance et la Sécurité au Sahel (CAGS), Mali
Soleil-Parfait Kalessopo, Independent Researcher, Central African Republic
Amadou Adamou, PhD Candidate, Leiden University
Signe Marie Cold-Ravnkilde, Senior Researcher, DIIS
Peer Schouten, Senior Researcher, DIIS

Programme
14.00-14.10   Introduction, Peer Schouten
14.10-14.25   Sahel climate conflicts? When (fighting) climate change fuels terrorism, Luca Raineri
14.25-14.40   When the Sahel meets Central Africa: understanding a new geopolitical reality, Thierry Vircoulon
14.40-14.55   Natural resource conflicts as weapons of war in Central Mali, Boubacar Ba
14.55-15.15   Rebels brokering herder climate adaptation: a view from Central Africa, Peer Schouten, Amadou Amadou, Pabame Sougnabé and Soleil-Parfait Kalessopo (this session is in French)
15.15-15.45   Q&A, moderated by Signe Marie Cold-Ravnkilde

Recorded Thursday 21 January 2021, 14.00-15.45
DIIS ∙ Danish Institute for International Studies