International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research

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A Widely Indexed Open Access Peer Reviewed Multidisciplinary Bi-monthly Scholarly International Journal

Call for Paper Volume 6 Issue 6 November-December 2024 Submit your research before last 3 days of December to publish your research paper in the issue of November-December.

Debating Environmental Change and Conflict in the Global South: Learning from Selected Cases in Africa

Author(s) Ngonidzashe Kafesu, Dr. Upasona Sarmah
Country India
Abstract The crux of this paper centres on the dynamics of environmental change and ensuing conflict. This review paper accentuates the various theoretical underpinnings regarding environmental change and conflict. Particular reference was given to countries in the Global South because they are the most affected by environmental change-related conflict. It was established in this paper that population growth is positively correlated to militarised interstate disputes, although this is not always the case. Again, there is a lack of coding in current conflict dates, to the extent that it is often complicated to ascertain whether specific conflict trends can be traced back to environmental change. Conflict data usually use data sets from the environment-conflict nexus that only capture high-intensity conflict events, which often ignore low-scale conflict within states and districts. Thirdly, the averaging conflict would likely lead to biassed academic and policy conclusions. Fourthly, poor economic performances, either persistent or temporary, have the likelihood of causing violent conflicts. For instance, a land invasion in Brazil occurred immediately after adverse economic shocks.Further environmental degradation can cause migration by perpetuating migration. A significant obstacle encountered in the field of Risk perception literature pertains to the tendency of scholars to heavily depend on excessively deterministic explanations when conceptualising the concept of resource scarcity. Once more, the assessment of environmental change is exclusively based on small variations in temperature and precipitation. The examples examined in this study were selected from diverse geographical regions, encompassing East Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, and Southern Africa. In agro-pastoral West Africa, the frequency of conflicts is on the rise. As a result, policymakers and multilateral funders are increasingly shouldering the responsibility due to the ongoing growth of populations and the changing environmental conditions. There seems to be a correlation between environmental degradation and conflict; however, the relationship between these two is not always apparent or might be the other way around. Based on current theorising and available empirical evidence, it remains debatable whether environmental degradation increases the risk of violent conflict or whether conflict is leading to natural resource deterioration.
Keywords Environmental Change, Climate Change, Africa, Environmental Conflict Sustainability, Environmental Degradation
Field Sociology > Politics
Published In Volume 6, Issue 2, March-April 2024
Published On 2024-03-26
Cite This Debating Environmental Change and Conflict in the Global South: Learning from Selected Cases in Africa - Ngonidzashe Kafesu, Dr. Upasona Sarmah - IJFMR Volume 6, Issue 2, March-April 2024. DOI 10.36948/ijfmr.2024.v06i02.15270
DOI https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2024.v06i02.15270
Short DOI https://doi.org/gtppgz

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