Climate Change and Conflict Resolution in Africa: The Nexus

Abstract

The paper focuses on the nexus between climate change and conflict resolution in Africa. Its general objective is to assess the nature of relationship between climate change and conflict resolution, with the specific aims to identify how the interconnections between the twin concepts affect national security, and to propose policy-based recommendations to mitigate the anomalies. Its methodology include the use of qualitative descriptive method of analysis, secondary sources of information (books, internet, journals, newspapers, etc), and use of charts in its analysis. It adopted the Functionalist theory for its theoretical framework for needful extrapolations to explaining the nexus between climate change and conflict resolution. Some findings were made; a few of these include 1. There is inextricable causal relationship between climate change and conflict resolution: the more there are climate change-related conflicts, the more conflict resolution mechanisms emerge to resolve them; 2. Its impacts hold negative implications to national security; etc. In view of the findings, the paper therefore concluded that there is a correlation between the two variables, and recommends thus: leadership of the affected communities and the indigenes should be actively involved in resolving the climate change related conflicts; African national governments should take up climate change and conflict resolutions as top priorities in their national budgets with adequate provisions, etc.
 
 Received: 27 February 2022 / Accepted: 29 April 2022 / Published: 5 May 2022