Environmental impacts and causes of conflict in the Horn of Africa: A review

[en] The Horn of Africa region stands out amongst the planet's territories that are most volatile and vulnerable to armed violence. Conflicts have greatly affected the region over the past 50 years. The conflicts have disrupted the lives of people as well as the environment in ways that are not fully understood. Although armed conflict has generally had a negative impact on the environment, the environmental impact of conflict within the Horn of Africa has barely been evaluated. Similarly, our understanding that climate variability as well as change could have played a role in increasing or decreasing the impacts of conflicts within the Horn of Africa is insufficient. Therefore, this paper looks at the environmental impacts of conflict in the Horn of Africa since 1970 and also the role of climate variability in increasing or decreasing the impacts of conflict. Scientific publications as well as grey literature were reviewed with the aim to understand the status of past and present conflicts in the Horn of Africa, environmental impacts of conflict and the role of climate variability in decreasing or increasing impacts of conflict. The review demonstrates that conflict has extensive negative impacts on the environment in the Horn of Africa with main causes like grievances, government behaviour and interests, resource scarcity and transborder conflict as well as internal migration and climate variability. Similarly, climate variability plays a great role in exacerbating the impacts of conflict in the region. However, further research is needed to clearly show the impact of conflict and climate variability on the environment in the Horn of Africa. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.

Disciplines :

Agriculture & agronomy

Author, co-author :

Solomon, N.; Department of Land Resources Management and Environmental Protection, Mekelle University, Ethiopia, Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies, University of Ghana, Ghana

Birhane, E.; Department of Land Resources Management and Environmental Protection, Mekelle University, Ethiopia, Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, PO Box 5003, No-1432 Ås, Norway

Gordon, C.; Institute for Environment and Sanitation Studies, University of Ghana, Ghana

Haile, M.; Department of Land Resources Management and Environmental Protection, Mekelle University, Ethiopia

Taheri, F.; Department of Agricultural Economics, Ghent University, Belgium

Azadi, Hossein ; Université de Liège - ULg

Scheffran, J.; Research Group Climate Change and Security (CLISEC), Institute of Geography, University of Hamburg, Germany

Language :

English

Title :

Environmental impacts and causes of conflict in the Horn of Africa: A review

Publication date :

2018

Journal title :

Earth-Science Reviews

ISSN :

0012-8252

eISSN :

1872-6828

Publisher :

Elsevier, Netherlands

Volume :

177

Pages :

284-290

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Available on ORBi :

since 14 May 2021

Statistics

Number of views

41 (2 by ULiège)

Number of downloads

2 (2 by ULiège)

More statistics

Scopus citations^®

Scopus citations^®
without self-citations

OpenCitations

Bibliography

Ajayi, A.T., Buhari, L.O., Methods of conflict resolution in African traditional society. Afr. Res. Rev. 8:2 (2014), 138–157.
Aladi, D., Emerging trends and dimensions of the Rwandan crisis. Afr. J. Int. Aff. Dev. 7:1 (2002), 40–65.
Alix-Garcia, J., Bartlett, A., Saah, D., The landscape of conflict: IDPs, aid and land-use change in Darfur. J. Econ. Geogr. 13:4 (2013), 589–617, 10.1093/jeg/lbs044.
Al-Senafy, M.N., Viswanathan, M.N., Senay, Y., Sumait, A., Soil contamination from oil lakes in northern Kuwait. J. Soil Contam. 6:5 (1997), 481–494, 10.1080/15320389709383581.
Al-Shishani, M., Environmental Ramifications of the Russian War on Chechnya. Retrieved December 09, 2015, from http://www.cacianalyst.org/publications/analytical-articles/item/10836-analytical-articles-caci-analyst-2006-5-3-art-10836.html, 2006.
Aremu, J.O., Conflicts in Africa: meaning, causes, impact and solutiondeoti. Afr. Res. Rev., 4(4), 2010.
Baral, N., Heinen, J.T., The Maoist people's war and conservation in Nepal. Polit. Life Sci. 24:1–2 (2005), 2–11, 10.2990/1471-5457(2005)24[2:TMPWAC]2.0.CO;2.
Barki, H., Hartwick, J., Conceptualizing the construct of interpersonal conflict. Int. J. Confl. Manag. 15:3 (2004), 216–244.
Beyers, R.L., Hart, J.A., Sinclair, A.R., Grossmann, F., Klinkenberg, B., Dino, S., Resource wars and conflict ivory: the impact of civil conflict on elephants in the Democratic Republic of Congo-the case of the Okapi Reserve. PLoS One, 6(11), 2011, e27129.
Beyers, R.L., Hart, J.A., Sinclair, A.R., Grossmann, F., Klinkenberg, B., Dino, S., Somers, M., Resource wars and conflict ivory: the impact of civil conflict on elephants in the Democratic Republic of Congo—the case of the Okapi Reserve. PLoS One, 6(11), 2011, e27129, 10.1371/journal.pone.0027129.
Brady, L., Korea's green ribbon of hope: history, ecology, and activism in the DMZ. Solutions 3:1 (2012), 94–98.
Byers, M., Dragojlovic, N., Darfur: a climate change-induced humanitarian crisis?. Hum. Secur. Bull., 2004, 16–18.
Certini, G., Scalenghe, R., Woods, W.I., The impact of warfare on the soil environment. Earth Sci. Rev. 127 (2013), 1–15.
Chikwanha, A.B., The anatomy of conflicts in the East African Community (EAC): linking security with development. Keynote speech to Development Policy Review Network-African Studies Institute, 2007, Leiden University, The Netherlands.
Conteh, J., Colonial roots of conflicts in Africa: a historical perspective, prevention and resolution. Afr. J. Confl. Prev. Manag. Resolut., 2(1), 1998.
Crawford, N., Lutz, C., Watson, T.J. Jr., The Costs of War Since 2001: Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan: Executive Summary. 2011, Brown University, Watson Institute for International Studies.
Daly, M., Bush Forest Budget Called Disastrous. [Press release]. Retrieved from http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-02-13-320353251_x.htm, 2008.
De Merode, E., Smith, K.H., Homewood, K., Pettifor, R., Rowcliffe, M., Cowlishaw, G., The impact of armed conflict on protected-area efficacy in Central Africa. Biol. Lett. 3:3 (2007), 299–301, 10.1098/rsbl.2007.0010.
DeWeerdt, S., War and the environment. World Watch Mag., 21, 2008.
Doerr, S.H., Shakesby, R.A., Walsh, R.P.D., Soil water repellency: its causes, characteristics and hydro-geomorphological significance. Earth Sci. Rev. 51 (2000), 33–65.
Dudley, J.P., Ginsberg, J.R., Plumptre, A.J., Hart, J.A., Campos, L.C., Effects of war and civil strife on wildlife and wildlife habitats. Conserv. Biol. 16:2 (2002), 319–329.
Eltringham, S.K., Malpas, R.C., The decline in elephant numbers in Rwenzori and Kabalega Falls National Parks, Uganda. Afr. J. Ecol. 18:1 (1980), 73–86, 10.1111/j.1365-2028.1980.tb00271.x.
Eminue, O., Conflict resolution and management in Africa: a panorama of conceptual and theoretical issues. Afr. J. Int. Aff. Dev., 9(1/2), 2004, 10.
Eniang, E.A., Haile, A., Yihdego, T., Impacts of landmines on the environment and biodiversity. Environ. Policy Law, 37(6), 2007, 501.
Fearon, J.D., Laitin, D.D., Ethnicity, insurgency, and civil war. Am. Polit. Sci. Rev. 97:01 (2003), 75–90, 10.1017/S0003055403000534.
Foster, P., The potential negative impacts of global climate change on tropical montane cloud forests. Earth Sci. Rev. 55:1–2 (2001), 73–106.
Fulgence, N., War on terrorism in Africa: a challenge for regional integration and cooperation organizations in eastern and western Africa. J. Polit. Sci. Public Aff., 1, 2015, 007, 10.4172/2332-0761.S1-007.
GebreMichael, T., Hundessa, T., Hillma, J., The effects of war on world heritage sites and protected areas in Ethiopia. Paper Presented at the World Heritage Twenty Years Later. Papers Presented During the workshops Held During the IV World Congress on National Parks and Protected Areas, Caracas, Venezuela, February 1992, 1992.
van de Giessen, E., Horn of Africa Environmental Security Assessment; Study By Kidana Mengisteab. 2011, 2011 http://www.envirosecurity.org/espa/PDF/ESA_HOA.pdf.
Gorsevski, V., Kasischke, E., Dempewolf, J., Loboda, T., Grossmann, F., Analysis of the impacts of armed conflict on the Eastern Afromontane forest region on the South Sudan — Uganda border using multitemporal Landsat imagery. Remote Sens. Environ. 118 (2012), 10–20 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2011.10.023.
Guha-Sapir, D., Ratnayake, R., Consequences of ongoing civil conflict in Somalia: evidence for public health responses. PLoS Med., 6(8), 2009, e1000108, 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000108.
Hanson, T., Brooks, T.M., Da Fonseca, G.A.B., Hoffmann, M., Lamoreux, J.F., Machlis, G., Pilgrim, J.D., Warfare in Biodiversity Hotspots Guerra en Sitios de Importancia para la Biodiversidad. Conserv. Biol. 23:3 (2009), 578–587, 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2009.01166.x.
Hendrix, C.S., Glaser, S.M., Trends and triggers: climate, climate change and civil conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa. Polit. Geogr. 26:6 (2007), 695–715 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2007.06.006.
Hussain, T., Gondal, M.A., Monitoring and assessment of toxic metals in Gulf War oil spill contaminated soil using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy. Environ. Monit. Assess. 136:1–3 (2008), 391–399, 10.1007/s10661-007-9694-2.
Ide, T., Schilling, J., Link, J., Scheffran, J., Wambui Ngaruiya, G., Weinzierl, T., On exposure, vulnerability and violence: spatial distribution of risk factors for climate change and violent conflict across Kenya and Uganda. Polit. Geogr. 43:1 (2014), 68–81.
Ismael, S.T., The cost of war: the children of Iraq. J. Comp. Fam. Stud. 38:2 (2007), 337–357.
Jha, U., Armed Conflict and Environmental Damage. 2014, Vij Books India Pvt Ltd.
Joksimovich, V., Militarism and ecology: NATO ecocide in Serbia. Mediterr. Q. 11:4 (2000), 140–160.
Kanyamibwa, S., Impact of war on conservation: Rwandan environment and wildlife in agony. Biodivers. Conserv. 7:11 (1998), 1399–1406, 10.1023/A:1008880113990.
Karbuz, S., The US military oil consumption. Energy Bull., 26, 2006.
Karna, B.K., Shivakoti, G.P., Webb, E.L., Resilience of community forestry under conditions of armed conflict in Nepal. Environ. Conserv. 37:02 (2010), 201–209, 10.1017/S0376892910000263.
Kudakwashe, M.A., Richard, B., Causes of armed conflicts and their effects on women. Int. J. Res. Humanit. Soc. Stud. 2:4 (2015), 77–85.
Leaning, J., Environment and health: 5. Impact of war. CMAJ: Can. Med. Assoc. J. 163:9 (2000), 1157–1161.
Leroy, M., Environment and Conflicts in Africa: Reflection on Darfur. 2009, University for Peace, Africa Programme, Ethiopia 2009.
Li, Z., Fang, H., Impacts of climate change on water erosion: a review. Earth Sci. Rev. 163 (2016), 94–117.
Loucks, C., Mascia, M.B., Maxwell, A., Huy, K., Duong, K., Chea, N., Seng, T., Wildlife decline in Cambodia, 1953–2005: exploring the legacy of armed conflict. Conserv. Lett. 2:2 (2009), 82–92, 10.1111/j.1755-263X.2008.00044.x.
Makhijani, A., Hu, H., Yih, K., A Global Guide to Nuclear Weapons Production and Its Health and Environmental Effects. 2000, 2000, MIT Press.
Martin, P.S., Szuter, C.R., War zones and game sinks in Lewis and Clark's west. Conserv. Biol. 13:1 (1999), 36–45.
Mataix-Solera, J., Cerdà A., Arcenegui, V., Jordán, A., Zavala, L.M., Fire effects on soil aggregation: a review. Earth Sci. Rev. 109 (2011), 44–60.
Maystadt, J.-F., Ecker, O., Extreme weather and civil war: does drought fuel conflict in Somalia through livestock price shocks?. Am. J. Agric. Econ. 96:4 (2014), 1157–1182, 10.1093/ajae/aau010.
Maystadt, J.-F., Calderone, M., You, L., Local warming and violent conflict in North and South Sudan. J. Econ. Geogr. 15:3 (2015), 649–671, 10.1093/jeg/lbu033.
McLaren, D., Ian, W., The Environmental Damage of War in Iraq. 2003, The Guardian Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/jan/19/iraq5.
McNeely, J.A., Biodiversity, war, and tropical forests. J. Sustain. For. 16:3–4 (2003), 1–20, 10.1300/J091v16n03_01.
McNeely, J.A., Conserving forest biodiversity in times of violent conflict. Oryx 37:02 (2003), 142–152, 10.1017/S0030605303000334.
Meier, P., Bond, D., Bond, J., Environmental influences on pastoral conflict in the Horn of Africa. Polit. Geogr. 26:6 (2007), 716–735.
Messina, J.P., Delamater, P.L., Defoliation and the war on drugs in Putumayo, Colombia. Int. J. Remote Sens. 27:1 (2006), 121–128, 10.1080/01431160500293708.
Miguel, E., Satyanath, S., Sergenti, E., Economic shocks and civil conflict: an instrumental variables approach. J. Polit. Econ. 112:4 (2004), 725–753, 10.1086/421174.
O'Loughlin, J., Witmer, F.D.W., Linke, A.M., Laing, A., Gettelman, A., Dudhia, J., Climate variability and conflict risk in East Africa, 1990–2009. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 109:45 (2012), 18344–18349, 10.1073/pnas.1205130109.
Oyugi, W.O., Conflict in Kenya: A Periodic Phenomenon. 2002.
Partow, H., Environmental Impact of Wars and Conflicts. Arab Environment: Future Challenges. 2008, 159.
Peterson, S., Depleted Uranium Haunts Kosovo and Iraq. Global Research, November 05. https://www.globalresearch.ca/depleted-uranium-haunts-kosovo-and-iraq/3715, 2006.
Protopsaltis, C., Air pollution caused by war activity. Air Pollut. XX, 157, 2012, 93.
Puchala, D.J., International Politics Today. 1971, Dodd, Mead & Company.
Qamer, F., Abbas, S., Saleem, R., Shehzad, K., Ali, H., Gilani, H., Forest cover change assessment in conflict-affected areas of northwest Pakistan: the case of swat and shangla districts. J. Mt. Sci. 9:3 (2012), 297–306, 10.1007/s11629-009-2319-1.
Qasim, M.M., Moore, B., Taylor, L., Gorb, L., Leszczynski, J., Honea, P., Structural characteristics and reactivity relationships of nitroaromatic and nitramine explosives–a review of our computational chemistry and spectroscopic research. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 8:12 (2007), 1234–1264, 10.3390/i8121234.
Raleigh, C., Kniveton, D., Come rain or shine: an analysis of conflict and climate variability in East Africa. J. Peace Res. 49:1 (2012), 51–64, 10.1177/0022343311427754.
Rose, E.P., Impact of military activities on local and regional geologic conditions. Rev. Eng. Geol. 16 (2005), 51–66, 10.1130/2005.4016(05).
Sánchez-Cuervo, A., Aide, T.M., Consequences of the armed conflict, forced human displacement, and land abandonment on forest cover change in Colombia: a multi-scaled analysis. Ecosystems 16:6 (2013), 1052–1070, 10.1007/s10021-013-9667-y.
Scheffran, J., Ide, T., Schilling, J., Violent climate or climate of violence? Concepts and relations with focus on Kenya and Sudan. Int. J. Hum. Rights 18:3 (2014), 369–390.
Scheffran, J., Leidreiter, A., Van Riet, R., Ware, A., The Climate-Nuclear Nexus. 2016, World Future Council, United Kingdom, London.
Schilling, J., Locham, R., Weinzierl, T., Vivekananda, J., Scheffran, J., The nexus of oil, conflict, and climate change vulnerability of pastoral communities in northwest Kenya. Earth Syst. Dyn. 6 (2015), 703–717.
Schmidt, S.M., Kochan, T.A., Conflict: toward conceptual clarity. Adm. Sci. Q. 17:3 (1972), 359–370, 10.2307/2392149.
Shakesby, R.A., Doerr, S.H., Wildfire as a hydrological and geomorphological agent. Earth Sci. Rev. 74 (2006), 269–307.
Shaw, R.B., Doe, W.W. III, Houston, S., Ecological Soil Characterization of the Delta Creek and Washington Impact Areas. 2001, DTIC Document, Fort Greely, Alaska.
Sidel, V.W., Levy, B.S., The health impact of war. Int. J. Inj. Control Saf. Promot. 15:4 (2008), 189–195, 10.1080/17457300802404935.
Stevens, K., Campbell, L., Urquhart, G., Kramer, D., Qi, J., Examining complexities of forest cover change during armed conflict on Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast. Biodivers. Conserv. 20:12 (2011), 2597–2613, 10.1007/s10531-011-0093-1.
Suthakar, K., Bui, E.N., Land use/cover changes in the war-ravaged Jaffna Peninsula, Sri Lanka, 1984–early 2004. Singap. J. Trop. Geogr. 29:2 (2008), 205–220, 10.1111/j.1467-9493.2008.00329.x.
Tadesse, M., Turning Conflicts to Co-operation in the Horn of Africa. 2003, FES International Publications, Ethiopia.
Tardanico, R., Post-civil war San Salvador: social inequalities of household and basic infrastructure in a central American city. J. Dev. Stud. 44:1 (2008), 127–152, 10.1080/00220380701722340.
Tucker, S.C., A Global Chronology of Conflict: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East: From the Ancient World to the Modern Middle East. 2009, Abc-clio.
UNEP, Introductory Report of the Executive Director. Environmental Consequences of the Armed Conflict Between Iraq and Kuwait. 1991, United Nations Environment Programme, New York.
USAID, East Africa Regional Conflict and Instability Assessment. 2012, Tetra Tech ARD, Washington.
USAID, Climate Change and Conflict: Findings and Lessons Learned From Five Case Studies in Seven Countries. 2014, Tetra Tech ARD, Washington.
Verhoeven, H., Climate change, conflict and development in Sudan: global neo-Malthusian narratives and local power struggles. Dev. Chang. 42:3 (2011), 679–707.
Wachira, G., Conflicts in Africa as compound disasters: complex crises requiring comprehensive responses. J. Conting. Crisis Manag. 5:2 (1997), 109–117.
Westing, A., Environmental consequences of the second Indochina war: a case study. Machlis, G.E., Hanson, T., Špirić Z., McKendry, J.E., (eds.) Warfare Ecology, 2011, Springer, Netherlands, 11–17.
Westing, A.H., The second Indochina war of 1961–1975: its environmental impact. Westing, Arthur H., (eds.) SpringerBriefs on Pioneers in Science and Practice, vol 1, 2013, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
Wikipedia, List of Conflicts in Africa Wikipedia. 2016.
Wilkinson, M.T., Richards, P.J., Humphreys, G.S., Breaking ground: pedological, geological, and ecological implications of soil bioturbation. Earth Sci. Rev. 97 (2009), 257–272.
Ylonen, A., Greivances and the Roots of Insurgencies: Southern Sudan and Darfur. Peace Confl. Dev. Interdisc. J., 2005, 7 available from http://www.peacestudiesjournal.org.uk.
Zorbas, E., Reconciliation in post-genocide Rwanda. Afr. J. Leg. Stud. 1:1 (2004), 29–52.