Description:
Th is monograph contains papers that were presented at the International
Conference on Climate Change and Natural Resources Confl icts in Africa,
14–15 May 2009, Entebbe, Uganda, organised by the Environment Security
Programme (ESP) of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), Nairobi Offi ce.
Th e climate change phenomenon is a global concern, which typically threatens
the sustainability of the livelihoods of the majority of the population living
in the developing countries. Africa, particularly the sub-Saharan region, is likely
to be negatively impacted by climate variability and change. According to the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Africa’s vulnerability arises
from a combination of many factors, including extreme poverty, a high rate of
population increase, frequent natural disasters such as droughts and fl oods, and
agricultural systems (both crop and livestock production) that depend heavily on
rainfall. Extreme natural occurrences such as fl oods and droughts are becoming
increasingly frequent and severe. Africa’s high vulnerability to the negative impacts
of climate variability and change is also attributed to its low adaptive capacity.