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Conflicts about water in Lake Chad: Are environmental, vulnerability and security issues linked?

Author

Listed:
  • Uche T. Okpara

    (Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK.
    Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria)

  • Lindsay C. Stringer

    (Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK)

  • Andrew J. Dougill

    (Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK)

  • Mohammed D. Bila

    (Lake Chad Basin Commission, P.O Box 727, N’Djamena, Chad Republic)

Abstract

This article builds on the growing literature that explores the relationships between environmental change and non-traditional security, defined as non-military threats that challenge the survival and well-being of peoples and states. The Lake Chad basin in Africa is used as a case study for analysis. Focusing on a set of questions that have dominated recent theoretical debates, this article investigates whether conflicts resulting from water scarcity are as much about the broader vulnerability of the Lake Chad region as they are about changes in the lake system and its environment. It argues that conflict is a probable outcome only in locations that are already challenged by a multitude of other context-specific factors besides resource scarcity. In the Lake Chad context, the likelihood of scarcity-driven conflict depends on whether vulnerability increases or decreases in the face of a declining water supply. The article provides perspectives for a nuanced understanding of how the receding Lake Chad has led to conflict and outlines an integrated, forward-looking research agenda for linking environmental change, vulnerability and security issues in integrated human–environment systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Uche T. Okpara & Lindsay C. Stringer & Andrew J. Dougill & Mohammed D. Bila, 2015. "Conflicts about water in Lake Chad: Are environmental, vulnerability and security issues linked?," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 15(4), pages 308-325, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:prodev:v:15:y:2015:i:4:p:308-325
    DOI: 10.1177/1464993415592738
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Clionadh Raleigh & Andrew Linke & John O'Loughlin, 2014. "Extreme temperatures and violence," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 4(2), pages 76-77, February.
    2. Rijsberman, Frank R., 2006. "Water scarcity: Fact or fiction?," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 80(1-3), pages 5-22, February.
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    1. Emma Hakala & Ville Lähde & Antti Majava & Tero Toivanen & Tere Vadén & Paavo Järvensivu & Jussi T. Eronen, 2019. "Northern Warning Lights: Ambiguities of Environmental Security in Finland and Sweden," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-15, April.

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