Understanding how environment, conflict, and livelihoods intersect in one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions

This report explores the environmental dimensions of conflict in the Lake Chad region, examining how insecurity shapes the environment and how environmental factors, in turn, influence conflict dynamics. It is part of the Climate, Peace and Security Lake Chad project, led by the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs.

Drawing on scientific literature, field insights, and expert interviews, the publication presents a grounded and systems-oriented analysis of a region where climate change, natural resource use, and insecurity are deeply interconnected.

Focusing on Lake Chad and its surrounding areas across Chad, Cameroon, Niger, and Nigeria, the report highlights how environmental change, including shifting rainfall patterns, ecosystem degradation, and resource scarcity, interacts with socio-economic pressures and conflict. It shows that these dynamics cannot be understood in isolation, but must be viewed as part of a broader socio-ecological system.

What You’ll Find

• A clear explanation of how conflict impacts ecosystems, including vegetation loss, pollution, and pressure on natural resources
• Insights into how environmental change, especially climate variability and water scarcity, shapes conflict dynamics
• Analysis of the natural resource economy, including farming, fishing, and pastoralism, and how it is linked to insecurity and livelihoods
• Exploration of displacement, climate change, and governance as cross-cutting factors influencing both environment and conflict
• A systems perspective that connects environmental, social, economic, and political drivers of instability

Why It Matters

The Lake Chad region is one of the areas most exposed to climate variability and environmental change, while also facing complex and persistent insecurity. This report shows that environmental factors are not just a backdrop to conflict, but an active part of how it unfolds.

By bringing together evidence across disciplines, the publication contributes to a more integrated understanding of climate, peace, and security. It supports more informed decision-making and highlights the need for approaches that strengthen resilience, reduce risk, and address root causes rather than symptoms.

This aligns with GRID-Arendal’s commitment to transforming science into knowledge that informs policy and supports long-term, systemic change for people and ecosystems.

Photo credit front page: EC/ECHO/Anouk Delafortrie

Creative Commons Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Skills: Analytical Thinking Environmental Monitoring Environmental Assessment and Reporting Knowledge Sharing Science-Policy Interface

Tags: Cameroon Chad climate change ecosystems environment and security Lake Chad livelihoods natural resources West Africa Sahel Nigeria Niger Conflict and peacebuilding