This article was originally published on the UNHCR’s Poverty Alleviation Coalition (PAC) platform.
There is little doubt that we have entered the era of climate change, also known as the Anthropocene). But with more people displaced than ever before, is it more accurate to say we have entered an era of compound crises? Currently over 117 million people (or 1.5% of the world’s population)have been forced from their homes due to persecution, conflict, and violence. On top of that an estimated 3.5 billion people already live in areas highly susceptible to climate change. This means almost half the planet now faces an uncertain future because of these combined challenges.
Most people currently displaced by conflict and violence live in countries that are the most vulnerable to climate change. By the end of 2023, approximately 75% of displaced people were living in countries categorized as having high-to-extreme exposure to climate-related hazards. Nowhere is this more evident than in the drylands of Africa – also known as the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs). Low population density, geographic isolation, and little to no infrastructure account for this area being one of harshest environments on the planet, and the poorest. While these conditions have existed for millennia, quickly changing conditions are pushing communities to their breaking point, and while climate change itself does not directly cause disasters, its effects often exacerbate or interact with existing violence, social tensions and fragility. This in turn increases the risk of people being forced to flee their homes, upending their lives and creating uncertain futures that may last generations.
For the over 400 million people in Africa living in extreme poverty, defined by the World Bank as living on less than $2.15 a day, these crises are particularly devastating. The future is one of dire uncertainty and change, where survival will depend on resilience and adaptation. Despite the new realities created by compound crises, adaptive, long-term solutions exist to combat the many threats that face people living in extreme poverty across the drylands of Africa, and the world.
One example of such a solution comes from BOMA, which has combined two of its adaptive models to create a tailored approach for communities across Kenya. The Livelihoods and Inclusion for Transformation in Northern Kenya (LIFT-NK) program focuses on two major issues: building climate resilience economic (the ability of people, economies, and ecosystems to prepare for, respond to, and recover from climate-related events – such as slow-onset events like drought,….. read full article here.
