Strengthening community coping mechanisms against risks of climate induced conflicts

Main purpose
Land restoration for increased soil fertility / reversal of land degradation,
Reduced environmental degradation from sustainable resource use,
Climate adaptation / resilience,
Increasing agricultural productivity / crop and cattle protection, Provision / protection / diversification of employment and livelihoods / poverty reduction,
Reducing competition for natural resources,
Increasing community cohesion / community building,
Gender equality,
Effective conflict mediation and resolution mechanism

Other expected benefits
Flood protection: redirection / drainage / infiltration of flood waters,
Food security,
Land tenure equality and security,
Trust building between conflicting groups

Conflict context
After a rule of 22 years, The Gambia’s regime changed in 2018, however, the country continues to grapple with political instability, weak institutions, and human rights abuses. At the same time, a violent conflict between the Senegalese government and the Movement of Democractic Forces in Casamance (MDFC), which started in 1982, continues to spill over in the neighbouring Gambia. In 2022, the Senegalese authorities launced a military operation on the MDFC, which internally displaced 6000 Gambian civilians as bullets crossed their borders and hit their towns. Refugees from Casamance have also lived in Gambian villages near the borders for years. Furthermore, illegal trade of natural resources, in particular rosetimber, are smuggled from the Casamance region in to The Gambia for further sale to China. The profits allegedly fund the MDFC rebels, earning rosewood the title ‘conflict timber’.

Peace and security contributions
In terms of the effect of reducing the impact of climate change and conflict, the initial evaluation findings show there was a 50 percent reduction on climate induced conflict that were reported by the 12 communities, related to arable land and natural resources. The impact of most of these activities will be felt in the long term, such as livelihood development, tree planting, and assets.
200 women were trained in soil conservation and peace building to empower communities in protecting the natural resources and watersheds, restoration of habitats for plants and wildlife, improve water quality, and make soil healthier.

Reported elements of good practices

The project used the strategy of mapping out and bringing conflict-prone communities together to participate in activities like skills training– where one community hosted the other community – demonstrated the potential to minimize the existence of climate induced conflict.

The selection of beneficiaries was conducted by specifically targeting women, with the training content customized to their needs.

Reported challenges

The project faced challenges in 2020 after the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic that made the Gambian government to impose a six-month lockdown leading to the closure of all the local weekly markets, and imposed travel restrictions (flights and border crossing), reduced public gatherings, and closure of schools from March to December 2020. This affected the timely roll-out of the project.