Climate, Peace and Security Fact Sheet - Lake Chad, June 2026
Publisher: Norwegian Institute of International Affairs and Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Author(s): Cedric de Coning, Andrew E. Yaw Tchie, Freedom Onuoha, Saibou Issa, and Thor Olav Iversen
Date: 2026
Topics: Climate Change, Conflict Causes, Governance, Livelihoods
Countries: Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria
The lives and livelihoods of local communities in the borderlands of the Lake Chad Basin are disrupted by both climate change and conflict, which are mutually reinforcing. Conflict undermines social cohesion and public trust and degrades the ability of communities to adapt to the effects of climate change. At the same time, climate change adds additional stress on food, land, and water security, reinforcing the political and socioeconomic conditions that drive armed conflict. In the context of a long history of marginalization, underdevelopment, and weak governance in the region, this conflux can drive people to turn to armed groups in search of alternative governance structures, economic incentives, and spiritual and social dignity and meaning.