Okpara, UT, Stringer, LC, Dougill, AJ et al. (1 more author) (2015) Conflicts about water in Lake Chad: Are environmental, vulnerability and security issues linked? Progress in Development Studies, 15 (4). 308 - 325. ISSN 1464-9934
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.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2015, Author(s). This is an author produced version of a paper published in Progress in Development Studies. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | Water conflict; water scarcity; environmental change; security; vulnerability; Lake Chad |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) > Sustainability Research Institute (SRI) (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 19 Nov 2015 09:44 |
Last Modified: | 16 Jan 2018 09:32 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1464993415592738 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/1464993415592738 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:91926 |