ECOWAS Parliamentarians Address Climate Crisis and Security

At the Second Parliamentary Seminar of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Accra, Ghana, parliamentarians warned of a climate-driven crisis in West Africa characterized by shrinking water resources, degraded farmland, and changing weather patterns. These factors are intensifying competition for land, aggravating farmer-herder conflicts, displacing communities, and deepening poverty.

Nigeria's presentation highlighted the intersection of environmental pressures with population growth, agricultural expansion, and climate variability, which are escalating tensions between farming and pastoral communities. The report indicated that over 2.2 million people are internally displaced in the North-East and more than 1.3 million in the North-Central and North-West regions due to armed conflict, communal violence, and other disasters.

The crisis is marked by a resource equation that is increasingly difficult to manage, with less predictable rainfall and declining water availability. Effective mechanisms for dialogue and resource management are urgently needed to address these challenges.