Strengthening Climate Security and Displacement Responses in Africa: Insights from a Joint CGIAR–UNHCR Training

Communities across Africa are facing the combined pressures of climate change, conflict and forced displacement. These pressures are not occurring in a vacuum, but rather interact with and exacerbate each other. In many regions, climate hazards are deepening existing vulnerabilities, straining social cohesion, and undermining governance systems already under stress. 

Against this backdrop, CGIAR and UNHCR jointly organized a bilingual training session on climate security and displacement, aimed at strengthening the understanding of humanitarian and government practitioners from across English- and French-speaking African countries on the climate-security-displacement nexus. 

The training brought together participants from national refugee agencies, disaster management bodies, different ministries, regional and local authorities, community organizations and NGOs across Africa. The training was structured in four parts, focused on climate security, climate-displacement linkages, a case study on Burkina Faso and a group-based scenario exercise, to provide a structured space to deepen analysis, share experiences and explore practical approaches that reduce risk rather than inadvertently exacerbate it. 

Climate security: Understanding a risk multiplier 

The training began with an overview of climate security grounded in recent findings from the IPCC. Climate change does not directly cause conflict; rather, it acts as a risk multiplier, intensifying pressures such as water scarcity, livelihood loss, food insecurity and competition over natural resources. These pressures often move through indirect pathways. Drought, for example, may reduce agricultural income, which then interacts with weak institutions, inequality or limited dispute resolution mechanisms before contributing to instability. Far from following simple cause-and-effect patterns, climate-security interactions are shaped by exposure, vulnerability and the strength of governance systems.  

The presenter discussed examples from the Sahel, where rainfall variability and shrinking pasture have heightened tensions between farmers and herders in areas with already fragile institutions. This systems-based view helped participants understand the need for climate action that is both people-centred and conflict-sensitive, recognizing that climate shocks may deepen existing inequalities if interventions are not designed with the local context in mind. 

Climate change and displacement: Emerging risks and protection challenges 

The second part, led by UNHCR, focused on how climate change interacts with displacement dynamics. Today, three-quarters of displaced people live in countries highly exposed to climate-related hazards, and the number of countries experiencing displacement due to both conflict and disasters has tripled since 2009. Climate change affects displacement in three principal ways: 

• It heightens the vulnerability of displaced populations, who often live in hazard-prone locations, depend on climate-sensitive livelihoods and face limited access to essential services. 

• It contributes to displacement, not as a sole driver but in combination with structural factors such as insecurity and inequality. 

• It creates barriers to durable solutions, particularly when communities in areas of origin face recurrent disasters, land degradation or water scarcity. 

Beyond these structural risks, climate impacts often trigger a range of protection concerns. When climate stress forces women and girls to travel longer distances in search of water and firewood, they are at increased risk of suffering rape and sexual assault. Schools often close following extreme weather events, and families resort to negative coping strategies when livelihoods collapse.  

The training underscored that displaced people are frequently excluded from climate finance, national adaptation plans and early warning systems even though they are among those most affected by climate risks. 

Burkina Faso: A case study on intersecting climate, conflict and displacement risks 

To ground the discussion in concrete realities, the third session examined Burkina Faso, where violence, displacement and climate stress are combining to intensify humanitarian needs. Since 2015, insecurity has driven over two million people from their homes. Food insecurity is rising, schools have closed by the thousands, and humanitarian access is increasingly constrained. 

Climate pressures compound these challenges. The Sahel is warming faster than the global average, with rainfall becoming both more erratic and more intense. Over 80% of the population depends on rainfed agriculture, making livelihoods highly sensitive to climate variability.  

The training presented a recent policy analysis carried out by CGIAR that shows how the humanitarian response in the last 6 years has evolved to increasingly integrate climate considerations. While climate pressures were barely mentioned in the Humanitarian Response Plan in 2019, the most recent plans explicitly discuss climate hazards as compounding insecurity and displacement, and include anticipatory action and disaster risk reduction as priorities.  

The training then highlighted positive examples of climate-informed programming, such as large-scale land restoration initiatives that combine nature-based solutions with agro-pastoral livelihood support. These efforts demonstrate how climate adaptation, food security and social cohesion can be strengthened simultaneously, if displaced and host communities are included from the outset. Finally, the training explained how large-scale displacement can risk straining local ecosystems and resources, such as land and water, and therefore contribute to deforestation and rising tensions – especially between displaced and host communities, if not well planned. 

From theory to practice: Avoiding maladaptation in humanitarian programming 

The final part introduced a fictional, but realistic, scenario to help participants test their understanding. In mixed groups, participants worked through a simulated climate-displacement crisis, identifying actions that should be prioritized, or avoided, across sectors such as protection, education, health, shelters, WASH, livelihoods and logistics. 

This exercise revealed a recurring theme: well-intentioned humanitarian or development interventions can unintentionally increase vulnerability if they do not consider environmental impacts, local power dynamics or long-term sustainability. The following were examples of measures to avoid: 

• cutting trees for rapid shelter construction, contributing to deforestation; 

• locating camps in flood-prone areas due to land availability; 

• targeting assistance to only one group, fueling perceptions of inequality; 

• expanding irrigation in areas facing severe water scarcity; 

• creating dependency loops that undermine local coping capacities. 

Conversely, participants identified many opportunities for resilience-building, including climate-resilient infrastructure, diversified livelihoods, sustainable water and land management, inclusive governance structures and community-driven planning that engages both displaced and host populations. 

Looking forward 

This training underscored that responding to climate and displacement challenges requires more than sector-specific interventions. It demands integrated approaches that address environmental pressures, socioeconomic vulnerability and governance gaps simultaneously. 

Across both the English and French cohorts, participants showed strong engagement and brought valuable field-based experience. A key takeaway was the importance of ensuring that displaced communities are not overlooked in climate policies, early warning systems, national adaptation plans or financing mechanisms. Their exclusion not only increases their vulnerability but can also undermine broader community resilience. 

CGIAR and UNHCR will continue their collaboration to generate evidence, strengthen analytical tools and support practitioners in designing climate-smart and conflict-sensitive interventions. As climate impacts intensify, building capacity in this area is essential to protect lives, support resilience and enable displaced people to contribute to the societies in which they live. 

Authors: Carolina Sarzana, Cristina Ramos, Esmé O’Keffe (UNHCR), Raramai Campbell, Sokhna Ramatouaye Cissé, Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT. Photo Credit: CIAT/NeilPalmer