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‘We herders are often chased about by drought’: A systems analysis of natural resource degradation within the climate-(im)mobility-violence-health nexus in Sahel

Ayeb-Karlsson, Sonja; Hayward, Gemma; Kniveton, Dominic; (2025) ‘We herders are often chased about by drought’: A systems analysis of natural resource degradation within the climate-(im)mobility-violence-health nexus in Sahel. Earth , 6 (1) , Article 11. 10.3390/earth6010011. Green open access

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Abstract

This study applies a systems analysis to further our understanding of the many pathways linking climate stress to human (im)mobility and interpersonal violence via natural resource stress within eight countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sudan) across the Sahel region. To illustrate the multiple pathways within the climate–(im)mobility–violence–health nexus, contextual and conceptual systems maps were drawn out based on secondary qualitative data from 24 peer-reviewed journal articles selected from a search result of 394 publications. Even though the geography, environment, socio-political context, traditions, and cultural history were highly diverse, the overarching factors that determined people’s (im)mobility and health outcomes, in association with natural resource stress and violence, were very similar. These vulnerability pathways included gendered immobility, interpersonal conflict, and lack of social protection, which provide important lessons and offer tangible opportunities for policy interventions. The vulnerability pathways often eroded access to natural resources and positive (im)mobility and (mental) health outcomes, which ended up entrapping people in extended cycles of violence and exploitation—especially certain intersectional positions and disadvantaged groups (whether within a household, society, or country).

Type: Article
Title: ‘We herders are often chased about by drought’: A systems analysis of natural resource degradation within the climate-(im)mobility-violence-health nexus in Sahel
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.3390/earth6010011
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.3390/earth6010011
Language: English
Additional information: © 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords: Climate change; conflict; immobility; mental health; migration; natural resources; violence
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10204041
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