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AFRICOM Commander and Experts Talk Climate Security in Niger and Mali
USAFRICOM Commander General Thomas Waldhauser speaks to the PBS News Hour’s Mike Cerre (published APril 16, 2019)
On April 16, the PBS News Hour ran a story called “In Niger, rising temperatures mean barren fields — but fertile ground for terrorism.” The story addresses climate change and its impact on food security in the country, as well as how some organizations, like U.S. Africa Command, the World Food Program, and CARE, approach the problem.
General Thomas Waldhauser, Commander of US Africa Command (AFRICOM) – head of all American military forces in Africa – was interviewed for the story. He stated:
The climate and environment challenges on the continent really do start to contribute to security challenges…Some of the [terrorist] groups in the Northern Mali-Niger area there, they leverage these challenges to recruit, because they really are after influence. And they want to maintain their livelihood.
AFRICOM Commander on Climate Change: Sahel Receding Almost a Mile Per Year
General Waldhauser before the Senate Armed Services Committee addresses climate change in the Sahel, March 13, 2018
During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Tuesday, Marine General Thomas D. Walhauser, Commander of U.S. Africa Command (head of all U.S. forces on the African continent, barring Egypt), fielded a question from Sen. Gillibrand regarding the links between climate change, food insecurity and terrorism, and their impacts on AFRICOM’s mission and posture. General Waldhauser noted, in particular, the role of climate change in desertification, stating: “I would say from the climate perspective, is that we have seen the Sahel – the grasslands of the Sahel – recede and become desert almost a mile per year in the last decade or so. This has a significant impact on the herders who have to fight, if you will, for grasslands and water holes and the like.”
Below is General Waldhauser’s full statement on the subject: (more…)
Upcoming Conference – Shifting Conflict Patterns in Africa: Drivers of Instability and Strategies for Cooperation
There is an interesting conference on the horizon in Austin, Texas. Below are the details of the conference taken from the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law website. Additional information can be found here.
The U.S. Geographic Combatant Commanders on Climate Change
Will Rogers over at the Center for a New American Security has posted an excellent blog compiling posture statements and exchanges from each of the Geographic Combatant Commanders (GCCs) on climate change during recent Senate Armed Services Committee hearings. We’re re-posting it below: