environmental degradation as a cause of conflict in - Steiner Graphics

PREFACEThese essays were originally oral presentations made to the conference on environmentaldegradation and conflict in Darfur. The essays represent original andinformed contributions towards the understanding of the root causes of conflict inDarfur and they provide ideas which may help in the resolution of the conflict.The current conflict in Darfur resulted when a civil war between the governmentof Sudan (GOS) and two rebel movements erupted, on a background of a complexconflict system, which was becoming progressively more ethnically oriented andincreasingly violent. The government resorted to force in order to crush the rebel’smovements, but the army was struggling to fight the well-trained, armed and wellmotivatedrebels. The government allegedly opted for an alliance with the ArabPastoralists militias, who have a vested interest in fighting this war, as most of therebels were from competitive tribes.Enormous efforts have been concentrated on resolving the immediate crisis inDarfur. These efforts fall into the three categories of: humanitarian assistance,improvement in the security situation to allow safe return of refugees and reachinga political settlement between the rebel groups and the GOS. This may eventuallyresolve the present crisis but leaves the door open for future conflict. There is anessential need to address the root cause of the problem – competition over dwindlingnatural resources.The association between conflict and the ecological changes has been documentedover the years in several forms. The long periods of drought, which characterizedthe region for the last four decades, resulted in mounting poverty and widespreadpopulation movement, which provided the causes for conflict. The drought,which occurred in the eighties, was the most dramatic in its effects and it followeda period of drought in the seventies. These ecological changes mostly affected theNorthern part of Darfur compelling the Nomads to immigrate southwards in searchof water and herding ground, which resulted in conflict with sedentary tribes, likethe Fur and Masalit.Darfur has been the site of inter-communal conflict for generations. However, inthe eighties the conflicts in Darfur became more vicious and many of them acquiredan ethnic dimension, between the Arabs on the one hand and non-Arab identitygroups. The transformation of conflict, which occurred in the eighties, was causedby several factors: