Livelihood Security: Climate change, conflict and migration in - UNEP

60
Case study 5: Farmer-herder conflict in Niger and Nigeria
Conflict between Niger’s pastoral and agricultural populations is concentrated along a contested
“dividing line” that separates the pastoral zone in the north from the cultivated land in the south . 177,178,179
Established by Niger’s Rural Code in 1961, 180 the unmarked border was meant to protect the pastoral
zone and delineate the two land use activities .
However, with unprecedented population growth in the south and a dearth of land management in the
north, agriculturalists are spreading their fields into this contested pastoralist space, while during periods
of drought, pastoralists move south into the agricultural areas seeking water and pasture for their herds .
Although pastoralists have traditionally migrated southwards along established livestock pathways,
agriculturalists often spread their cultivation onto these pathways, preventing the safe passage of
herds . Some studies have found that such planting can be considered a deliberate act of “claiming”
the space and diverting pastoralists . 181 Often with the same deliberation, pastoralists will “ignore” their
animals, allowing them to graze within the claimed farmland . 182 Together with factors such as poor
land management, the observed climate trends now risk aggravating this age-old scenario by further
impacting the already insufficient resource base .
Similar conflicts has been observed in neighbouring Nigeria, where Fulani herders from the north are
remaining in the south for longer periods, or even becoming sedentary . This has led to increased pressures
on farmlands and local resources, resulting in violent conflicts with local farming hosts in the south . 183
During periods of drought, it is common to find large numbers of dead animals in pastoral areas. In such
times, pastoralists often move into agricultural areas to find water and pasture for their herds, leading to
conflict over land and local resources
Livelihood Security: Climate Change, Migration and Conflict in the Sahel
© UNU/Anika Rissalamine