Abstract

In recent decades, as droughts have become more frequent and severe across arid and semi-arid areas of the Horn of Africa, outbreaks of conflict among pastoralist groups have also been on the rise. This report shares lessons learned from a pilot project in three districts of Oromia State, Ethiopia, which focuses on this intersection of climate and conflict.

Funded by USAID and implemented by the College of Law of Haramaya University, the Peace Centers for Climate and Social Resilience (PCCSR) project seeks to address community vulnerabilities to climate change and improve communities’ capacity for conflict prevention, mitigation and resolution. Its aim is to mitigate underlying climate and nonclimate drivers that squeeze natural resources and foster conflict. 

The report, which draws on the USAID Conflict Assessment Framework, analyzes climate and conflict dynamics of the project areas, PCCSR project activities and results, and effects on conflict and climate resilience. It also describes lessons from project implementation and recommendations for the future. Among the key findings are focus group results that suggest conflict in the project areas declined from 2015–2017 and that local peace committees are becoming more effective in helping manage conflict. The preliminary results also suggest that declines in conflict may create conditions that encourage pastoralists to more readily deploy strategies to cope with climate shocks.