Thirteenth International Conference on Climate Change: Impacts & Responses

Abstract

The media focus of Africa in recent decades is sad testimony to the existence of repeated tragedies and crises. The conflicts, latent or open, which affect West Africa exert movements of populations in both directions. Refugees from conflicts, seeking refuge, sometimes represent a heavy burden on the ecosystems of host countries (VAN HAUWAERT W, 1992). This study considers the spatial and temporal impacts of conflict refugees on natural renewable resources and social cohesion in West Africa. It is mainly a question of showing the part of responsibility of the refugees in the degradation of these resources through a comparison of the lifestyles and agro-pastoral practices of the immigrants to those of the indigenous populations. And in the context of the present work, a collection of information based on the exploitation of secondary data made it possible to detect study variables and then to direct the research towards specific documentation and to synthesize the results that were discussed. A review of the various literature shows that the close links between the causes and the environmental consequences of the presence of refugees constitute a compelling argument that justifies their assessments. Indeed, the degradation of the living environment at the reception sites has a major impact on the well-being of people living nearby, whether they are refugees, returnees, or members of the local population. These issues are compounded as some host communities are very polluted by human activities even before the arrival of the refugees.