Environmentalists predict that global warming, which canlead to droughts and encroaching deserts, will lead to warsin the future. This is already happening in Africa.
Ed Stoddard writes that many African conflicts there can betraced back to increasingly parched and degraded land. SouthAfrican environmentalist Crispian Olver says, “From foodsecurity to health we see climate change as a very bigthreat right across Africa.”
A new United Nations report says, “The correspondencebetween areas of ecosystem (degradation) and social conflictis suggestive of a link between these two issues, which areusually treated independently. The link could go in eitheror both directions: conflict creates conditions promotingecosystem degradation, or environmental resource depletioncould be a cause of conflict.”
The problems include water and crop shortages, livestockovergrazing and deforestation. Bob Scholes, co-author of theUN study, says, “We do see climate change exacerbating theseecological problems we have linked to social conflict.”
Since this is happening on the world’s poorest continent,the rest of the world tends to look away. But as the climatecontinues to change and areas where food can be grown changealong with it, it may soon be the cause of our wars as well.
We need to get somewisdom?fast!
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