The Ecological Consequences of Military Conflict on the Pastoralists in the Horn of Africa,

by William Lume Ref. No. 018

This paper proposes to give an overview of the impact of military conlfict on the ecological systems in the Horn.

While conlfict over resources is not a new phenomenon in pastoralism, a number of factors have exacerbated the situation. Large agricultural schemes have reduced the amount of grazing land, droughts have amplified probllems and traditional institutions designed to contain and resolve tensions have been undermined by competing political interests who supply arms to rival groups.

In Eritrea where military conflict went on for 30 years, it is difficult to assess the extent of the damage. However, sophisticated weapons, the use of defoliant and napalm are bound to have had serious repercussions on the ecological environment. As well as disrupting resources, conlfict disrupts the cultural relationship between humans and the environment. People who have fled from vast areas to become refugees across borders where they become dependent on handouts have severed their links with the environment.

In Ethiopia, the government's reponse to combat the effects of war and drought has been resettlement programmes which di not take into account the ecological consequences of such actions.

The author concludes by recommending that internationally agreed guidelines on the environment should be devised. These should take into account the views of pastoralists. Further field research should be carried out to study the impact of military conflict on the ecology and the results should be used to draw up frameworks of war conduct and rehabilitation.