The Sahel: converging challenges, compounding risks - a region under high pressure
This short report presents an overview of the different natural and manmade risks faced by the Sahel region as well as the vulnerabilities of the population. It discusses cross-cutting issues such as forced migration in west and central Africa and other political and social challenges.
In the Sahel, extreme poverty, fast-growing populations, climate change, recurrent food and nutrition crises, armed conflicts and insecurity are building up to a perfect storm threatening the lives of communities already living on the brink of crisis. The region is one of the world’s climate change hotspots. Increasingly unpredictable weather patterns, more frequent droughts and floods and land degradation threaten the livelihoods of a population in which the majority relies on agriculture for survival.