Environmental Degradation and Human Insecurity in SubSaharan Africa

The damaging effects of environmental degradation on human security in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have received far less attention than they deserve. Environmental decay reflected in deforestation, climate change, the loss of biodiversity and pollution is on the increase and impacts negatively on the fragile human security condition in SSA. Human insecurity, conceived of as threats to human life, is dramatised in economic insecurity, food shortages and malnutrition, violent conflicts, health insecurity, personal insecurity as well as in environmental decay. While these disconcerting developments persist, even escalating, SSA states have remained passive observers to the drama. Governments in the region have only paid lip service to environmental conservation. Although environmental regimes are established these have had little impact on environmental conservation. This stems from a number of factors including the tendency to classify environmental issues as “low politics”. Consequently, states consider themselves under little, if any, obligation to pay attention to environment conservation. The result has been continuous degradation of the environment and the inevitable heightening of human insecurity in SSA.