Work

Climate change and the farmer-Pastoralist's violent conflict: Experimental evidence from Nigeria

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: We examine how a better understanding of how climate change induces herder migration to other locations and subsequent conflicts with sedentary farmers influences respondents' support for policies that accommodate outgroup members. We field a pre-registered survey experiment to 550 residents of a conflict zone in Nigeria and discover that as perceived herder vulnerability due to climate change increases, residents are inclined to support policies that accommodate these herders. In other words, rhetorical exposure that leads respondents to perceive climate change as the primary driver of herder migration to other communities increases support for accommodating policies. The effects are essentially consistent regardless of the respondents' proximity to the conflict, as measured by their loss experiences, or their trust in outgroup members or dominant domestic institutions. These results highlight the need to conceptualize vulnerability as the primary driver of the herder-farmer conflict, which is a settled fact as opposed to other narratives, allowing for new methods of mapping public opinion in favor of integrating both groups for peaceful coexistence in conflict zones.

Source: Ecological Economics

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2024.108449

Authors: Uchenna Efobi, Oluwabunmi Adejumo, Jiyoung Kim

Institutions: University of Kent, Obafemi Awolowo University, University of California, Los Angeles

Language: English

Topic: Rangeland Management and Livestock Ecology

Subfield: Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDGs: Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Climate action, Zero hunger

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,690