Date: Thursday 4 June 2026
Time: 10:00-11:30 BST (online); 10:00-12:00 BST (in-person)
Location: Chemonics UK, 1 Benjamin Street, London, EC1M 5QL, UK and online via Microsoft Teams
The lives and livelihoods of local communities in the Lake Chad Basin (LCB) are caught between two mutually reinforcing crises. Conflict erodes social cohesion and public trust, weakening communities’ ability to adapt to a changing climate. At the same time, environmental degradation intensifies pressure on food, land and water, deepening the conditions that drive armed violence.
Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Chad have responded with a set of complementary regional instruments. Among them, the Regional Strategy for the Stabilization, Recovery and Resilience of Boko Haram-affected areas (RS-SRR) and the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF), bring together governors, traditional leaders, civil society, and national, regional and international partners in a whole-of-society effort to address both the symptoms and underlying drivers of instability. But how well are these instruments working? What can we learn from them? Drawing on XCEPT-funded research by the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and Grid Arendal, this event goes beyond diagnosing the climate-conflict nexus in the Lake Chad Region to critically evaluate the responses. The event will explore what has been achieved, where the gaps lie, and what it will take to strengthen the climate change and environmental peacebuilding dimensions of policy response in the region and beyond.
In-person participation is limited and places will be given on a first come-first served basis. This hybrid event will be followed by a networking reception.
Speakers:
Dr Andrew Tchie
Senior Researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), focusing on stabilisation, peace operations, peacebuilding and security assistance in Sub-Saharan Africa. At NUPI, Andrew coordinates the Training for Peace Project and his research focuses on the African Army; African Union and African Peace Support operations and Stabilisation missions; United Nations Peacekeeping operations in Africa; Partnerships between the United Nations, African Union and Regional Economic communities; Peacebuilding in Africa and Transitional Government and Climate, Peace and Security. Andrew is a researcher on the XCEPT CPS-Lake Chad project and the a co-author of the recently published report Managing climate, peace and security risks in the Lake Chad Region.
Dr Cedric de Coning
Research Professor with the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI). He research has focussed on making mediation, peace operations and peacebuilding more effective. He also works on the relationship between climate change and peace and security, on the governance of AI in the international conflict resolution domain, and on societal resilience in Norway and Europe. He is a former South African diplomat and UN peacekeeper, and he has served in various advisory roles for the African Union and United Nations, including on the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board for the UN Peacebuilding Fund. He is the Principal Investigator for the XCEPT CPS-Lake Chad project and the lead author of the recently published report Managing climate, peace and security risks in the Lake Chad Region.
Natalia Skripnikova
An expert specialising in environmental governance and support alignment with international environmental and climate commitments. At GRID-Arendal, she contributes by generating knowledge that strengthens legal frameworks, addresses transboundary environmental challenges, and fosters cooperation among countries. Natalia is also a co-author of XCEPT-funded research on the Environmental Dimensions of Conflict in the Lake Chad Region, focused on understanding how environment, conflict, and livelihoods intersect in one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions.
Moderator:
Tobias Ide
Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at PRIF and the XCEPT Conflict & Climate Research Fellow. His research focuses on the security implications of climate change, the role of the environment in peace and conflict processes, rebel groups, and education in conflict contexts.