African Environmental and Human Security in the 21st Century By ...

human being who dies due to human insecurities, the bell would never cease to ring. In the case of many African states, the bell rings constantly. Paraphrasing Donne, every African life that ends diminishes all of us in many and various ways. What happens in Africa affects the rest of the globe, including the most prosperous and technologically advanced states. The global effects of human insecurities in Africa are real, because everything is connected and related. The current War on Terrorism elicits a more narrow view of these connections by focusing on just an outward manifestation of deteriorating security environments. To truly understand the challenges of terrorism perpetrated by radical militants and extremists, we must understand the totality of the security environment while understanding its unique nature from place to place.

We use a human security approach to accomplish these tasks, that is, understanding the totality and uniqueness of a particular security environment. This chapter's focus on the roots of conflict and instability in the Sahel is timely and critical as the United States establishes a new African command and the work of the Trans-Sahel Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP) continues.⁵ We use primarily the case of Niger and a secondary case, Chad, to highlight the importance of understanding security issues in a comprehensive and holistic manner, with added emphasis on understanding the environmental impact on human survival and quality of life. However, we acknowledge that there is no one-size-fits-all policy; instead, successful policy requires tireless, smart, and patient work. Specifically, the authors—a political scientist, a biologist, a human geographer, and a climatologist—will highlight the strong connection between human survival and the environment. We acknowledge that, unfortunately, there have been numerous interpretations and definitions of human security, so it has come to mean everything to everyone. For example, when security professionals of powerful states use this term, they arouse suspicions of cloaking interventions and neocolonialism in the name of protection. We contend, however, that the human security paradigm fosters a holistic and empathetic approach towards understanding the security environment. The chapter uses on-the-ground experience and interviews, political analysis, and geographical analysis to understand how the environment