Link to article:https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/africa-climate-change-senegal-conflict-empower-women-a9298141.html
Over a 30 year period starting in the early 1980s, the people of Casamance, Senegal experienced violent conflict between armed separatists and the Senegalese government. Following the end of the conflict in 2014, the people of Senegal have had to deal with increased poverty and thousands of lives have been lost due to starvation as a result of climate change. Malnutrition is common amongst the population, especially among children. According to the UN World Food Program, approximately 17 percent of children younger under five years old are malnourished. Unforeseeable weather patterns, droughts, floods, and lands desolation make it difficult to establish a food source that will last. Senegal, along with several other African countries, are may see a reduction in crop yield by up to 50 per cent in 2020 and reduced revenues by as much as 90 per cent by 2100. With the climate changing rapidly, the Senegalese government has put in place a small scale program to teach women agriculture practices specifically designed to increase yield in the semi-arid climate.
I would say that Senegal has been faced with a lot of struggles. Unfortunately, many of these problems are not unique in the region or globally. First, dealing with an internal conflict which killed thousands of people, to where now they are faced with a devastating climate change. With the Senegalese government coming up with the idea of having women being taught on farming and agriculture practices not only helps them trying to produce food, but could also could influence other countries to try this invocation out with their citizens, especially in Africa where many countries are facing the same issues. While this is a positive step in the right direction, programs like this one are small and it may not be possible to implement them on a larger scale. It is unknown whether agricultural programs like the one in Senegal will be enough to counterbalance the massive climate change taking place across the region.
This article really emphasizes issues that exist on the domestic/state, interstate/regional, and on a global level, all of these were discussed in class session two. On a domestic/state level the article shows the issues that Senegal has faced with conflict and war, is currently dealing with in the form of climate change, and what they are doing to help mitigate some of these problems. The fact is the situation in Senegal is not uncommon and, at the interstate/regional level, many other countries in Africa are faced with the same climate change issues and its effect on agriculture, which forces them to also look at innovative solutions. Finally, on a global level the Senegal situation and the specific problems there are actually fairly common, including in Africa.