Like many other countries, Zambia faces the urgent and complex challenges posed by climate change. Drought-induced food and water shortages can increase tensions within and between communities. Climate action must be conflict-sensitive and contribute to strengthening social cohesion, resilience and adaptive capacity in Zambia.
Zambia is home to diverse ecosystems, rich biodiversity, and a predominantly agrarian population that relies on nature to sustain their livelihoods. However, in recent decades, the effects of climate change have begun to disrupt the balance between environmental sustainability and the people’s livelihood needs. From unpredictable rainfall patterns to rising temperatures and extreme weather events, climate variability and extremes have significantly affected the country’s agriculture and energy sector, water resources, and overall socio-economic stability. The increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events, such as floods, droughts, and heat waves, is a stark reminder that the climate crisis is not a distant future, but a present reality in many countries, including Zambia.
Zambia is currently experiencing the driest agricultural season and the worst drought in over forty years, leading His Excellency President Hakainde Hichilema to declare a national disaster. This national disaster has affected over nine million people in 84 of Zambia’s 117 districts, resulting in significant crop losses, livestock deaths, and worsening poverty and food insecurity in rural and urban areas. The current drought, coupled with the longer-term effects of climate change and environmental degradation, has contributed to increased migration patterns from the south to the north of the country. Another consequence of the drought is its impact on hydro-power generation, which has led to energy shortages. This energy deficit is placing additional strain on the economy and exacerbating the levels of poverty and inequality, further widening the rural-urban divide. The drought and related impacts on agricultural production, energy generation and the economy are additionally compounded by the fact that the country has not yet had the opportunity to fully recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The challenge Zambia faces is twofold: on the one hand, Zambia must build resilience to protect its communities from the multifaceted impacts of climate change; on the other hand, Zambia must transition to a green economy that promotes sustainable growth while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
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The challenge Zambia faces is twofold: on the one hand, Zambia must build resilience to protect its communities from the multifaceted impacts of climate change; on the other hand, Zambia must transition to a green economy that promotes sustainable growth while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Finding the right balance between adaptation and mitigation is a complex challenge. The government of Zambia has taken promising steps to address climate through a coordinated and multisectoral approach. In addition to the release of the first National Adaptation Plan (NAP), the government also adopted the Green Growth Strategy (GGS) in April 2024 under the Ministry of Green Economy and the. According to this policy, greening the economy is not just about reducing emissions but also about creating jobs, improving livelihoods, and ensuring long-term economic growth. The strategy envisions a green economy that opens opportunities for innovation, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and eco-friendly infrastructure.
However, the strategy is also mindful that, as Zambia works towards a green economy, it must also recognise that climate change, along with the government’s actions to reduce emissions and foster climate action, will impact the livelihoods and social realities of the Zambian people. In other words, climate change does not only affect the environment and ecosystem services. It also has far-reaching social implications, exacerbating existing vulnerabilities and inequalities, particularly in those contexts where people and communities are strongly dependent on subsistence agriculture and local food systems as their main sources of employment and livelihoods. In some cases, climate impacts such as water shortages or land degradation can fuel local tensions, migration, and displacement with possible repercussions on social stability and the maintenance of peaceful relations within and between communities. The government’s policies and plans to mitigate and adapt to climate change can also unintentionally increase grievances against local and national authorities and competition between communities and groups, potentially weakening social cohesion and undermining resilience.
To assist the government of Zambia with the implementation of the GGS, particularly the related plans and actions for climate adaptation and mitigation, a training workshop was held in Lusaka this October to strengthen Zambia’s institutional capacity to understand and address the challenges that climate variability and extremes pose to social cohesion and stability.
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To assist the government of Zambia with the implementation of the GGS, particularly the related plans and actions for climate adaptation and mitigation, a training workshop was held in Lusaka this October to strengthen Zambia’s institutional capacity to understand and address the challenges that climate variability and extremes pose to social cohesion and stability. It also highlighted the co-benefits for fostering collaboration, peaceful co-existence and public trust that can be generated by implementing well-designed climate action and natural resource management solutions.
The training workshop was a joint effort by the Zambia Ministry of Green Economy and the Environment (MGEE), the CGIAR FOCUS Climate Security team at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, and ACCORD. Its objective was to enhance the understanding of key stakeholders involved in Zambia’s climate action at both national and provincial levels, as to why the GGS integrates peace and security elements into its climate mitigation and adaptation strategies.
The workshop brought together stakeholders from MGEE, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Disaster Management and Mitigation Unit (DMMU), as well as research institutes and NGOs working on climate change, conflict prevention and peacebuilding, introducing them to the concepts and tools to prevent and mitigate the risks that climate change presents to social cohesion and instability. This workshop was an important step in building the capacity of Zambia’s institutions, policymakers, and practitioners to address the complex challenges posed by climate change. The knowledge and skills acquired at the workshop will contribute to shaping policies and actions that integrate climate, peace, and security in Zambia’s development agenda.
Climate action, peacebuilding, and conflict prevention are not separate goals but interdependent pillars of sustainable development. By incorporating peace and security considerations into Zambia’s climate policies and operational frameworks, the country will ensure that its climate mitigation and adaptation actions are conflict-sensitive and peace-positive. This will help Zambia to manage climate-related peace and security risks, including preventing potential inter-communal conflict and a weakening of its social fabric.
The workshop underscored the importance of adopting conflict-sensitive and peace-positive approaches to climate action as a means of sustaining long-term peace and stability in Zambia. Among the key topics discussed was the need to strengthen local capacities for peace, for example by establishing an infrastructure for peace framework in Zambia. Such a mechanism could help identify and address the root causes of social tensions, preventing them from escalating into violent conflict by addressing these drivers of tensions as early as possible, particularly those linked to climate variability and extremes. It can also promote tolerance and build social resilience that can help communities cope with the negative effects of climate change and its social impacts.
Climate action must be inclusive. It must involve those most affected—particularly women, youth, and marginalised communities—to ensure they actively shape and implement solutions. Gender equality and youth empowerment are not just development goals but are also essential elements in Zambia’s adaptive capacity and resilience to manage climate change and its ability to sustain peace and security.
Climate change and its social impacts will remain a challenge for countries like Zambia for the foreseeable future. The CGIAR FOCUS Climate Security team and ACCORD will continue to support the Zambian Ministry of Green Economy and the Environment and other stakeholders in the country to develop the capacities needed to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and to prevent and manage the negative effects of climate change on social cohesion, peace and security.
Giulia Caroli is a climate, peace and security specialist at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, one of CGIAR’s institutes.
Cedric de Coning is a senior advisor to ACCORD and a research professor with the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI).
Shaun Kinnes is a junior research fellow in the research department at ACCORD.
Gracsious Maviza is a gender and migration scientist at the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT and the lead of the Southern Africa hub.
The workshop was carried out with support from ACCORD’s core funders and the CGIAR Initiative on Climate Resilience (ClimBer). We would like to thank all funders who supported this research through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund: https://www.cgiar.org/funders/.
