Human beings originated in Africa about 100,000 years ago and have developed societies during the last 100 years that have contributed to climate change, which risks making the globe uninhabitable for our species and many others. This symposium examined manifestations of global warming in Africa, its differential impacts on African populations, and the successes and failures of African and international institutions as they attempt to mitigate the climate change process, develop sustainable economies, and ensure social resilience.

Program

A full program with a summary of each presentation and biographical details of each speaker is available here. The Symposium poster is available here.

9:00 Registration and Welcoming Remarks

9:30 - 11:45 Human Impacts of Climate Change

Insecurity and Climate Change in Dryland West Africa: Disentangling the Dynamics in the Countryside
Leif V. Brottem, Assistant Professor of Global Development Studies, Grinnell College

Niger Delta, Climate Change, and Trauma of the Future
Cajetan Iheka, Assistant Professor of English, University of Alabama

Xenophobia under a Changing Sky: Emigration from the Sahel to Europe
Jesse Ribot, Professor of Environmental Politics, School of International Service, American University

12:00 - 1:00 Lunch

1:00 - 2:30 Poverty and Politics: Energy and Food Resources

Regreening: Recent Progress in Africa and Opportunities to Improve Crop Production and Restore Resilience to Climate Change
Robert Winterbottom, Fellow, EverGreening Global Alliance

Cultural Politics of Energy and Unity in Post-Genocide Rwanda: Methane Extraction on Lake Kivu
Kristin Doughty, Associate Professor of Anthropology, and Director of the Susan B. Anthony Institute for Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, University of Rochester

2:30 - 4:00 Human Rights Implications

Kenya: Mega Infrastructure Projects, Environmental Concerns and Threats to Activists
Otsieno Namwaya, Kenya Researcher, Human Rights Watch

Climate Change and Security: Displacement, Scarcity and Increasing Competition for Natural Resources
Marcos Orellana, Director, Environment and Human Rights Division, Human Rights Watch

4:00 - 4:30 Wrap-Up General Discussion

All events are free and open to the public

Sponsors: Alison Des Forges Memorial Committee; University at Buffalo Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy, Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering, Department of Comparative Literature, Department of History, Gender Institute, Humanities Institute, James Agee Chair in American Culture, RENEW Institute, Department of Political Science, Sustainability, Office of the Vice Provost for International Education.

This symposium honors the life and work of human rights activist Alison Des Forges (1942-2009). For more information, email Roger Des Forges at rvd@buffalo.edu, Ellen Dussourd at dussourd@buffalo.edu or Shaun Irlam at irlam@buffalo.edu.