Seminar on "Environmental Migration, Political Marginalization and Violence" at the Copperbelt University in Zambia, October 15th 2014
To mark the launch of the 'Ethnic Power Relations and Conflict' project in Zambia, the Dag Hammarskjöld Institute of Peace Studies at the Copperbelt University held a seminar on the topic of "Environmental Migration, Political Marginalization and Violence", which brought together scholars from Zambia and Switzerland on October 15th 2014.
Prof. Owen Sichone, Head of the Dag Hammarskjöld Institute, and Fabien Cottier, PhD Candidate at the University of Geneva, jointly held a seminar on ethnicity and conflict at the Copperbelt University, bringing together scholars and students working on ethnicity, conflict and climate change.
Fabien Cottier presented an early draft of his PhD thesis, which explores the nexus between climate change-induced migration and conflict. In particular, he argued that environmental migration may lead to conflict when the indigenous group is victim of political marginalization, leading to grievances and resentment against the migrants. Following this first presentation, Prof. Sichone gave a lecture on the concept of ethnicity. He then discussed and illustrated the relevance of ethnicity for politics in Zambia, underscoring the multiple and sifting meanings of ethnicity in Zambia, from tribal affiliation to ethno-linguistic groups. Finally, Dr. George Kasali discussed how climate change, and in particular, soil erosion in the Southern Province, has influenced internal migration in Zambia. Although infrequent, and thankfully non-violent, he also noted instances of group conflict resulting from climate-induced migration in the Central province of Zambia.
For more information, see the Downloadofficial seminar program (PDF, 74 KB)