Local conflict, population dynamics and climate anomalies in Sudan and South Sudan
This report explores the association between climate anomalies, population dynamics, conflict and organised violence in Sudan and South Sudan, at the sub-national level and for the years 1989-2015. The analyses are conducted using a spatial approach and with geocoded information on organized violence events, climate anomalies and population dynamics. The results indicate a positive correlation of temperature anomalies with conflict and organised violence at the local level. Precipitation anomalies also positively correlate with organised violence, but to a lesser extent than temperature anomalies.
The authors further explore the climate-security nexus in rural and urban environments in the two countries. Urban areas appear more vulnerable to the risk of organised violence, with the latter positively associated with temperature and precipitation anomalies, as well as with positive net migration. In less densely populated areas, violence is associated with climate anomaly values, though the correlation is lower than in densely populated areas. These results are also confirmed by the analysis based on the number of violent events. Finally, we observe a strong temporal dependence of violent events at the sub-national level.