Community-Based Land Governance Solutions to Climate-Driven Land Resources–Based Conflict: Insights From Fafan-Harshin District, Somali Region of Ethiopia

Abstract

This study examines how climate change drives land resource conflicts in Ethiopia, particularly in the drought-prone areas where environmental stress intersects with fragile governance systems, by taking cases from Harshin district. Mixed research approach, based on primary and secondary sources data, was employed. The findings reveal that drought frequency in the study area has been increasing as a manifestation of climate change. This trend places the district at the nexus of climate stress, mobility, and contested authority over land issues. More specifically, the ongoing climate variability has been forcing people to travel long distances with their cattle in search of water and pasture and such movements heighten the risk of conflict and further disrupting local community’s livelihood options. Finally, this study emphasized that addressing climate-induced land resources–based conflict demands more than environmental interventions, it requires a transformation in how to govern land in the pastoral and agro-pastoral contexts.