Page 4 - FMR64_Trafficking and smuggling & Climate crisis and local communities_2020_web

FMR 64
4 Climate crisis and local communities
www.fmreview.org/issue64 June 2020

Resilience, adaptation and learning: Malian refugees
and their Mauritanian hosts

Fouda Ndikintum and Mohamed Ag Malha

Malian refugees in Mbera, Mauritania, have brought with them the skills and experience they
gained in managing the effects of climate change in their home country, and are learning
new skills in exile. Both refugee and host communities are benefiting.

Mauritania currently hosts 60,511 refugees and remains, to attempt to build resilience by
who fled Mali in 2012. These refugees hail way of indigenous innovations, such as the
from the north of Mali and are now living in use of various types of mulches to conserve
Mbera camp and its surroundings, in south- soil water and the use of animal skin to wrap
eastern Mauritania. They left their home around jars in order to keep water cool. The
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areas because of growing insecurity; prior sense of community also plays a central role
to their flight, however, most of them had as a means of survival, with the most resilient
experienced the negative consequences of members of the community extending
climate change over several decades or longer. a generous hand to the less resilient.
Droughts, for example, have recurred every When a community’s innovative
10 years or so in northern Mali since 1973. adaptation strategies are stretched beyond
Being mostly herders, Malian refugees their limits, however, people start to consider
often bring their livestock with them into moving further away from home. The
exile. Demand for natural resources in tipping point is reached when, in addition
their host communities – such as water and to failed adaptation strategies, relationships
pasture for livestock – has placed increased become strained, as safeguarding personal
pressure on these resources, exacerbated by and immediate family interests becomes
climate change. The natural environment the priority over generosity to others.
has also been affected by other activities The decision to move is usually reached
such as firewood collection and use of water after consultation, following which there
for domestic and agricultural purposes. could be a large exodus of the greater part
Fortunately, refugees bring solutions of community members. Decisions can
as well as their own needs with them. also be reached individually, for example
Having themselves dealt with the negative by youth who have reached the age of
consequences of climate change in their maturity and consider it an obligation to
home country, they are better equipped to fend for themselves. At the other extreme,
deal with such challenges and to mitigate some people would rather die on their
some of these in the host community. The land than move elsewhere. Others would
refugees acknowledge that their openness to consider seeking refuge in a neighbouring
learning in their new situation was developed country only if the predominant religion
during their own search for solutions to practised there were the same as their own.
the severe consequences of climate change
which they experienced at home. Facilitating integration
The existence of a democratic culture, national
Deciding to move: tipping points affinities, shared ethnicity and family ties
Several Malian refugees now living in across the border are all factors affecting
the Mbera camp had been forced to move the predisposition of host communities
previously from their homes because of to embrace persons forced to move. The
climate change, though they remained in their Government of Mauritania has maintained
country. Their immediate response to the an open-door policy towards Malian
negative impacts of climate change was then, refugees for decades, and has asked the