Climate, carbon, civil war and flexible boundaries: Sudan's contested landscape

The confluence of climate change, oil development, farmer–nomad interaction, and civil war has given rise to serious contestation over land and water resources in the heart of Sudan. Here we report on direct involvement in the very difficult and protracted efforts to resolve these land-use conflicts. Repeated efforts to define and implement “hard demarcation” of boundaries in agroecological regions characterized by great temporal variability across space have been unsuccessful for many reasons. In semi-arid and savanna environments, where nomads share the use of land with sedentary communities, boundary disputes are minimized by the existence of flexible demarcations. Flexible boundaries are identifiable but subject to change in response to negotiation and agreement among resource users. It seems that the struggle is always over “rights” to particular areas of land. But it is necessary to understand the distinction between interests and rights. Each individual – and each group – has interests that they will seek to protect and, very often, enhance. But the conversion of interests into rights is a more difficult matter. As long as the need to deal with risk and uncertainty dominate livelihood strategies, flexible adaptation rather than rigid boundaries remains the optimal strategy in agro-pastoral economies.

► We report on direct involvement in “hard demarcation” of community land boundaries. ► We examine how climate change, oil exploitation and civil war exacerbate insecurity. ► The need to deal with risk and uncertainty dominates livelihood strategies. ► Flexible boundaries emerge as the optimal strategy in agro-pastoral communities.