War and Politics Behind Mass Displacement in Africa, Not Climate Change – UCL

University College London on Tuesday published the findings of a research report that links levels of mass population displacement in East Africa over the past half century to social and political factors and not to climate change.

Published by Palgrave Communications, the report examines the causes of populations displaced within states and those forced to leave their countries of origin and found that rapid population growth and falling or stagnating economic growth in African states within the last decade overwhelmingly accounted for the dramatic increase in the number of refugees crossing the continent, including those seeking sanctuary in Europe.

The authors of the report linked some eight out of ten armed conflicts in East Africa to unconstrained population growth which occurred a decade ago. It also concluded that economic slowdowns were indicative of 70 percent of population displacements a decade later.

While not discounting the increased severity of droughts and other climatic events, the report concludes that the level of human displacement in Africa could be dramatically reduced by more stable and effective governance as well as sustained and sustainable economic growth.