Somalia’s climate for conflict:
The human consequences of climate change
As one of the places hardest hit on the planet by climate change, Somalia is the canary in the coal mine for the rest of us. In a generation, parts of the country have gone from being semi-arid to desert, fueling conflict and pushing one of the world’s most resilient communities to the brink.
Over 18 months, photographer and filmmaker Nichole Sobecki and writer Laura Heaton made six trips to Somalia and Dadaab refugee camp in northern Kenya to document this transformation and its human consequences.
This short vérité documentary, “A Climate for Conflict,” combines the expertise of Somali activists and scientists with the personal stories of people struggling to cope with a changing environment. A fisherman starts pirating boats when he can no longer make a living at sea. A camel herder goes to war with neighbors over pasture and water. A farmer joins the Al-Qaeda-linked extremist group Al-Shabaab when drought becomes too intense.
See all of Laura and Nichole’s reporting for our Living Proof series.
The film is now the centerpiece of an impact campaign to spark conversation about how irreversible climate change is leading to instability, conflict and migration.
