Risk and Resiliency Assessment: Burundi ????
Burundi is a densely populated country, one of the most on the continent, with over 400 people per square mile. There are three main ethnic groups: the Hutu (Bahutu), who constitute 84 percent of the population; the Tutsi (Batutsi, Watutsi), who are numerically a minority (15 percent) but have long dominated the country politically, socially, and economically; and the Twa, or pygmies (1 percent), (Lansford 2021). With the population continuing to grow, and the majority of the population staying near the agricultural land in the North and the West along Lake Tanganyika, the country only continues to face an issue of limited resources.
Most of the economy depends on agriculture, with about 80% of the economy depending on it. Main crops include bananas, cassava, sweet potato, and beans with cash crops being Coffee, tea, cotton, and sugar.
In many farming households, they have a small plot of land that mainly produces self- sustainability and self-consumption. A small amount is allocated for cash crops or export crops. Farming households usually need to resort to other sources of revenue to maintain their livelihoods and take care of their families. While the government has put fertilizer programs in place to help with soil fertility that places an emphasis on cash crops to boost the economy. The emphasis on cash crops can lead to unsustainable practices and food insecurity issues amongst the Burundian population.
Burundi experiences two wet seasons. Climate change has impacted the quantity and frequency of those wet seasons which has impacted the agricultural economy by either droughts in the northeastern part of the country or flooding that has occurred closer to Lake Tanganyika. There were previous actions that were taken, that could have worsened the issue of soil erosion and flooding such as deforestation near Lake Tanganyika. Current governmental techniques of water management systems have been implemented in the north to assist with the droughts that are being experienced.
Displaced refugees in neighboring countries will struggle when returning or will not return at all.
Most of the refugees are farmers who will not have their original land to come back to or no options for land to own at all. With the conflict dissipating quickly even more so since following the conflict in 2015 and the elections in 2020 some refugees will struggle with the idea of returning when they may not feel safe to return based on the way the government has responded to the violence, and if the issue has dissipated.
The malaria epidemic has continued to rise since 2000. With COVID-19 as well there has been a shortage of health care workers. The health system in Burundi has “one doctor per 34,750 inhabitants and one nurse for 3,500 inhabitants. 17.4% of patients do not have access to health care, while 81.5% of patients are forced to go into debt or sell property to pay the health costs,” (Nkurunziza 2010, 3). As flooding increases in the South of the country, due to climate change, there is considerable risk of malaria cases continuing to rise. The problem continues to be an issue with lack of health care workers accessible to help in treatment.
I. Introduction
Burundi is one of Africa’s poorest countries, Burundi is an example of “an extreme case for both resource scarcity (subsistence farming) and risk (vagaries of weather, unstable political situation,” (Cieslik 2008, 694). While coming to the vague understanding that amidst political strife there has been a complete lack of attention towards unsustainable practices concerning farming techniques, deforestation, and a rise in malaria cases. The purpose of this paper is to better understand climate change and its impacts. There are more vulnerable populations of at- risk people who will be exposed to the effects of climate change based on their social and economic systems. The Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), “revealed that the African continent is the most vulnerable continent to climate change, given the expected significant reduction in food security and agricultural productivity. Food supply and water resources are some of the sectors in low-latitude areas that are vulnerable to temperature and precipitation changes which result in droughts, decreases in food productivity (especially cereals), and water shortage,” (Nyairo 2020, 2). This is a Risk and Resiliency Assessment on Burundi with a particular look at Climate Change and the impact it has had on the people of Burundi, as well as what can be done to ensure that steps are taken in the right direction to prevent future struggle against climate induced issues.
Topography
Burundi’s topography changes drastically throughout the country, which means there is a wide variety of rainfall, temperature, and humidity all throughout the region. Burundi is a landlocked country, and its neighboring countries are Tanzania, Rwanda, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. The western plains near Lake Tanganyika do not typically experience a lot of rainfall but more recently this area has been experiencing flooding. Lake Tanganyika is the largest and deepest lake out of all the East African rift valley lakes. According to Cohen, “It is also an extraordinary natural resource for the region as a result of its very large and productive fishery, and as a source of freshwater. Concerns about various environmental threats to this ecosystem began to accumulate in the early 1990s (e.g., Cohen 1991; Lowe-McConnell et al. 1992; Cohen et al. 1996) and were a major motivating factor behind the development of the United Nations Development Programme/Global Environmental Facility’s Lake Tanganyika Biodiversity Project (LTBP) in the mid 1990s,” (2005, 126). The northeastern regions of the country have begun to experience droughts which resulted in a lot of the population fleeing food shortages.
Colonial
Looking back on to the effects of both colonization and decolonization, the impacts have been lasting on all of Africa. Particularly when it comes into context for Burundi one of the main areas, they were able to have strong resistance was the slave trade. Many attempts to overpower the Burundian population met defiance and a lot of the first European missionaries that entered the country were killed. This defiance shows a resiliency amongst the populations and gives the possibility to face new risks together in the current day. Chigudu’s article approaches the divide and conquer tactics that were used by the Belgium colonists to enforce rule. Chigudu states, “They had to undermine the established governance system by instituting policies of divide and rule violating Burundi’s secular identity (Nkurunziza, 2018),” (2021, 299). These lasting effects can be drawn to the root causes for many population identities in several countries and the conflict faced post decolonization, Burundi being no exception to the rule. Further drawing from Chigudu’s writing with the emphasis on authoritarian rule being at the forefront of political systems, “Burundi’s modern history has been marked fundamentally by inequitable treatment during the European colonial rule which privileged the Tutsi in all spheres of life-generating inter-group conflict with the largest Hutu ethnic group constituting 85% of the country’s population (Takeuchi, 2013).” (2021, 296)
Not only did colonization have political consequences, but also had lasting effects economically and environmentally as well. In 1932 the first laws were placed on coffee plantations in Burundi. Farmers had a base requirement of having up to 54 coffee trees placed on fertilized land. Niragira mentions, “the extension service on coffee production was particularly authoritarian and very closely supervised farmers. Many farmers were subject to fines for neglecting to mulch coffee plantations,” (2021, 875). This established an early trait in the cultivation of cash crops specifically with coffee that was established by colonial governments and that emphasis continued even after their independence. While placing such high importance on cash crops, which is later discussed further in this research, it shows there was a neglect of understanding of sustainable techniques that could improve their economy while providing food stability for their population.
Agricultural Map of Burundi
Source: University of Texas Austin
II. Structural Factors for FCV (fragility, conflict, violence) Context
Historical Violence
On July 1st of 1962, Burundi gained political independence and became a constitutional monarchy. In 1966 the monarchy was abolished and Michel Micombero, a Tutsi, became President making Burundi a republic. Chigudu mentions that following political independence the next 30 years are marked in Burundi history by political volatility, “successive coups waged by the Tutsi armed forces, Hutu insurrections, insurgents’ mass killings in the years of 1965, 1972, 1988, and then in 1992 (Hatungimana, 2011),” (2021, 296). The country’s first Hutu President, Melchior Ndadaye was assassinated in 1993, with the assassination many Hutu groups targeted the Tutsi in response, killing thousands within weeks. This evolved into more mass violence carried out by the Tutsi majority army which then attacked many Hutus. Human RightsWatch in 1998 mentioned that in the army’s retaliation, they did not make a distinction between those who were involved in the violence and those that were innocent (Voors 2012). This pattern has been repeated time and again throughout a lot of Burundi’s political history following decolonization. Some might say that it all is reflected in trauma and fear of victimization with conflict occurring. Voors mentions on the topic of the violence carried out in 1993 that, “In response, attacks by Hutu militia became “increasingly brutal and random, affecting all of the country and causing profound fear among Tutsi as well as Hutu bystanders” (Uvin 1999, p. 262),” (2012, 944). The fighting that occurred started in the northwest and slowly consumed the whole country in violence caused major disruptions in the economy causing for Burundi’s per capita income to drop implementing its status as the world’s poorest country (Akresh 2016).
In more recent history, as the process towards democracy and the stabilization of the country was slowly developing, demonstrations and police violence broke out in 2015. These demonstrations were in response to the then President Pierre Nkurunziza seeking election for a third term. Many activists, journalists and radio stations were impacted by a crackdown by the government, and around 200,000 Burundians fled to neighboring countries. These killings only continued once Nkurunziza was reinstated into office for a third term, violating a peace agreement set by the Arusha Accords in 2000 which set a maximum of two five-year presidential terms (Human Rights Watch, 2016). In 2020 Pierre Nkurunziza died and a new president came into power, évariste Ndayishimiye, elections took place admist the Covid-19 pandemic. This created lack of accessibility for voters, however time will tell how the new president uses the power that has been given to him. As the sociopolitical situation has a long history of instability, the conflict amongst ethnic groups has impeded household income and agricultural production, which remains the largest source of economic income for the country. Niragira mentions, “the situation provoked disruptions in production system of both agriculture and modern private sector,” (2021, 881).
Environmental Factors
As the political environment continues to shape itself and shift into new territory with a new president put into a position of power, political stability will help to tackle the environmental issues that have been put aside, especially as climate change becomes a more pressing matter. As a primary agriculture-based economy, climate has the power to effect Burundi in drastic terms. In the 1970’s and 1980’s Burundi was one of the highest rates in deforestation, which has had lasting effects on the land especially near Lake Tanganyika. Niragira mentions, “Agricultural intensification went hand in hand with overall environmental degradation, including increased soil loss through erosion, decreasing soil fertility, and reduced biodiversity,” (2021, 878). With the land being continually exploited there has been an increase in malnutrition and impoverishment as farmers are producing fewer crops. An increase in droughts, flooding, and lack of land to go around emphasizes the importance of controlling environmental factors and taking steps towards ensuring soil fertility, while focusing on alternative methods that could contribute to resolving the food insecurity issues that face the population.
Post Genocide Government
The Arusha Agreement that was put into effect in the 2000’s collapsed when political leaders failed to meet conditions of power-sharing. Burundi fell into a place of fragility and insecurity which contributed to the collapse of the state. In April 2015, Burundi entered another wave of violence which Chigudu mentions resulted, “in deaths of close to 1,200 people while over 400,000 individuals were displaced. The country’s economy contracted by 4% in 2015 and 2016 by 1 % only (Nkurunziza, 2018),” (2021, 300). Many African leaders have become invested in searching for a lasting solution to the ongoing violence Burundi has faced. “In 2015 the Peace and Security Council of the African Union pledged to send into Burundi a strong force of 5 000 officers for peacekeeping (Nkurunziza, 2018). This was resented and opposed by the Burundi government prompting the African Union to do a volte-face in January 2016.” (Chigudu 2021, 301). As of 2021, Burundi still faces security incidents and issues with political rights. Some media outlets had government bans that lifted, those being RSF Bonesha FM and the Ikiriho media outlet, while British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Voice of America (VOA) still face bans in the country (Freedom House 2022).
Displaced Native Burundians
With the ongoing civil strife in Burundi over the years that has resulted in many Burundian refugees fleeing to neighboring countries, Tanzania seeing a majority of refugees. Currently there are still over 300,000 outside of the country, many that fled in 2015 (Human Rights Watch 2020). Following the election, the UN began facilitating the return of some refugees between 2017 and 2020. Verwimp brings really valuable data when it comes to looking at displacement that has also occurred domestically. They state, “all IDP settlements in the south were reported to have closed as of 2010. One possible explanation for the return of IDPs in the south compared to those in the north is that in the south, internal displacement was mostly caused by clashes between the army and armed groups, while in the north, many people had already fled inter-ethnic violence. When peace returned to the country, IDPs in the south were able to return home. At the same time, while many IDPs in the north have returned home, others have not done so, for several factors including – particularly for older IDPs –fear of their former neighbours (IMDMCNRC, 2011). The fact that many people remained in IDP settlements was a sign of the climate of fear and uncertainty among IDPs,” (2018, 1022). It appears from the data gathered in Verwimp’s particular study that a majority of the people who returned home were prioritizing the rebuilding of their homes and the restarting of their farms.
III. Drivers of FCV
Food Insecurity
With the growing issue of climate change and soil infertility there is a parallel issue with food insecurity. Due to the large number of farmers in Burundi, and the fact that they provide themselves with the food that is needed by their households this problem will only continue to increase unless there is policy implementation to help prevent soil infertility and climate change measures to solve the problem at the source and not just putting a band aid solution on it.
Niragira mentions, “For 2010, a National Food Security Assessment reported a food deficit of 470 000 tons in cereal equivalent that had to be compensated for by food imports or food aid (MINAGRIE 2011a),” (2021, 878). If food aid and food imports are continually used this is the definition of a Band-Aid solution, while the issue is immediate and their populations need more security in food, it is also important that they focus on going to the root cause which can be tied back to the effects of climate change on much of Burundi.
Malaria
With many factors contributing to the rise in Malaria cases, it is important to keep in mind the issue of flooding that is occurring in the areas by Lake Tanganyika. While climate change alone is not the only variable in the epidemic of malaria, it still has a link in contributing and even being the starting ground for the rise of the epidemic experienced in East Africa (Nkurunziza 2010). There are many factors that add to malaria transmission like lack of health care access, population growth, environmental modification, as well as climate change. Nkurunziza mentions that “Although climate can affect the incidence of malaria, human economic activities and malaria control strategies play an important role in the incidence of the disease [17],” (2010, 2). It is important to understand that the rise in malaria cases contributes to being a driver of FCV. The rise of sickness leads to a lack of people's ability to work which can affect productivity and the While referring to the graph below it shows that there has been a steady increase from 2000 to 2019 in malaria cases amongst the population, almost doubling from about 6 million to 11 million.
Source: Sinzinkayo, D., Baza, D., Gnanguenon, V. et al. 2021.
Land Scarcity
As approached in previous sections, the population in Burundi has continued to grow which as contributed to the intensification of farms. Niragira mentions, “As the population grew, land resources became scarcer, land expansion increased, and agricultural production was intensified while the environment was undermined,” (2021, 881). This quote is a general sense that provides more context to the idea that Burundi has set boundaries as a country and as the population continues to rise there will continue to be a limited amount of land for those living in the country and for the returning refugees. As a population that relied heavily on agriculture for not only providing a livelihood but also providing food for households this will continue to be an issue for the future unless the government allocates things differently or begins to promote other avenues of economic income and development that will create a need for less land. Niragira, et. Al. continues the point by stating, “Estimating that there would be no more land available by 1978 (Ndimira 1991), they henceforth, emphasized the challenges of the rapid demographic growth and its subsequent effects on the country’s natural resources management (Baghdadli et al. 2008; Ntampaka and Mansion 2009; MINA- GRIE 2012; Minani et al. 2013),” (2021, 867).
One issue that can be taken into consideration is the idea that with the displacement and returning of refugees Burundi runs into the problem of land scarcity. They have a population that has only continued to grow but not enough land to farm on. Another note Verwimp makes is on the idea of loss of cattle. They mention, “Almost no one succeeds in recuperating these assets after return. Since the World Bank (2006) does not have data on cattle ownership before displacement, we cannot infer how important that loss was. However, the ownership of cattle (mostly one or two) is a sign of wealth in Burundi. What counts for the loss of cattle – lost and unable to recuperate – is also the case for agricultural equipment and, to a lesser extent one’s house and land,” (2018, 1027).
IV. Factors and Sources of Resilience
Return of Refugees
With the pressure made on the new government to facilitate better human rights practices and to ensure the neighboring countries can return the Burundian refugees they are hosting the government has adopted a new strategy to encourage those refugees’ return. The United Nations has mentioned the return of over 60,000 refugees in 2021, even amongst the COVID-19 pandemic this is a major improvement in the socio-political atmosphere of Burundi. The government adopted a reintegration strategy with the ultimate hope being to create sustainable development for the country in a healthy living environment. The primary focus being on the establishment of rural development centers in populated areas that allow access to land and the country’s infrastructure (Verwimp 2018). With the government's support of the return and the fostering of programs that allow for a continued atmosphere of peace in Burundi it is important that this continues to be maintained and the de-escalation of conflict takes place before violence ever takes place.
International Relations
While Burundi chooses to not have strong relations with many Global North countries, they have continued to build relations with other African countries. In 2007 they became a member of the East African Community. As tensions begin to slowly diminish Burundi is in a place to foster relationships that will benefit the country in the long term of developmental goals and practices that could create less of a dependency on agriculture and a focus on other areas of economic development for sources of revenue. Within the EAC, there is an agreement to implement policies like one another that allow for an open market, security, and energy (Nkunzimana 2013). As climate change becomes a growing issue, especially in East Africa, there is an emphasis being placed on energy policies and routes that can be taken to account for the issues at risk populations are facing in the realm of environmental issues.
Not only has this relationship been developed with the EAC, but recently Burundi has also signed an agreement with the African Development Bank. This grant, being worth $29 million, is specifically going towards the financing of a national energy project. In a press release it was mentioned that the Bank Group’s Director General for East Africa, Nnenna Nwabufo, stated the support not being limited to the energy sector alone. “It will also take into account agriculture and job creation for people in the coming years,” said Nwabufo. As this project continues to develop, the infrastructure of Burundi will develop along with it and provide better access to the population for energy.
Government Programs
With many of the farmers in Burundi understanding that climate change is a serious issue, and their crop yields are continuing to be threatened by this issue there is a need for them to contribute to the issues of climate change and leading to a solution. While they are the ones who are the least at fault for climate change, researchers have been pushing for policies that will allow for future generations' security and the hopes that current farmers will still be taken care of as well (Nkunzimana et al., 2013). Burundi has taken initiative in searching for a resolution that could allow for better techniques that will have a less harmful impact on the environment.
The National Agricultural Research Institute of Burundi (ISABU) was established in June 1962 to research improved farming technologies. There has been a mandate put into place “to conduct agricultural research and extension activities in different agro-ecological zones,” (Niragira et al., 2021, 867). Their main goal is to develop new agricultural methods the include high yields and resistant varieties of crops as well as seedling techniques and promoting the use of fertilizer to prevent soil infertility. ISABU has even investigated erosion control that they then taught farmers. The research institute has helped to benefit farmers and the environment by introducing their findings and implementing improvements to a largely used sector of labor for Burundi.
The ISABU is not the only government program that has helped to secure the population of Burundi against risks faced by Climate Change. The National Program for Food Security (NPFS) was created to promote the restoration of self-sufficiency in the country’s food markets. They sought to improve nutrition values, reduce the risk of households, and implement an emergency food aid plan that is effective in the face of catastrophe. Niragira et al., states, “The programme therefore proposed to fight against food insecurity with the aim to reduce hunger and malnutrition by at least 50% by 2015. In addition, the country has joined the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) movement in 2013, committing to tackle the alarming levels of malnutrition in the country,” (2021, 872). However, this program did not make it past the conflict in 2015 and collapsed, the benefits it could bring back should be emphasized and further researched to evaluate its effectiveness and possible reimplementation.
One other program that Burundi has established that seeks to improve the countries development is the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP). Niragira et al., states, “In Burundi, the strategic document for this program was approved in 2010. It is based on four major pillars: (1) extension of the area under sustainable land management and reliable water control systems, (2) improving rural infrastructure and marketing capacities for improved market access, (3) increasing food supply and reducing hunger and malnutrition and (4) promoting agricultural research, extension service and adoption of new technologies for sustainable growth in production,” (2021, 872-873). The Burundian government has not shied away from seeking improvement and solutions to their agricultural sector and the need for sustainable practice implementation.
Not only has the government sought improvement for their country. A lot of Burundian farmers have developed ways to improve the soil fertility. While the use of purchased fertilizers and pesticides has limited market access and purchasing power place by the government, farmers have begun to use composting techniques and recycle biomass to improve the quality of the soil they are using for farming (Niragira 2021). “In the 1990s, several private initiatives started social and economic development programmes supplying fertilizers and credit in the highly populated areas of Burundi. Since 2012, the Government of Burundi has adopted a National Fertilizer Subsidy Programme which provides fertilizers to farmers at low prices15 with the aim to increase agricultural productivity through greater input utilization in the country (MINAGRIE 2014),” (Niragira et al., 2021, 878). There was a point in time in which the government gave coffee farmers fertilizers and pesticides to support the production of this cash crop but many of the farmers used it for food crops instead.
While fertilizers remain important when it comes to soil fertility there are other solutions that can be used to promote the sustainability of farming land. The farmers have recognized and been the ones to personally experience the effects of climate change on their livelihoods. They have begun adapting more traditional methods to benefit from and fight against climate change. They have slowly moved away from cash crops to harvesting crops that have shorter seasons to allow for more cultivation cycles in the year. Farmers have also begun spreading out their activities on fresh land, implemented erosion control methods, and promoted the restoration of soil fertility (Niragira et al., 2021).
V. Potential Risks
Economy
One of the biggest sources of income for the Burundian economy has been agricultural related with coffee and tea being the main exports. This emphasis on cash crop production will only further issues faced with the climate crisis. Given the context that the post-independence government set the price of cash crops but did not regulate food markets, this particular policy ended with shortages of food and a rise of the cost of food (Niragira 2017). The constant pressure put into the production of cash crops led to food scarcity and created agricultural practices that had consequences for the environment. A practice that continues since the revenue source for the country in the current state is still on cash crops and agriculture. There has been large deforestation to continue the practice of a cash crop economy which in turn has even led to soil erosion and flooding in the regions near Lake Tanganyika. Niragira mentions, “Thus, many policy initiatives were not able to induce the hoped-for structural changes in agriculture. Many of these policies were initiated but then left unfinished or partially implemented (Angoran 2004). Even the civil war and socio-economic crisis that engulfed the economy in its grips for almost a decade and which greatly undermined agricultural production and household resource bases (Beekman and Bulte 2012), did not provide momentum for the much- needed policy reforms,” (2019, 872).
Soil Infertility
While the emphasis remains on the cultivation of cash crops this has led to issues of soil infertility. Burundi has only so much land for agriculture practices and when this is a source of food as well as income the soil has not been allowed enough time to revitalize between production. While the government has been providing fertilizers, these are only afforded by the rich or given to those producing cash crops for the economy. An ongoing development for the past several years has been on research that contributes to soil rehabilitation to prevent from soil infertility amongst a country that relies heavily on agriculture, particularly Burundi, but these developments take time to see results, as many environmentally conscious practices do.
Droughts
Burundi has begun to experience the negative impacts of climate variability as climate change becomes a more pressing issue. Nyairo mentions, “multi-year droughts have been registered in the periods of 1999–2005, 2007–2008, 2010–2011, and 2016–2017 [23] with dire consequences,” (2020, 2). With the economy and income of most households being involved int eh agricultural sector, the dependency on rain for crop production increases the vulnerability of many Burundian communities and puts them at risk to being impacted further by climate change and the effects it has on inconsistent weather. With a rural economy, water is the biggest resource that allows for the continuous flow of income.
There is a need for water resources to be easily accessible in order to reduce traveling time. This extra time can be put towards other needs, there are areas that have been shown to experience an increase in rainfall that many researchers suggest need to be used for irrigation to minimize the gap and increase availability of water. Nyairo states that, “improving the use of farm inputs such as irrigation and application of integrated fertilizer management can address threats to natural resource-based livelihoods and improve ecosystem service provision. Irrigation, for example, supports crop diversification, since farmers do not have to grow only the crops favored by soil moisture content,” (2020, 14). This irrigation technique might also reduce issues of flooding in the regions that experience heavy rainfall which the soil may not be able to absorb completely.
Flooding
While areas of Burundi face droughts due to the unpredictability of rainfall other areas of the country have run into other climate mitigated issues. Mentioned in previous areas of this research, there has been an increase in extreme events at the cost of climate change and will only continue to increase if management and better practices are implemented to combat these issues. One of the big factors Burundi is facing in parts of the country is flooding. The risk of flood will only continue to become an issue as Burundi faces more intense and unpredictable precipitation (Kim et al., 2021). Although this area lacks in research and understanding on how climate change will affect Burundi’s hydroclimate, one of the biggest challenges is the variability when it comes to water resource management. With the rise of flooding there are other factors that can rise and become problematic, like loss of farming land and even the risk of malaria due to better breeding climates for mosquitos. Something that needs to be continued to research in order to develop policies and determine the best possible methods to help manage flooding and its risks.
VI. Conclusions and Recommendations
Strengthen Government
With the political instability that Burundi has faced, there has been lack of ability to develop in every sector of the country. Not only has this led to a lack of agricultural and environmental policies, but it has also led to many other areas that have stunted the country's growth. The issues Burundi faces cannot be solved or managed without the stabilization of the government. In order to facilitate an atmosphere that will be conducive to the development of the country, there needs to be a strengthening of governance. As Chigudu mentions, “these may require collaborative international support in areas such as good governance, environmental preservation, sustainable economic development, cultivating democratic principles and protection of human rights. It is therefore imperative to acknowledge that development and security are mutually dependent as a critical first move in crafting effective policies and strategies to enhance development in Burundi,” (2021, 297).
A necessity in the current state with the election of Burundi’s new President, it's important that along with active engagement from the international community, there is a restoration of implementation of the Arusha Accords, or a new policy written with the same idea in mind to facilitate peace for Burundi and to build barriers against and prevention techniques to fight future conflicts (Chigudu 2021). To promote a steady foundation for environmental policies to be focused on, the sharing of power is something that may need to be adapted, as it has been used in both the Pretoria and Arusha peace processes. This might be the fundamental guiding principle for peace and the resolution of conflict that Burundi has been battling for many years. Chigudu makes a point to state, “the AU and UN, and the Great Lakes Regional Peace Initiative have equally maintained this understanding. But this study concludes that although power- sharing could be a necessary move, presumably as a measure of building confidence, sharing power per se is not an adequate condition for sustainable development and peace,” (2021, 303).
Sustainability and Conservation
While it is evident that Burundi has a good starting point at the further development and support of land management and protection of natural resources, there is still the lack of coordination and conservation. Burundi has been able to facilitate programs to promote sustainable practices at the emphasis of cash crop production, which in the end will only serve as a Band-Aid solution to the issues it faces with cash crops. Mupfasoni points out that, “from a “Planet” perspective, agriculture is based on plant growth and on how different conditions such as soil fertility, climate and pests affect it. The focus is on how various management practices and environmental conditions affect yield and how these conditions can be improved. Sustainable agriculture then focuses on maintaining or improving current levels of biophysical productivity,” (2018, 66).
There could be more investment opportunities towards sustainable farming that provides food security to make up for the income lost from cash crops Burundi would also benefit from not needing to import as many foods to help sustain the populations livelihood. There is a need to emphasize the importance of agricultural production at the benefit of small-scale farmers to promote equal access to land, knowledge, financial services, and markets. Nyairo states that,“Government investment in smallholder crop insurance schemes, for example, has proved important in reducing vulnerability, especially where farms are managed corporately,” (2020, 15). With the Burundian government supporting small-scale and sustainable farming while taking benefits away from large scale cash crop production this could benefit the economy and help to combat climate face issues.
Research Opportunities
Kim et al., states, “therefore, understanding the long-lasting impacts of global warming on the mean changes in hydroclimate is critical to the planning of water resource management and increasing agricultural production in Burundi. Structural and nonstructural measures for water-related disasters are needed to adapt to climate change, especially to minimize the potential flood risk in Burundi,” (2021, 19). Further research can enable the promotion to combat climate change and educate on more areas that are at risk and affected by environmental issues.
It is important that new technologies and techniques are continually discovered to help in the adaptation of countries prone to the effects of climate change.
Education Programs
With the rising population rate in Burundi, it is imperative that the government provides more health education. Nkunzimana states, “The EAC and the IMF [2011a, p. 17] reported a natural population growth rate of 2.4% in Burundi. This population trend will have a serious impact on forest resources if no preventive policies are undertaken,” (2013, 246). By using multi-faceted development approaches there would be a reduction in livelihood vulnerability amongst Burundian households. By combining better infrastructure, education, and land policies Burundi would be allowing for a more adaptive rural community. Nyairo states, “household characteristics such as affluence and educational status can be seen as buffers that reduce household livelihood vulnerability, but in addition, governments have a part to play. Unequaldevelopment may result in certain people benefiting more than others,” (2020, 15). It is important to promote effective education policies and programs that reach the whole population and not just margins of it.
Not only would general education help to reduce the growth rate of the population, but healthcare education would help promote that as well. With better understanding of healthcare and access to that knowledge Burundi would see a drop in the number of malaria cases throughout the country (Nkurunziza et al., 2010). There are multiple benefits to the implementation of health education and health care programs that can help provide for stable grounds to focus on the combating of climate change.
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