Feel The Complexity: How Dams In Africa Fuel The Refugee Crisis

As a climate change reporter, I often struggle to present the issues derived from global warming in all their complexity. The interactions of this challenge with politics, economy and culture go to such a micro level that sometimes I don't have the time to research them enough, and other times I don't have enough space. And, at the same time, it's important to keep the reader engaged, so you don't want to go too deep down the rabbit hole.

However, human societies are inextricably interwoven with their surrounding natural conditions, including climate. This article by Fred Pearce for Yale360 (an outlet I've wanted to feature for a while, and which deserves your attention) has done exactly that.

First, let me be clear. This article is not exactly about climate change, but it works as it if was. It's a story about the logic of economic growth, measured in pure monetary terms, and how it can disrupt the lives of those supposed to be helped by it. And it captures the complexity of the phenomenon, while keeping a simplicity in the text.

Water dynamics in the Sahel (the region immediately south from the Sahara) are very delicate. The drought-prone region depends, traditionally, on seasonal floods from its rivers. But the construction of a series of dams by the governments of Nigeria and Mali has left locals in a desperate position.

The article tells the story of these people, and how their conditions have changed so they had to take the deadly trip to Europe or join Boko Haram. The consequences of the dams will be felt globally.

And what about the reaction of the OMVS officer when confronted with the effect of the dams. He resorts to tourism revenues! Are you kidding me? That's the kind of mentality that can't see the complex network of causes and effects of human actions. The same that fuels climate change.

This is just one piece in the puzzle we all must solve together. But it's a great way to fathom the complexity of this century's greatest story.