By Mekashaw Yimer, media analyst

This world has witnessed international terrorism as a successor of cold war politics. The September 9/11 incident in the USA also gave the new discourse global currency and wider magnitude.

This is a terrorism of suicide bombers on human lives. But as terrorism is evolving itself, now the world is facing the most dangerous type–environmental terrorism. Do we all know that our natural resources like rivers, forests, roads and farmlands etc could be weapons of terrorism?
                                                               
Environmental terrorism is the targeting of natural resources and environments (be it roads, pipes etc) in order to deprive others of its use, and since resources are easy to access and vulnerable, this type of terrorism is more destructive than the conventional one. The purposeful destruction of resources under terrorist operations can cause more deaths, property damage and political chaos than it would have in any previous decades.

 Decrease in quantity and quality of resources, rapid population growth and unequal access to resources are not only pitfall realities in Africa, but also determine the continent’s environmental security as well. As population increases all over the continent, the existing resource base is being consumed at a faster rate. So, as the value and vulnerability of these resources increase, so does their attractiveness as terrorist targets.

The political turmoil in west and central Africa including the issue of Darfur as well as the current south-north Sudan oilfield stalemates all imply conflicts over resources. The issue of Somalia itself involves resource competitions among war-mongering lords. Therefore, provided that social interests are not addressed in an inclusive manner, it is a logical to recognize the deterioration of warring factions into environmental terrorist operatives. Besides, African states' institutional weaknesses, the absences of good governance and economic polarization have all provided an environmental context that is highly conducive to the creation of environmental terrorism.

The oilfield and pipeline terrorist engagements in Nigeria and Ethiopia are cases of recent implications of the fact that natural resources in Africa are flashing points for terrorist operations. Africa has neither big buildings nor sophisticated planes to tolerate terrorist engagements; hence, the only option is to pay for is in terms of its resources which has, of course, insurmountable costs.

Looking at Africa’s scenario, the expansion of the Sahara desert along with deforestation campaigns on the one hand and the uncontrolled population growth with scarcity of natural resources on the other create a vacant space to satisfy human needs in the continent which, in turn, as a result of unfair resource competition also paves a fertile ground  for the birth of environmental terrorists as a prime peace challenge in the days to come. Furthermore, the impact of global warming in Africa is another challenge to be faced. As scientists confirm, the increments of ocean sea levels because of global warming threaten African coastal countries to the extent that the peace of the continent is affected. This situation is also exacerbated by the infiltration of international terrorist elements into the continent, institutional weaknesses of African states to monitor terrorist activities, the lack by African countries' of both resource and capacity to check terrorist advances and African countries' ill-equipped capacity to policing their porous borders.

Therefore, to save Africa from environmental terrorism, it is a matter of concern to give special emphasis to environmental security. It is pertinent to have policies in regard to equitable and sustainable resource utilization in the continent. With the entrenchment of democracy and democratic culture in their respected countries, it appears mandatory far African states to work for participatory and inclusive national policy approaches. To battle out international and cross-border terrorist operations, it is not a matter of option to have strong border policing security establishments; and towards that end the continent should work in cooperation with the international peace-loving countries. African regional blocks should also have a code of conduct and regionally integrated assessment as well as operational networks which enable the continent to launch pre-emptive corrective measures.

In this continental anti-environmental terrorist operation, collapsed states or states with weak institutions and fragile conflict affected societies are real areas are subject to international terrorist infiltrations and are also fertile grounds for the birth of terrorism as resource is limited to address human needs in such areas. Therefore, the African Union in general and the post- conflict Reconstruction and Development department in particular need to well equip themselves for the post-conflict development reactions in a wider manner. Above all, for the restoration of lasting and sustainable peace in the continent, it would be better if environmental security is given special attention both at the continental level and as part of the wider post-conflict development reaction in Africa.