الإصدار 3 - العدد 8 (2025-11-20)

The Role of Biological Change in Fueling Wars and Armed Conflicts in South Darfur State

Dr: Salwa Hassan Ahmed

This paper aims to shed light on the phenomena of biological changes and their direct and indirect effects, which severely impact the population through the depletion of natural resources and the emergence and continuation of wars and internal conflicts. The study focuses on South Darfur State as one of the Darfur region’s states that has suffered greatly from the effects of wars and their impact on biodiversity in the study area.

The research adopted several methodologies to reach scientific facts, including the descriptive method to describe and analyze the phenomena of biological changes in the study area and identify their underlying causes and influencing factors in order to derive appropriate conclusions and solutions. The historical method was used to interpret biological changes, uncover the factors that led to them, and understand the past to plan for the future to eliminate such phenomena. The statistical method was employed to collect and analyze data to reveal facts leading to the desired results, along with the ecological method to study the relationship between plants, animals, and the natural environment.

The study reached several key findings, most notably that there have been major biological changes in climatic elements, leading to increased temperatures and the dominance of an arid desert climate. Consequently, the biological environment has become uninhabitable for humans and animals, and many plant species have gone extinct due to unsuitable growth conditions. These changes created opportunities for conflict, with desertification prevailing and dust-laden winds blowing throughout the year, causing population displacement and the depopulation of several areas, leaving them exposed to wars and local conflicts.

Before the outbreak of wars, the world experienced excessive population growth, and the study area was also affected. Locals resorted to overexploiting land for agriculture to meet subsistence needs and for export to cover shortages. Moreover, some governments launched large-scale agricultural development projects (such as the South Darfur Project), which led to soil erosion and exhaustion, reducing productivity and fueling conflicts among the population over access to livelihoods. Given that agriculture is their primary activity, disputes over ownership and control of agricultural and grazing lands further intensified local conflicts and wars. This situation was exacerbated by a lack of environmental awareness and the absence of competent authorities.

The study recommends several key measures, including avoiding meteorological drought and addressing its causes, preserving natural resources, developing and managing sustainable resource development programs, and monitoring and assessing scientific research capacities to maintain and protect biodiversity. These actions are essential to reducing conflicts and local wars and preserving natural resources in the study area.