Symposium Focuses on Practical Solutions for Climate Security Challenges

The third Security Implications of Climate Change Symposium, organized by U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) and the U.S. Institute for Peace (USIP) in concert with the Botswana Defence Force, convened in Gaborone June 26 through June 30 to address climate security challenges. The symposium brought together more than 100 military and government representatives from the United States and 33 African partners to identify practical and actionable solutions to climate security threats, along with future opportunities to collaborate on climate risk.

By U.S. Africa Command Public Affairs , United States Africa Command Stuttgart, Germany Jul 03, 2023

View Gallery

Gallery contains 1 image

(Updated August 25, 2023)

The third Security Implications of Climate Change Symposium, organized by U.S. Africa Command (USAFRICOM) and the U.S. Institute for Peace (USIP) in concert with the Botswana Defence Force, convened in Gaborone June 26 through June 30 to address climate security challenges. The symposium brought together more than 100 military and government representatives from the United States and 33 African partners to identify practical and actionable solutions to climate security threats, along with future opportunities to collaborate on climate risk.

Major General Kenneth P. Ekman, Director of Strategy, Engagement, and Programs for USAFRICOM, emphasized the importance of gathering U.S. and African partners together for this climate-focused event. "The output that we want from this conference are practical solutions that our militaries can implement in partnership with United States Africa Command to help overcome the negative effects of climate change,” Maj. Gen. Ekman said.

Lt. Gen. Placid Segokgo, Commander of Defense Forces in Botswana, highlighted the significance of climate change around the world, as a security priority that needs urgent attention. "We are living in times when it is evident that climate change is one of the greatest challenges ever to face mankind, and that is no longer a myth but a reality,” he said.

Throughout the symposium, distinguished participants, including high-level delegates, shared their enthusiasm for the event to generate innovative ideas and actionable initiatives where the U.S. and African partners can work together for meaningful outcomes. The Symposium served as a platform for collaboration and knowledge exchange, enabling participants to collectively develop practical solutions to address the complex challenges posed by climate change and enhance security across the African continent.

U.S. Forces conduct strike against ISIS-Somalia

U.S. Forces Conduct Significant Kinetic Strike Targeting ISIS-Somalia

Combined Drug Operation Seizes Six Tons of Cocaine in Gulf of Guinea

U.S. Forces Conduct Strike Targeting ISIS-Somalia

Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord

NAIROBI, Kenya – Among the flurry of tactical live fires and squad movement drills, air ground integration and even the humanitarian initiatives at exercise Justified Accord 2025 (JA25), lies the one thing those who serve in any armed force must follow: The Law. The Law of Armed Conflict, or LOAC, is a key aspect of training for any military. JA25’s academics course aimed at learning from the international legal lessons of previous wars in an effort to reduce the amount of human suffering in future conflicts. “The soldier’s rules are a broad set of rules that we have pulled from the large breadth of international law,” said U.S. Army Maj. Tim Olliges, an operational law attorney assigned to U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), the lead U.S. Army command and planner of JA25. “The LOAC is extensive and can be complex, so we pull out the ten most critical concepts that every soldier, right down to the private, should know before they go into combat.”

US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat

NAIROBI, Kenya – Imagine two scenarios. Scenario 1: Dawn breaks over the capital of Kenya. A U.S. diplomat leaves his residence for the embassy. After a 20-minute ride, his car arrives at the gate and he enters. He sits in his office to begin the day when, all of a sudden, he hears an explosion through the open window. It seems far off; it is not a large explosion. He thinks maybe it was just a car accident, but minutes later he smells something bitter in the air. His eyes water, sirens blare and a U.S. Marine Corps security detail enters his office wearing gas masks. They put a mask on him and tell him they must evacuate immediately because a deadly chemical is blowing over the compound. Scenario 2: U.S. intelligence receives credible information that radiological material is being loaded onto a ship in the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. Time is short and no one knows which ship, only that it will embark soon, possibly bound for the hands of violent extremists or other state actors looking to imperil the U.S. homeland. There is no time to send U.S. security forces to intercept the package. Instead, the Kenyan Disaster Response Battalion (DRB) mobilizes and arrives at the port. Using tactics and tools gained from years of training with the United States, they find the ship and the weapon, placed there by a violent extremist organization, and prevent its departure, defeating the threat to America and its citizens. Similar scenarios have happened before in other areas of the world.

36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels

The U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and Belgian Ministry of Defence, in partnership with U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) and U.S. Indo Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) Chaplain Directorates, hosted the world’s largest annual meeting of senior military religious leaders at the 36th Annual NATO & Partner International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference (IMCCC) in Brussels, Belgium, January 27-31, 2025.

Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord

US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat

36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels

Army lawyers provide training on rules for armed conflict at exercise Justified Accord

US, Kenya prepare for the unimaginable CBRN threat

36th Annual International Military Chiefs of Chaplains Conference and First Chaplain Africa Forum held in Brussels

United States Africa Command

Symposium Focuses on Practical Solutions for Climate Security Challenges

africom_logo_jpgrelease_thumbnail