Abstract
Shannon England
 
This paper is an attempt to explore the relationship between violent conflict and environmental scarcity by focusing on Burundi as a case study. As a former Peace Corps volunteer in Muyinga province in 1993, I had occasion to witness some of the violence in Burundi first hand. This paper provided me an opportunity to explore the conflict from political, demographic, and environmental viewpoints. In the course of study, I determined that there is some evidence to indicate that access to agricultural land played a crucial role in the conflict that continues to engulf Burundi today. While the association does not prove causality, it may point the way to important policy recommendations for solving the problems facing Burundi. These include fostering a greater role of engagement from the international community, improvements in the Burundian judicial system, an expansion of family planning programs in Burundi, and focused research into improving the agricultural yields in the area.

Links are provided below to charts and maps about Burundi. A few photos from Burundi are followed by the complete paper.

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Photo of Burundian Children

Photo of Burundian Fields

Photo of Burundian House and Fields

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