Protracted Non-International Armed Conflict and Ecological Degradation: Evidence from the Darfur Conflict in Sudan

<span>This article examines the relationship between protracted armed conflict and ecological degradation through an analysis of the Darfur conflict in Sudan. While scholarship on Darfur has predominantly focused on mass atrocities, displacement and humanitarian crises, less attention has been paid to the sustained environmental consequences of prolonged violence. This study situates the conflict within its ecological context and documents how cycles of armed confrontation, militia activity and large-scale population displacement have accelerated environmental stress in an already fragile ecosystem. Drawing on secondary reports, environmental assessments and conflict analyses, the paper explores patterns of deforestation linked to fuelwood demand in internally displaced persons camps, the depletion and contamination of water resources, soil degradation resulting from abandoned or over-cultivated farmland and the disruption of traditional land management systems. The findings demonstrate that environmental harm in Darfur is not incidental to hostilities but also emerges from the structural conditions of protracted insecurity, weakened governance and resource competition. The conflict has intensified desertification trends, undermined biodiversity and deepened the vulnerability of pastoral and agrarian livelihoods. The article argues that ecological degradation in Darfur must be understood as both a consequence and a reinforcing factor of prolonged armed conflict. Environmental decline contributes to recurring tensions over land and water thereby embedding ecological stress within the broader conflict dynamics. The Darfur case provides empirical evidence of how sustained violence reshapes landscapes and entrenches long-term environmental fragility in regions affected by non-international armed conflict.</span>