Enhancing Food Security and Resilience of Rural Communities in and around Dinder National Park

Located in Sudan, Dinder National Park (DNP)—established in 1935—is among Africa’s oldest protected areas, renowned for its rich biodiversity and varied ecosystems. As a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and Ramsar Wetland, the park is vital for regulating water flow in the Dinder and Rahad rivers, supporting local agriculture and livelihoods.

Since April 2023, clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, have triggered the largest forced displacement crisis globally. The conflict has severely damaged infrastructure, including healthcare facilities, schools, and vital utilities, leading to shortages of essential services and creating acute food insecurity and malnutrition. Aggravating this situation, climate change  impacts on agricultural productivity and grazing routes have prompted communities to migrate to the Dinder National Park (DNP) in search for resources. Increasing encroachment by internally displaced persons (IDPs), pastoralists, and villagers has led to the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources in the DNP, driving biodiversity loss and diminishing essential ecosystem services. This, in turn, reduces community resilience to shocks and intensifies competition for resources, fuelling conflicts among farmers, pastoralists, park authorities, IDPs, local communities, and wildlife, while undermining social cohesion and peaceful coexistence.

adelphi collaborated with UNEP Sudan on a new project to enhance food security for rural communities around the Dinder National Park. As part of this initiative, adelphi conducted two vital assessments—a Gender and Climate Security Risk Assessment using the Weathering Risk methodology, and a Conflict Sensitivity Analysis—both of which provided forward-looking data and actionable recommendations for climate-responsive and conflict-sensitive planning in Sennar, Gedaref, and Blue Nile states. These assessments were essential to ensure the project’s objectives are successfully achieved: strengthening resilience to climate change through improved access to climate information services for farmers, pastoralists, and IDPs; boosting rural productivity via sustainable, climate-smart agro-ecological practices; and reducing resource-based conflicts by supporting better governance and fairer resource management. By combining rigorous research with a deep understanding of local dynamics through conflict context analysis, this work is critical for ensuring impactful interventions that empower communities, foster collaboration, and secure sustainable livelihoods in the region.