21 September 2011: The European External Action Service (EEAS) published on a Strategy for Security and Development in the Sahel, including climate change adaptation.

According to the Strategy, the EU has an important role to play in encouraging economic development for the people of the Sahel and helping them achieve a more secure environment in which it can take place, and in which the interests of EU citizens are also protected.

The Strategy focuses primarily on the countries most affected by common security challenges, namely Mali, Mauritania and Niger, while being placed in a larger regional context, reaching towards Chad, the Maghreb and West Africa. The Strategy is articulated around four complementary lines of action. Under “development, good governance and internal conflict resolution,” the EU aims to contribute to the general economic and social development in the Sahel and to mitigate the impacts of climate change. [The Strategy]