Burundi: A Brief Introduction

Burundi is a small country in Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Lake Tanganyika.1 Burundi is home to 12,889,576 people as of 2022,2 85.58% of whom are rural3 and 65.1% of whom live in poverty.2 It is one of the most densely populated countries in Africa. Burundi has significant altitude variation from its many hills and mountains to its plateau and plains. The country’s climate is equatorial and has two wet seasons and two dry seasons.1 Burundi is quite climate-vulnerable, with extreme heat, intensified rainfall,4 flooding, landslides, and drought being primary concerns.1 Agriculture accounts for 39.5% of the country’s GDP, while industry accounts for 16.4% of the GDP and services make up 44.2% of the GDP.1 The agricultural sector employs 80% of the population, and subsistence farming makes up almost half of Burundi’s GDP.4 Arabica coffee is the primary export crop, and tea and cotton are also important cash crops.4 The impact of the climate crisis on Burundi is exacerbated by the country’s colonial history of exploitation by Germany and Belgium, the large percentage of the population that relies directly on agricultural production, as well as the country’s extreme levels of poverty. 

Mapping Major Climate Events and Climate-Induced Displacement

Burundi is the 19th most vulnerable country in the world to the effects of climate change.5 The primary climate dangers in Burundi are flooding, storms, and drought.6 The mountain areas are endangered by landslides. Between 2008 and 2022, there were 59,000 internal displacements in Burundi due to conflict and violence, and 215,000 internal displacements due to climate disasters. Floods caused the majority of the displacements at 193,000, followed by storms which caused 43,000.7 In 2020, Gatumba, nestled between the Ruzizi River and Lake Tanganyika, experienced intense flooding that damaged homes and schools and destroyed the belongings of 90% of the area’s population.8 The flooding impacted 45,681 people.9 Gatumba faced flooding yet again in 2023, displacing 4,000 families in the area. The pattern of flooding in this region is attributed to inordinate rainfall which is causing the water levels in rivers and lakes to rise.10 Conversely, in northeast Burundi, the community in Kibande Hill saw crops fail for three consecutive years as a result of drought, leaving many without adequate nutrition.11 Children are especially susceptible to adverse outcomes, like abuse, malnutrition, and disease, following displacement. Access to education and a robust food supply also suffer in the aftermath of climate disasters. 

Mapping the Costs of the Climate Crisis

Burundi’s GDP is $3.07 billion USD.2 It is estimated that each climate disaster in Burundi costs 5-17% of the country’s GDP.12 Burundi has lost 5.2% of its land to soil degradation each year since 2020, and it is projected that Burundi will experience a 200% increase in soil degradation by 2050. 38 million tons of soil are lost each year, a trend estimated to cost the country $120 million. The decreasing amount of usable land has resulted in conflicts, as evidenced by 85% of Burundi court cases involving land disputes.13 Burundi’s primary industry, agriculture, is extremely threatened by climate-related impacts. Flooding damages crops and exacerbates the number of pests and diseases that harm plants, livestock, and humans. Drought also harms crop production and livestock. It is predicted that the production of Burundi's main crops -maize, beans, and sweet potatoes- will decrease over time. Tea and coffee production, the country’s main exports, will also be impacted.12 While estimates of the costs of specific flooding and drought events do not exist, it is worth noting that UNICEF projected they need $22 million to effectively help the women and children of Burundi after 2022 flooding.14 Of Burundi’s nearly 13 million citizens, a shocking 98% are deemed socio-economically vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The economic costs of climate change will severely affect the livelihoods and material well being of Burundi’s peoples. 

Mapping Resilience and Mitigation Pathways

Burundi releases fewer per capita emissions than almost any other country in the world, but unduly shoulders severe impacts from climate change.15 Nevertheless, Burundi has still outlined several ambitious NDCs. Burundi’s unconditional contribution to emissions reduction efforts is a 3% reduction by 2030, while the conditional contribution is a 20% reduction by 2030. It is anticipated that Burundi’s average temperature will increase by 1 to 3 degrees Celsius, rainfall will increase 10%, and the weather will develop into only two seasons: dry and rainy. Burundi aims to address climate issues by educating the public on climate change, bolstering the adaptational capacity of various sectors of society, with an eye towards women and farmers in particular, and developing more sustainable agriculture and production methods.16 Burundi has initiated multiple adaptation projects to address climate change and prepare for intensification of existing climate issues. One project aims to bolster seasonal early warning climate forecasts. Another project aims to maintain buffer zones in the country’s lakes and floodplains.17 Burundi requires international financial support in order to implement its climate mitigation plans.16  

Necessary Changes

Burundi has already committed to mitigating climate change via educational efforts, investing in and strengthening adaptation pathways, and creating sustainable agricultural systems. Agriculture is the primary source of income for the people of Burundi so particular attention should be paid to the needs of farmers. They need protection and assistance in order to preserve their way of life and ensure they can attain economic and material security. Due to its history of colonial exploitation and resulting lack of funds, the country cannot achieve these measures on its own. The international community needs to step up and allocate an equitable amount of resources and money to Burundi’s climate plans. In 2020, Burundian president of the senate, Reverien Ndikuriyo, requested $43 billion in reparations from the country’s former colonizers, Belgium and Germany.18 Reparations are a crucial, though certainly controversial, step in mitigating climate change and creating a more humane and fully de-colonized world. Countries that grew rich and powerful as a result of colonizing and exploiting other countries need to step up in the fight for climate justice as well as help lift former colonies out of poverty through financial contributions.