Landscapes of Survival and Insecurity: Environmental Security During and After Siege in Tenbien, Northern Ethiopia

Armed conflicts fundamentally reconfigure environmental security, forcing civilians to depend on terrain and ecosystems for physical safety, food and energy. This article examines how natural landscapes, indigenous biodiversity and traditional ecological knowledge functioned as environmental security infrastructure during the war and siege (2020–2022) and post-war crisis (2022–2025) in Tenbien, northern Ethiopia. Drawing on interviews and repeated field observations, the study shows that mountains, incised gorges, forested cliffs and caves became life-saving refuges from bombardment and shooting, while indigenous fruit trees and shrubs supplied critical food, medicinal products and biomass fuel during the crisis. Households also relied on stone grinding mills and traditional stoves to sustain basic needs during the blockade. Particularly, farmers harvested up to 2,115 kg of Ziziphus spina-christi fruit per tree, generating about 931.53 USD annually and buffering acute livelihood insecurity. However, the continued siege and post-war crisis also drove overexploitation of restored landscapes and fragile terrains, degrading forests and shrublands. The article argues that wartime nature-based coping simultaneously enhances short-term human security and undermines longer-term environmental security. Therefore, urgent, ground-based ecological restoration, integrated into post-war recovery and peacebuilding, is essential to rebuild resilience and safeguard biodiversity in war-affected regions.