Burkina Faso, a small country in West Africa, is hard struck by climate change. Declining precipitation has affected agriculture and lead to the migration of populations from dry areas towards more fertile territory. These migrations have provoked social conflicts between migrants and aboriginals. This research wants to shed light on the conflict resolution processes used between the village development committees (Conseil villageois de développement (CVD)) and traditional leaders. The committees were recently created as a result of the government’s local governance modernization strategy and are to represent the link between the central government and local populations. Traditional chiefs on the other hand, although withdrawn from the strategy, still play a fundamental role within the community. Using semi-directed interviews and participatory observation, an in-depth look at the relations between CVDs and traditional leaders in the management of conflicts resulting from migrations was conducted. Results confirm that climate change is the cause of population migration and that these in turn cause social conflicts between different ethnic groups. Also, we have examined the management of conflicts by both bodies which appear to be distinct and incompatible.