From Conflict to Climate Resilience: Integrating Environmental Restoration in Peace Processes

Date & Time
Jun 17, 2026 | 11.00 - 12.30

Participants
Chair: Erin McCandless, University of Johannesburg (South Africa)
MaryHope Schwoebel, Nova Southeastern University / University of Johannesburg (United States)
Francis Onditi, Riara University, Nairobi (Kenya)
Munini Mutuku, National Cohesion and Integration Commission (Kenya)

Peace processes increasingly recognize that the environment and climate are not peripheral concerns but central to sustaining peace. From natural resource governance to climate adaptation, provisions in peace agreements and their implementation frameworks are shaping how societies address both conflict drivers and long-term resilience.

This panel examines emerging evidence on the inclusion of environmental and climate clauses in ceasefires, comprehensive settlements, and community peace accords. It explores how such provisions can foster cooperation over shared resources, strengthen eco-social contracts, and mitigate risks of conflict recurrence under conditions of climate stress. Through diverse case studies from Kenya, Africa, and beyond, the panel highlights how environmental considerations are being institutionalized in peacebuilding practice—from community-led agreements over sacred ecological sites to international mechanisms for post-war ecosystem restoration. Presentations interrogate both innovative practices and persistent implementation gaps, offering lessons for policy, research, and practice.

The discussion will reflect on how international, national, and local actors can better integrate environmental dimensions into peacebuilding strategies—ensuring that commitments on paper translate into transformative, climate-resilient peace on the ground.

Environmental Restoration in Peace Processes and Post-Conflict Recovery: Lessons from Africa, South America, and North America

Mary Hope Schwoebel, Nova Southeastern University / University of Johannesburg (United States)

Community-Based Peace Agreements: Co-existence of Centering and Peripherying Narratives on the Mokoyweet Tree in Post-Conflict Mt. Elgon, Kenya

Francis Onditi, University of Johannesburg (Kenya)

Evaluating Environmental Perspectives in Community Peace Agreements in Kenya: A Case Study of Fifteen Community Peace Agreements

Munini Mutuku, National Cohesion and Integration Commission (Kenya)

Environmental Provisions in Contemporary Peace Agreements

Erin McCandless, University of Johannesburg (South Africa)