Rebel Environmental Governance: Climate Adaptation, Authority, and Peacebuilding in Conflict-Affected Contexts

Elisabeth Gilmore, Carleton University (Canada)

In many regions most affected by climate change, authority over environmental governance extends beyond the state. Armed non-state actors, also referred to as armed rebel groups, regulate access to land and resources and increasingly engage in activities that can be understood as climate adaptation and disaster management. This talk introduces the concept of rebel environmental governance (REG+), referring to practices through which rebels seek to shape civilian welfare and legitimacy by managing the natural environment under conditions of conflict and climatic stress. Drawing on a new global dataset and comparative evidence, the analysis situates these practices within broader debates on hybrid governance and the reconfiguration of authority in fragile settings. It examines how environmental action functions as both a mode of control and a source of legitimacy, revealing how resilience, and the social contracts that sustain it, are negotiated beyond the state and discuss the implications for peacebuilding interventions.