Stakeholders and Environmental Peacebuilding: Activists and Environmental Defenders
Date & Time
Jun 18, 2026 |
11.00
- 12.30
Participants
Martina Cocchi, University of Milan (Italy)
Tamara Bah, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security (United States)
McKenzie Johnson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (United States)
Martina Cocchi, University of Milan
This panel highlights the challenges faced by grassroots and community activists within the field of environmental peacebuilding, drawing specific attention to gendered power dynamics and their impact on women environmental defenders. Across diverse settings, the session demonstrates how integrating local communities into environmental peacebuilding efforts enables more effective, context-sensitive strategies and implementation. It explores the mechanisms through which local participation influences environmental peacebuilding outcomes, particularly in relation to distributive justice, sustainability, and long-term peace. Concurrently, it identifies key accountability gaps and structural inequalities that shape whose voices are heard and whose are silenced within governance and protection frameworks. This critical lens offers insight into feminist and community-led protection models, highlighting pathways to strengthen safeguards, elevate grassroots leadership, and enable women and local peacebuilders to continue their work with greater recognition, agency, and protection against harm.
From the Ground Up: Grassroots Approaches to Environmental Peacebuilding
Martina Cocchi, University of Milan (Italy)
Developing a Collective Research Agenda to Support Women Environmental Defenders in Latin America
McKenzie Johnson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (United States)
On the Frontlines of Peace and the Planet: Protecting Women Environmental Peacebuilders under Threat
Tamara Bah, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security (United States)