Environmental Peacebuilding – Approaching the Nexus: Climate Change, Adaptation/Mitigation and Peacebuilding

Feb 19, 2015 | The International Studies Association
New Orleans, LA

Environmental issues in post-conflict societies have received greater attention recently, as development and climate researchers increasingly focus not only on addressing the underlying causes of conflict, but also on laying the foundation for a sustainable peace. Increasingly, policymakers and practitioners recognize that natural resources and the environment are central to the welfare of the poor and vulnerable segments of society. This has been accompanied with a shift in the security community from a narrow focus on state security to a broader view that also includes human security. These changes have led to a higher profile for environmental issues in many post-conflict peacebuilding policies and initiatives. While this is an important step to thinking about environmental issues and peacebuilding efforts together, research on the nexus of climate change adaptation and mitigation and their consequences for peacebuilding remains almost non-existent. This roundtable will discuss the present state of environmental peacebuilding, and will also debate how governance can strengthen and enhance peace processes through well-thought out, tailored, and comprehensive climate strategies that neither impose irrelevant external agendas nor undermine rural livelihoods.

Participants:

• Chair: Geoffrey D. Dabelko (Ohio University)
• Participant: Stacy D. VanDeveer (University of New Hampshire)
• Participant: Carl Bruch (Environmental Law Institute)
• Participant: Florian Krampe (Uppsala University)

This event will be hosted from 1:45 PM - 3:30 PM at the International Studies Association Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA.