Building Peace in a Changing Climate
May 24, 2016
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ELI and Conservation International
Washington, DC
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There is growing recognition of the interrelationship between climate change and conflict. Climate change is already having—and will continue to have—significant impacts in fragile, natural-resource dependent states, and the risk of those impacts exacerbating conflict is greatest in societies that rely heavily on natural resources and have limited adaptive capacity. Given the close linkages between climate change and conflict, there is a pressing need to rethink and adapt peacebuilding strategies in climate-vulnerable contexts.
From 1:30 to 3:30PM on 24 May 2016, ELI and Conservation International will host a session at the Alliance for Peacebuilding's 2016 Annual Conference (Washington, DC) that will stimulate thinking about strategies fragile and conflict-affected countries can adopt to better adapt to climate change in ways that (1) protect, restore, and manage natural ecosystems and the services they provide; (2) do not exacerbate tensions or conflict; and (3) yield conflict-resolution and peacebuilding dividends. Key topics for discussion include: how to identify security threats driven by climate change and integrate these threats into peacebuilding programming; how peacebuilding strategies can leverage gender considerations to improve effectiveness in the context of climate change; the characteristics of conflict-sensitive adaptation measures; and lessons to be learned from experiences in peacebuilding in climate-vulnerable locations.
The session will follow the format of a classic panel discussion. The moderator will open the session by briefly framing the issue for discussion. This will be followed by two 10 minute presentations on the climate-conflict nexus and gender perspectives on peacebuilding in the context of climate change, respectively. Next, there will be a 15 minute case study on conflict-sensitive climate adaptation strategies in Colombia. The moderator will facilitate a Q&A and a group discussion for the balance of the time remaining.
Speakers
Joseph Bubman (moderator)
Senior Peacebuilding Advisor, Mercy Corps
Swathi Veeravalli
Research Scientist, United States Army Corps of Engineers
Briana Mawby
Hillary Rodham Clinton Research Fellow, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security
Leonardo Sáenz
Director, Eco-Hydrology, Conservation International