Environmental Peacebuilding: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
Publisher: Journal of Social Encounters
Author(s): Ken Conca
Date: 2024
Topics: Conflict Prevention, Extractive Resources, Governance, Land, Peace and Security Operations, Renewable Resources
The field of environmental peacebuilding emerged as a counter to the idea that violent conflict was an inevitable byproduct of environmental change. Two decades ago, colleagues Geoffrey Dabelko and Ken Conca published a book, Environmental Peacemaking, sketching the argument that ecological interdependencies could be instrumentalized as a force for peace. Other early works from this period focused on the peace opportunities in biodiversity conservation and transboundary protected areas. Since that time, a substantial community of research and practice has emerged around these ideas. In this essay I discuss the origins of the field, sketch some of its core concepts, and look to the future, pointing to some key challenges ahead.