Environmental Peacebuilding: 2020 in Review

Jan 12, 2021 | Environmental Peacebuilding Association
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2020 saw many practical, conceptual, and institutional developments in environmental peacebuilding. We are pleased to share with you some highlights from the year.

Accomplishments in 2020

2020 was both a momentous and challenging year.  COVID-19 transformed how we undertake environmental peacebuilding.  Black Lives Matter compelled us to address historic and structural injustices.  The International Law Commission continued its work on international law protecting the environment in relation to armed conflict, and the UN Security Council continued its engagement on the linkages between environment and security. Scholarship and news coverage was robust. The Environmental Peacebuilding Association grew, expanding its membership and activities to consolidate the field of environmental peacebuilding.

Here are a few milestones from 2020:

  • In 2020, the Environmental Peacebuilding Association continued to mature. Launched in 2018, by the end of 2020 the Association included more than 360 individual members from 65 countries on 6 continents, and 19 institutional members. The membership composition is 80% professional and 20% student. By the end of 2020, the Association had established ten Interest Groups (on Africa, Big Data, Disasters & Resilience, Education, Forests, Gender, Law, Monitoring & Evaluation, Water, and Young Professionals), and they were undertaking a wide range of activities. The Association also undertook a consultative process to strengthen diversity within its governance and activities, leading to the election of Regional Directors.
  • The Environmental Peacebuilding Knowledge Platform (www.environmentalpeacebuilding.org/), the leading global platform on issues related to natural resources, conflict, and peacebuilding, continues to grow. This year, we added 647 Library items, 43 Announcements, 149 Events, 272 Jobs, 550 International News articles, and 352 Blogs & Opinion pieces. At the end of 2020, we have almost 4,900 Library items and more than 6,600 International News articles. The Association launched dedicated microsites on COVID-19, data and technologies, and monitoring and evaluation.
  • The Environmental Peacebuilding Community of Practice added 317 members this year. The Community is now almost 4,100 people strong, with members from more than 150 countries.
  • This year we celebrated seven years of publishing the Environmental Peacebuilding Update, our biweekly e-newsletter highlighting recent developments relating to natural resources, conflict, and peace, with links to new publications, international news, upcoming conferences and events, and job openings. Today marks the publication of the 183rd issue.
  • Our presence on social media has continued to grow. This year, we posted 600 Tweets that generated over 128,000 impressions. A growing number of people follow @EnvPeacebuild on Twitter, increasing to more than 2,220 at the end of 2020 (a one-year increase of approximately 12%). The Environmental Peacebuilding Facebook page has continued to gain popularity, with almost 1,700 followers in 2020 (a one-year increase of approximately 43%). Finally, the Environmental Peacebuilding LinkedIn group grew by more than 23% over the past year, now totaling 1,481 members.
  • Under the leadership of Dr. Marja Lehto, the Special Rapporteur on Protection of the Environment in Relation to Armed Conflict, the International Law Commission (ILC) continued its consideration of the topic, adopting a set of draft principles on the first reading (expected to be finalized in 2021).
  • Our massive open online course (MOOC) on Environmental Security and Sustaining Peace was run a third time in a self-paced format.  Running through June 2020, almost 4,000 people from more than 130 countries engaged in the course.  The MOOC was developed by UN Environment, ELI, UC-Irvine, Columbia University, and Duke University, in partnership with the nascent Environmental Peacebuilding Association. More information is available at https://epmooc.org.
  • Adapting to the pandemic, the Association held many virtual webinars, consultations, and skills-building events. By the end of the year, we had held 30 events. In the process, the Association adopted a number of measures to facilitate dialogue and networking.  We held a growing number of events with simultaneous interpretation (using Zoom), and we held our first online networking event using the Remo platform. These events helped people stay connected, expanded the voices in the room, and strengthened the environmental peacebuilding community in a time of adversity. 
  • In preparation for the Second International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding (to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, in February 2022), the Association and our Geneva-based partners launched the Road to Geneva.  The Road to Geneva is an inclusive and consultative process to elevate and diversify voices in environmental peacebuilding, and to learn from regional insights leading up to the Second International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding. The Road to Geneva includes two prongs.  First, it features an international program of events on environmental peacebuilding, planned and hosted by partners around the world, bringing in diverse perspectives and reflecting local priorities. Second, it comprises a series of practical, flagship initiatives that advance the field of environmental peacebuilding.

Favorites of 2020: Editor’s Picks

2020 was a busy year for environmental peacebuilding. There was a lot of scholarship, news, and thinking. Here are some of our favorites from 2020:

647 publications, videos, and other items were added to the online Library.  Here are some selected noteworthy publications:

Of the 550 news articles posted on the Knowledge Platform in 2020, here is a selection of some of our favorite stories: