Issue #305 – Sep 16, 2025

Announcements

Call for Proposals: Environmental Peacebuilding Panel at the 2026 NERPS Conference in Tokyo

September 15, 2025

Tobias Ide and Aleksandra Balinskaia will organise a panel on environmental peagebuilding at the 5th Conference of the Network for Education and Research on Peace and Sustainability(NERPS) in Tokyo, 4-7 March 2026.

Call for Contributions: Visual Story Gallery (A Path to Ottawa Initiative)

September 13, 2025
Community of Practice on Environment, Climate, Conflict, and Peace

As part of the Path to Ottawa Initiatives, the Community of Practice on Environment, Climate, Conflict, and Peace (ECCP) is pulling together a visual "Story Gallery" of the incredible work our community members…

Call for Submissions: Path to Ottawa Initiatives

September 13, 2025
Environmental Peacebuilding Association and the University of Ottawa

In the lead-up to the Fourth International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding–taking place in June 2026 in Ottawa, Canada–the Environmental Peacebuilding Association® (EnPAx®) and Conference partners are hosting the Path to Ottawa, a global, consultative…

CALL FOR ARTISTIC SUBMISSIONS: Fourth International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding

September 2, 2025 | Environmental Peacebuilding Association and the University of Ottawa

The Arts Initiative of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association® (EnPAx®) and the University of Ottawa are delighted to announce the call for artistic contributions for the Fourth International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding, to take place…

Registration Now Open for Symposium on Water-Energy-Peace Nexus

August 29, 2025
Environmental Peacebuilding Association and University of Ottawa

Registration has opened for a one-day hybrid Symposium on the Water-Energy-Peace Nexus, which will be hosted by the Environmental Peacebuilding Association (EnPAx) and the University of Ottawa on October 8, 2025.

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Fourth International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding (DEADLINE: October 6, 2025)

August 19, 2025
Environmental Peacebuilding Association and the University of Ottawa

The Environmental Peacebuilding Association® (EnPAx®) and the University of Ottawa are pleased to announce the call for abstracts for the Fourth International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding.

Events

For more upcoming events on environmental peacebuilding, please visit our online calendar of events.

Conservation Conflict Transformation Workshops (Virtual)

December 8, 2025 - 2025-12-12 Center for Conservation Peacebuilding
online

Feeling stuck in a tough, high-stakes conflict around wildlife or conservation? Do you feel like you are taking all the right actions, but still feel like real change and progress is elusive?

Conference: Environmental Citizen Science in Conflict Zones for Accountability and Empowerment

October 24, 2025 Conflict and Environment Observatory
Copenhagen and online

This event will be a multidisciplinary discussion on the role of citizen-generated data and citizen science in environmental monitoring within conflict zones, with a particular focus on Ukraine after and during the Russian…

Symposium on the Water-Energy-Peace Nexus

October 8, 2025 Environmental Peacebuilding Association and University of Ottawa
University of Ottawa and online

The Environmental Peacebuilding Association and the University of Ottawa are pleased to announce that they will host a one-day thematic symposium on the Water-Energy-Peace Nexus, which will take place at the University of…

The Future of Transitional Justice Amidst the Realities of Environment and Climate Change Challenges in Conflict and Post Conflict Societies (A Path to Ottawa Event)

October 7, 2025 EnPAx Transitional Justice Interest Group
online

Hosted by the Transitional Justice Interest Group (TJ-IG) of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association, this webinar will examine how transitional justice frameworks can evolve to address the pressing challenges of environmental degradation and climate…

"Peace Notes" Series: Woodwind Symphony: The Musical Peacebuilding of Trees (A Path to Ottawa Event)

October 1, 2025 Environmental Peacebuilding Association's Arts Initiative
online

As part of the Path to Ottawa series, join the Environmental Peacebuilding Association's Arts Initiative for a series of co-learning sessions about the intersections between environmental peacebuilding, climate justice, and ecological education --…

From Destruction to Sustainable Regional Recovery

September 18, 2025 - 2025-09-19 Duke University
Washington, DC

Duke University’s Provost Initiative on the Middle East is an ongoing effort at Duke University to establish rigorous and respectful debate in which differing perspectives are welcome on current and past conflicts in…

Leverage or Liability? Kurdistan’s Gas on the Iraqi & Regional Chessboard

September 17, 2025 American University School of International Service
Washington, DC

Co-sponsored by the Department of Politics, Governance & Economics, the Global Kurdish Initiative for Peace at the School of International Service is pleased to host a timely panel discussion on the geoeconomics of…

Library

In the last two weeks, 8 new publications were added to our online library of materials on environmental peacebuilding.

Resource Curse in the Age of Critical Minerals: Geopolitical Forces and Market Maturity

September 16, 2025 | Juergen Braunstein and Marina Chuchko
Science Direct

The global demand for critical minerals—such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements—essential to renewable energy and technology, raises concerns about a modern resurgence of Dutch Disease in resource-rich countries.

Youth! Rise for a Greener Future

September 16, 2025
Freehand Studios and Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

‘Youth! Rise for a Greener Future' (Dhalinyarooy, U Kaca Mustaqbal Doog leh) explores the links between climate change, environmental degradation, displacement and conflict in Somalia.

Strengthening the OSCE’s Climate Security Agenda

September 16, 2025 | Emma Hakala and Florian Krampe
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

Despite a clear mandate from the December 2021 Stockholm Ministerial Council Decision on Strengthening Co-operation to Address the Challenges Caused by Climate Change, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s (OSCE) approach…

Vast and Hidden Urban Methane Emissions from the Russia–Ukraine War

September 16, 2025 | Zeyu Feng, Rong Hu, Yuqing Pan, Qianjian Xv, Jing Zhang, Qingyong Wang, Kaiqin Cao, Shufeng Liu, Alexander Baklanov, Jens Hesselbjerg Christen, Daniel Rosenfeld, John H. Seinfeld, Shaocai Yu, and Pengfei Li
Nature Cities

Historically, cities have figured prominently in wars, including as targets. However, the impacts of warfare on the environmental signatures of urban systems remain less understood.

Revisiting the Environmental Legacies of the Vietnam War

September 16, 2025 | Pamela McElwee
Current History

The 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War provides an opportunity to reflect on the conflict’s enduring scars, from severe ecological damages to lingering human health impacts.

Conflict and Flooding Are Driving Deteriorating Acute Food Insecurity

September 16, 2025
Famine Early Warning System Network

This Key Message Update provides a high-level analysis of current acute food insecurity conditions and any changes to FEWS NET's latest projection of acute food insecurity outcomes in the specified geography.

Resistance to Extractivism: Pin-Prick Land Grabs and ‘Failed’ Corporate Land Deals

September 16, 2025 | Saturnino M. Borras Jr., Lorenza Arango, Moges Belay, Jennifer C. Franco, Sai Sam Kham, Tsegaye Moreda, Doi Ra, Itayosara R. Herrera, Chunyu Wang, and Yunan Xu
Third World Quarterly

Resistance to extractivist land grabs is diverse in character and trajectory, at least those in Colombia, Ethiopia, Myanmar and China.

Mercenary Meltdown: The Wagner Group’s Failure in Mali

September 16, 2025
The Sentry

The first Wagner Group fighters arrived in Bamako in January 2022 to assist the Malian military junta in its counterterrorism campaign.

Jobs

Please visit our jobs page to view these positions and other job opportunities.

South Sudan: Manager of Programme Quality

September 11, 2025 | ZOA

ZOA supports people who have lost everything due to armed conflict or natural disaster. With 900 employees and (local) partners ZOA is active in Africa, South America, the Middle East, and Asia.

Syria: External Evaluation – Solarizing & Rehabilitating Water Systems

September 11, 2025 | Solidarités International

Solidarités International (SI) is an international humanitarian aid association which, since more than 40 years, has been providing assistance to populations affected by armed conflicts and natural disasters by meeting their basic needs for…

DRC: Experte ou Expert Plaidoyer

September 11, 2025 | Action Contre la Faim France

Créée en 1979, Action contre la Faim est une organisation non gouvernementale internationale qui lutte contre la faim dans le monde.

Ukraine: Disaster Management Delegate (m/f/d)

September 11, 2025 | German Red Cross

The German Red Cross (GRC) International Cooperation is dedicated to alleviating human suffering.

Ukraine: Technical Experts (VERITAS UKR)

September 11, 2025 | SoCha LLC

SoCha is an international monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) firm that delivers evidence-driven insights to help development and humanitarian actors make adaptive, impactful decisions.

International News

In the last two weeks, 27 international news items on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our website. The following is a sampling:

Colombia: Mennonites in Colombia to Repair Environmental Damage

September 10, 2025 | Josep Freixes
ColombiaOne

The Mennonite community that has lived for nine years in the Meta region of Colombia expressed its willingness to repair the environmental damage caused by deforestation for which it is being accused by…

Liberia: EU Envoy Warns Liberia's Cocoa, Timber Exports at Risk over Deforestation, Burkinabè Influx

September 10, 2025 | Lennart Dodoo
Liberian Investigator

The European Union's head of delegation to Liberia has warned that the country's credibility as a cocoa exporter could be undermined if production continues to be linked to deforestation, citing growing concerns over…

Kenya/South Sudan/Uganda: How Kenya, Uganda Profit from South Sudan’s Illegal Gold and Charcoal Trade

September 10, 2025 | James Anyanzwa
Nation

As South Sudan grapples with a deepening economic collapse driven by years of civil war and plummeting oil revenues, a shadow economy is thriving—one that is enriching its neighbours while draining the country’s…

Iraq/Kurdistan: Halting Region's Oil Exports Has Caused $28 Billion in Losses to Iraq, Says KRG Official

September 8, 2025
Kurdistan24

The prolonged halt of the Kurdistan Region's oil exports has inflicted staggering financial damage on the Iraqi state, amounting to more than $28 billion in lost revenue since March 2023, according to Safin…

Afghanistan: Water Crisis and Water Mafia in Kabul: Situation Becomes More Critical Each Day

September 6, 2025 | Elina Qalam
Hasht-e-Subh Daily

Groundwater levels in Kabul have severely declined due to continued drought, excessive use of water resources, and weak management, bringing the water crisis in this city to a worrying stage.

Poland/Ukraine: Polish Farmers Block Border with Ukraine

September 6, 2025 | Milena Bogdanova
Fakti.bg

Polish farmers have once again blocked the movement of Ukrainian trucks through the Medika-Shegyny checkpoint on the border with Ukraine, the State Border Service of Ukraine (SBSU) reported.

Uganda: Regional Pact Brings Hope to Artisanal Miners 15 Years Later

September 6, 2025 | Philip Wafula
Monitor

A 15-year-old resolution by 12 member states of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) has breathed life into Uganda’s Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM) sector.

Kyrgyzstan/Tajikistan/Uzbekistan: The EU–UNEP Partnership to Support Locally Led Climate Actions in Fergana Valley

September 5, 2025
European Union

The regional initiative for Central Asia, funded by the European Union, within the EU–UNEP Partnership on Climate, Environment and Peace, was launched on 25 August 2025 by the Scientific Information Center of the…

Liberia: As Climate Change Drives More Farmers into the Forests, Ambitious Boakai Forestry Sector Reform Is Yet to Help Local Communities

September 5, 2025 | Eric Opa Duoe
New Narratives

Marthaline Gbar is among dozens of residents in the Garwin Authorized Community Forest who say they’ve been left impoverished by broken promises from Tetra Logging, a Liberian organization and its Israeli partner, Horizon.

Afghanistan: UN Says Quake-Hit Areas in Afghanistan Contaminated by Explosive Ordnance

September 4, 2025
KabulNow

The United Nations has warned that parts of eastern Afghanistan hit by last week’s deadly earthquake remain contaminated with explosive ordnance, further complicating rescue and relief operations as the death toll climbs past…

Water: TRENDS Conference Focuses on Water as a Critical Component of Peace and Development

September 3, 2025
TRENDS

On the first day of TRENDS Research & Advisory’s Fifth Conference on Sustainable Water Security, three main sessions discussed the challenges and opportunities related to water resource management at the regional and global…

Sherri Goodman named Distinguished Fellow at Atlantic Council

September 3, 2025 | Atlantic Council

The Atlantic Council announced today that Sherri Goodman has been named a distinguished fellow with both the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security —through its Adrienne Arsht National Security Resilience Initiative and Transatlantic…

Blogs & Opinion

In the last two weeks, 8 blogs & opinion pieces on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our website.

We Are Missing the Peace in Climate Action

September 9, 2025 | Nazanine Moshiri

Despite the prevalence of climate diplomacy, its policy discussions often have a critical blind spot: The people who are worst affected rarely feature in summits, donor roundtables, or strategy documents.

If Linked Mainly to Mineral and Business Deals, Peace Efforts in DRC Congo and Rwanda Will Not Go Far

September 7, 2025 | Bharat Dogra

Although a peace process involving Rwanda and DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) is supposed to be in place, this has not stopped eruption of violence, as is evident from an exposure by Human…

Indus Waters Treaty: From Cooperative Vision to Calculated Confrontation

September 4, 2025 | Medha Bisht

Instead of believing that strategic patience would breed stability, the Modi government’s strategic escalation has made Indus water flows a tool of coercive diplomacy.

Economic and Political Fragility and Insecurity: A Climate Triple Threat in South Sudan

September 3, 2025 | Rachel Stromsta

Among the most vulnerable countries in the world to climate change, South Sudan’s crisis is only expected to worsen, as the country lacks the requisite infrastructure to respond to the pressing dangers.

Transboundary Water Security in a Warming World: Conflict Risks, Cooperation Pathways, and Policy Imperatives

September 3, 2025 | Ashok Swain

Water security—the reliable availability of an acceptable quantity and quality of water for health, livelihoods, ecosystems, and production—has emerged as one of the defining challenges of the twenty-first century (UNESCO, 2021).

Three Reasons Why the Climate Crisis Must Reshape How We Think about War

September 3, 2025 | Duncan Depledge

The relationship between war and climate change is complex. But here are three reasons why the climate crisis must reshape how we think about war.

How Unexploded Bombs Cause Environmental Damage – and Why Climate Change Exacerbates the Problem

September 3, 2025 | Sarah Njeri

There are a record number of conflicts raging around the world – from Ukraine and Gaza to Sudan and Myanmar.

Ecocide and Resistance in Palestine

September 2, 2025 | Mazin Qumsiyeh

As a Palestinian scientist and ecologist deeply rooted in Palestine’s landscapes and communities, the author bears witness to a catastrophic unfolding—a systematic assault on our ecosystems, livelihoods, and survival.

Join the Association

The Environmental Peacebuilding Association® (EnPAx®) is the leading global network that brings together practitioners, researchers, and decision makers working on environment, conflict, and peace. EnPAx includes both individual and institutional members. If you have any questions regarding membership, please contact us at membership@environmentalpeacebuilding.org.

Sharing and Posting Materials

The strength of the knowledge platform depends on submissions and suggestions on contents from users. To share publications and information on events, job opportunities, and other announcements, please contact share@environmentalpeacebuilding.org. Please also feel free to share ideas on how the platform can be further improved to meet your needs.

About Our Community of Practice

Environmental Peacebuilding is a knowledge platform and global community of practice on natural resources, conflict, and peace, hosted by the Environmental Peacebuilding Association. The platform unites a global network of researchers, practitioners, and decision makers in sharing experiences and lessons from managing natural resources in fragile states and conflict-affected settings. The platform also helps people to access new publications on the topic, conduct new research, and participate in events to support the growth of the field. As part of our Community of Practice, we bring you biweekly updates on recent developments, including news about our program as well as links to new publications, upcoming conferences and events, and job openings.

Please visit us at www.environmentalpeacebuilding.org for more information.

Compiled by Buket Altınçelep, Maria Camilla Cadonici, Karishma Goswami, Amelie L'Henaff, Liz Hessami, Madeleine Loll, Kathleen McLean, Avery Thau, and Milen Yishak
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Design by Graham Campbell
Managed and edited by Carl Bruch and Joel Young