Can Restoration Be a Force for Peace?

Apr 16, 2024 | Eden Flaherty
View Original

Competing interests over land and natural resources are a major driver of conflict around the world. As the climate crisis bites, land becomes more degraded and resources dwindle, the risk of these conflicts is soaring.

At the same time, conflict undermines people’s ability to cope with resource shortages. Of the world’s 25 countries deemed most vulnerable to the climate crisis, at least 14 are currently affected by conflict.

But when landscapes are restored, they can heal the fractured relationships of the communities within them, too.

In northwestern Cameroon, relations between smallholder farmers and pastoralists have been strained for decades. Now, local communities are adopting a mix of practical resource management, inclusive decision making and grassroots restoration to help both themselves and the land they rely on.