Hector Camilo Morales Munoz

Senior Advisor; Ph.D. Candidate
adelphi
Germany

Sep 5, 2023

Hector Morales Muñoz is a senior advisor in climate diplomacy and security at adelphi, where he provides advice to governments, international development agencies, and multilateral organizations. His advice helps these actors to understand the relationship between climate change risks and security concerns, emphasizing the imperative nature of climate resilience in the realm of peacebuilding.

During his undergraduate years in Colombia, he studied political science, focusing on public policy and conflict resolution strategies. He also gained practical experience through an internship at the National Commission of Reparations and Reconciliation, contributing to compensate victims of the Colombian conflict within the transitional justice component of a peace agreement in Colombia, signed between the government and paramilitary groups. Following the completion of his Bachelor’s degree, he contributed to a research center specializing in peacebuilding efforts in the Darien Gap region in Colombia.

Subsequently, he worked for the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) in different projects. One of the pivotal programs he was involved in aimed at rebuilding trust between civil society and the state, a trust that had been eroded due to decades of ongoing conflict in Colombia. Notably, he noticed how restoration of this trust was more easily facilitated through environmental governance initiatives such as innovative water management strategies that served as a crucial entry point to open dialogue spaces, which motivated him to investigate on the linkages between environment, governance and peacebuilding.

Over the course of four years, he diversified his experiences by working on various projects related to transitional justice, migration and socio-economic inclusion. As his focus evolved toward environmental and sustainable development issues, he pursued further studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), specializing in developmental studies. His Master’s thesis was on sustainable energy access in refugee settings, exploring ways to implement enduring solutions for energy provision, enabling refugees and migrants to achieve a level of self-sufficiency. Later, he collaborated with a GIZ project in Mindanao, Philippines, on strengthening local aid responses for conflict-induced forced displacement.

Drawing from his experiences, he developed an interest in the intersections of environment, security, migration, and conflict studies. This passion led him to work as a programme specialist for the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), contributing to international initiatives. During a return to Colombia during the pivotal peace agreement period, he worked in a participatory rural planning pilot project across ten regions.

Subsequently, he went to Germany to pursue a PhD at Humboldt University. During this period, he served as research fellow at the Leibniz Centre of Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF) and as visiting researcher at the Alliance of Biodiversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), focused on a project on sustainable land use. One of the initiatives centered around the implementation of sustainable land-use systems designed to combat deforestation in Colombia while contributing to the peace agreement’s implementation; for this project, he developed indicators to assess the project outcomes, particularly on peacebuilding. Drawing upon these experiences, he authored multiple papers capturing the experiences and lessons learned.

Hector is currently writing a paper regarding a biological expedition that transpired within the buffer zone of a protected area in Colombia known to be heavily affected by the armed conflict and now opened for research and eco-tourism initiatives after the 2016 peace agreement. This venture combined elements of dialogue, knowledge sharing, and the integration of former combatants. Participants encompassed a diverse group, including former combatants, scientist, farmers, and park rangers. Stepping into this initiative, he accompanied them on the expedition’s first phase in 2021 working as a consultant for WWF. Six months later, he facilitated a focus group to assess the enduring impact of the expedition. The outcome was positive, particularly evident at the community level. Looking ahead, his aspirations center around a continued engagement with climate security and environmental peacebuilding projects around the world, particularly in Latin America where more evidence is needed on entry points and solutions to the current climate and conflict crises affecting the most vulnerable.

His role at adelphi has encompassed involvement in climate security programming in North West Nigeria with UNDP and the Africa continental climate security risk assessment. Notably, the African Union with support from adelphi has undertaken endeavors to formulate a methodology for regional climate-security assessments, a process in which he was also involved in via consultations with relevant stakeholders in Southern Africa.

Hector’s advice to young people is to be both courageous and aware of their actions. He emphasizes the significance of initiating dialogues and constructing connections within different international development fields, whether sustainable finance, climate action, peacebuilding or humanitarian action, to help those who need it the most. This holds particular relevance for those working directly in the field, as he emphasizes the need to recognize that communities may not share the same understanding or knowledge base but always have deep contextual knowledge and solutions insights. Central to this approach, he mentions the importance of the role of acting as a "translator" – conveying community solutions to senior figures or decision makers and simultaneously co-designing solutions with the community. According to him, this role encompasses not only effective communication but also cultural awareness, thereby facilitating meaningful and constructive interactions.

His perspectives on environmental peacebuilding focus on hope and complexity. This realm, he asserts, is captivating due to its comprehensive nature, intertwining environmental and social dimensions. Notably, it is the incorporation of cultural, political and local viewpoints that truly adds depth. Environmental peacebuilding involves drawing upon the positive aspects of environmental solutions and integrating them into the fabric of local contexts, thereby fostering process of social innovation and peacebuilding. While it can possess technical elements, it equally boasts a significant community-oriented realm.

Hector's involvement with the Environmental Peacebuilding Association (EnPAx) is primarily motivated by his eagerness to engage with this new field, intrigued by learning directly from the community of practice. Within the association, he has been part of the advisory board in the project for improvement of monitoring and evaluation in environmental peacebuilding and a member of the scientific committee of the 2nd international conference. He considers that the association has enable connections with important academics and practitioners, facilitating discussions surrounding his hypotheses and on-the-ground experiences. Notably, he celebrates the association’s openness to dialogue and its supportive nature. The networking component has emerged as a crucial aspect, and he expresses a hopeful anticipation for the continuity of this collaborative spirit within the Association and beyond the community of practice.