Environmental Peacebuilding: 2017 in Review

Jan 2, 2018 | ELI and UN Environment

2017 saw many developments in environmental peacebuilding. We are pleased to share with you some highlights from the Environmental Peacebuilding partnership and from the broader field.

Accomplishments in 2017

Through the continued partnership—with the Environmental Law Institute (ELI), the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment), the University of Tokyo, and McGill University, and with the help of many others—we have continued consolidation of the field of environmental peacebuilding by enriching the Knowledge Platform, expanding the Community of Practice, publishing new materials, hosting events, and fostering dialogue and exchange.

Here are a few milestones from 2017:

  • The big development in 2017 was the production of a massive open online course (MOOC) on Environmental Security and Sustaining Peace by UN Environment, ELI, UC-Irvine, Columbia University, and Duke University. Launching March 1, 2018, the 10-week MOOC provides an in-depth introduction to the multiple roles that natural resources and the environment place in the onset, escalation, resolution, and recovery from violent conflict. By the end of 2017, more than 3,000 people had enrolled for the MOOC. ELI and UN Environment are working to translate course lectures and evaluations in order to expand its global audience. More information is available at https://epmooc.org.
  • 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 644 Library items, 32 Announcements, 70 Events, 269 jobs, 955 International News articles, and 256 Blogs & Opinion pieces. At the end of 2017, we have almost 3,200 Library items. The platform receives 4,300 visitors a month on average, with visitors from 173 countries. The core of the library is 150 case studies from the six-volume series on Post-Conflict Peacebuilding and Natural Resource Management (Routledge 2012-2016); platform users have downloaded individual case studies over 128,000 times.
  • The Environmental Peacebuilding Community of Practice added 163 members this year. The Community is now more than 3,000 people strong, with members from 97 countries.
  • This year we celebrated four 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 104th issue.
  • Our presence on social media has continued to grow. This year, we posted 615 Tweets that generated over 159,000 impressions. A growing number of people follow @EnvPeacebuild on Twitter, increasing to more than 1,100 at the end of 2017. The Environmental Peacebuilding Facebook page has continued to gain popularity, with now more than 460 likes. Finally, the Environmental Peacebuilding LinkedIn group grew by more than 10% over the past year, now totaling over 570 members. We also added an Instagram account, focusing on our MOOC (@EnvPeacebuild).
  • With the appointment of Dr. Marja Lehto as the new Special Rapporteur on Protection of the Environment in Relation to Armed Conflict, the International Law Commission (ILC) continued its consideration of the topic, including its ongoing development of draft principles.
  • The fifth Al-Moumin Award and Distinguished Lecture on Environmental Peacebuilding will be delivered January 30, 2018 by Dr. Ken Conca and Dr. Geoff Dabelko, who, fifteen years ago, published Environmental Peacemaking, a rejoinder to grim scenarios foreseeing environmental change as a driver of conflict, emphasizing the cooperative and peacebuilding potential of shared interest in the environment. Their talk will reflect on the evolution of environmental peacebuilding research and their long-term engagement with policymakers and practitioners applying these insights around the world. The annual Al-Moumin Award and Lecture recognizes leading thinkers who are shaping the field of environmental peacebuilding and is hosted by ELI, UNEP, and the School of International Service at American University.

Favorites of 2017

With over 2,200 items added to the Environmental Peacebuilding Knowledge Platform in 2017, there is a lot to read. Here are some of the year’s most popular items and editor’s picks from 2017:

Most Popular Library Items Posted in 2017

(1) Has the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Been a Success? Identifying and Evaluating EITI Goals, Siri Aas Rustad, Philippe Le Billon, and Päivi Lujala (464 views)

(2) Oil Palm-Community Conflict Mapping in Indonesia: A Case for Better Community Liaison in Planning for Development Initiatives, Nicola K. Abram, Erik Meijaard, Kerrie A. Wilson, Jacqueline T. Davis, Jessie A. Wells, Marc Ancrenaz, Sugeng Budiharta, Alexandra Durrant, Afif Fakhruzzi, Rebecca K. Runting, David Gaveau, and Kerrie Mengersen (397)

(3) La Paz y la Protección Ambiental en Colombia: Propuestas para un Desarrollo Rural Sostenible (Peace and Environmental Protection in Colombia: Proposals for Rural Sustainable Development), Lorenzo Morales (365)

(4) Water Insecurity in the Indus Basin: The Costs of Noncooperation, Ashok Swain (364)

(5) Nature Knows No Boundaries: The Role of Nature Conservation in Peacebuilding, Alexandre Roulin, Alexandre Roulin, Alexandre Roulin, Mansour Abu Rashid, Baruch Spiegel, Motti Charter, Amélie N. Dreiss, and Yossi Leshem (338)

Most Downloaded Chapters from the Environmental Peacebuilding Book Series in 2017

(1) The Risks of Depleted Uranium Contamination in Post-Conflict Countries: Findings and Lessons Learned from UNEP Field Assessments, Mario Burger (2653 downloads)

(2) Bankrupting Peace Spoilers: Can Peacekeepers Curtail Belligerents' Access to Resource Revenues?, Phillipe Le Billon (2474)

(3) The Abyei Territorial Dispute Between North and South Sudan: Why Has Its Resolution Proven Difficult?, Salman M. A. Salman (2455)

(4) Haiti: Lessons Learned and Way Forward in Natural Resource Management Projects, Lucile Gigembre (2288)

(5) Diamonds in War, Diamonds for Peace: Diamond Sector Management and Kimberlite Mining in Sierra Leone, Kazumi Kawamoto (2280)

(6) Excluding Illegal Timber and Improving Forest Governance: The European Union’s Forest Law Enforcement, Governance, and Trade Initiative, Duncan Brack (2221)

(7) High-Value Natural Resources: A Blessing or a Curse for Peace?, Päivi Lujala and Siri Aas Rustad (2017)

(8) Title Through Possession or Position? Respect for Housing, Land, and Property Rights in Cambodia, Rohdri C. Williams (1779)

Editors Picks (10 selections from hundreds of noteworthy publications and other items in the Library)

Top News Stories on Environmental Peacebuilding in 2017

  • Reintegration of FARC rebels in Colombia, particularly into resource-related livelihoods
  • Myanmar’s expansion of natural resource activities amidst ethnic cleansing
  • Conflict minerals in flux (US scaling back Dodd-Frank conflict minerals disclosures, adoption of new EU regulations, and companies continuing to report)
  • Diversification of Afghanistan’s economy
  • ISIS devastation (oil fires, lost oil revenues, and military defeat)
  • Kurdistan’s referendum for independence
  • Private sector investment in Colombian coffee and other agricultural endeavors
  • UN Security Council recognition of conflict as a contributing cause of famine
  • Reduced conflict over oil drilling in the South China Sea
  • Sudan and South Sudan’s oil/trade agreement

Looking forward to 2018

In the coming year, we will continue to collect, organize, and share information on environmental peacebuilding; grow the community; and acknowledge leading scholarship in the field.

We are looking forward to the launch of the MOOC on Environmental Security and Sustaining Peace, and we invite the members of our Community of Practice to take the course or circulate information about the course within their networks. This is an important opportunity to connect practitioners and academics with a framework to approach environmental peacebuilding and practical tools for addressing related challenges or making the most of opportunities. If you are interested in supporting the dissemination of the MOOC, please email us at info@environmentalpeacebuilding.org. To learn more and to register, please visit https://epmooc.org.

We are also working to establish an association for environmental peacebuilding, which will provide a multidisciplinary forum to address issues related to environment, conflict, and peace. The association will seek to identify promising research avenues and policy practices, promote rigorous research, foster knowledge exchange, build capacity and awareness, and otherwise contribute to the advancement of environmental peacebuilding.  It will foster interactions among scholars, practitioners, decision makers, and others across disciplines, gender, geographical locations, and career stages.

We continue to explore other opportunities, and welcome partnerships.  For further information, please contact info@environmentalpeacebuilding.org.