The Making of an Environmental Peacebuilding Glossary

Jun 25, 2026 | Rachel Weaver, Larry Swatuk, Carl Bruch, Erika Weinthal, and Richard Matthew
View Original

In environmental peacebuilding, language does a great deal of heavy lifting. The same term–whether it is resilience, sustainability, or conflict–can carry sharply different meanings depending on whether it is being used by a climate scientist, lawyer, researcher, or local official navigating post-conflict land disputes. These differences in meaning are not merely academic. When people use the same words but mean different things, coordination becomes more difficult, misunderstandings can multiply, and opportunities for collaboration can be lost.