Lessons Learned on Environmental Diplomacy
Publisher: Wilson International Center for Scholars
Author(s): David Jensen and Dennis Hamro-Drotz
Date: 2010
Topics: Cooperation, Programming
Countries: Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Palestine, South Sudan, Sudan
Since 1999, UNEP's Post-Conflict and Disaster Management Branch (PCDMB) has worked to assess the environmental impacts of conflicts and disasters and address the subsequent risks to human health, livelihoods and security. As the work has progressed, opportunities for UNEP to connect environment and peacebuilding have arisen. In this regard, the aim is for UNEP to use its relatively apolitical and neutral position along with its scientific basis to leverage discussions and/or cooperation on environmental issues between conflicting or formerly conflicting groups. In the four different cases discussed in this paper, UNEP piloted the concept of using natural resources and environmental issues as a platform for cooperation, dialogue, and confidence building. This work, branded "Environmental Diplomacy", aims to transform conflict over resources into a basis for lasting cooperation, with the aim that sustainable management can form a foundation for long term stability and peace. The cases presented in this paper outline the lessons learned as well as the barriers encountered.