Issue #303 – Aug 19, 2025

Announcements

Launch of EnPAx Urban Interest Group

August 19, 2025
Environmental Peacebuilding Association

The Environmental Peacebuilding Association® (EnPAx®) is excited to announce the launch of a new Urban Interest Group.

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: Fourth International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding (DEADLINE: October 6, 2025)

August 19, 2025
Environmental Peacebuilding Association and the University of Ottawa

The Environmental Peacebuilding Association® (EnPAx®) and the University of Ottawa are pleased to announce the call for abstracts for the Fourth International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding.

Call for Proposals: Path To Ottawa

August 13, 2025 | Environmental Peacebuilding Association & University of Ottawa

In the lead-up to the Fourth International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding–taking place in June 2026 in Ottawa, Canada–the Environmental Peacebuilding Association® (EnPAx®) and Conference partners are hosting the Path to Ottawa, a global,…

Events

For more upcoming events on environmental peacebuilding, please visit our online calendar of events.

Berlin Climate and Security Conference 2025 (BCSC 2025)

October 23, 2025 German Federal Foreign Office, adelphi global, and Climate Diplomacy
Berlin, Germany and online

The seventh edition of the BCSC will explore the theme: Climate, Conflict, and Cooperation in a Turbulent Era.

Laying the Foundation for Environmental Peacebuilding: Assessing Scientific and Environmental Cooperation during and after the Cold War | Erika Weinthal

October 21, 2025 Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University
Stanford, California

At the end of the Cold War, donors sought to bolster environmental programs and exchanges to build confidence and trust among scientists and NGOs and to support civil society activity in Eastern Europe…

The Future of Transitional Justice Amidst the Realities of Environment and Climate Change Challenges in Conflict and Post Conflict Societies (A Path to Ottawa event)

October 7, 2025 EnPAx Transitional Justice Interest Group
online

Hosted by the Transitional Justice Interest Group (TJ-IG) of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association, this webinar will examine how transitional justice frameworks can evolve to address the pressing challenges of environmental degradation and climate…

C-PREE Bradford Seminar: Applied Environmental Diplomacy: A Path Towards Peace

September 22, 2025 Princeton School of Public and International Affairs
Princeton, NJ and online

The Middle East is a climate change hotspot. The rising temperatures and decreased rainfall are exacerbating the existing conflict, destabilizing the region and hindering peace efforts.

Report Launch: "From Waste to Resolution: Assessing the Impact of Armed Conflict on the Solid Waste Sector in Yemen” (A Path to Ottawa Event)

September 10, 2025 European Institute of Peace, PAX, adelphi
online

As Yemen enters its second decade of protracted conflict, the country faces not only a humanitarian crisis but a deepening environmental emergency.

From PeaceCon to Ottawa: Connecting for Environment, Climate, and Peace (A Path to Ottawa Event)

September 9, 2025 Alliance for Peacebuilding
Washington, DC

Join us on September 9th 4-7PM for an in-person meet-up for the DC/DMV environmental peacebuilding community, hosted at the Alliance for Peacebuilding (1800 Massachusetts Ave NW, Dupont Circle).

Integrating Gender Perspectives - 2026 EnPAx Conference (A Path to Ottawa Event)

September 4, 2025 EnPAx Gender Interest Group
online

Join us virtually September 4, 2025 @ 11 am EDT for an exciting collaborative session where the EnPAx Gender Interest group will lead a discussions on how to meaningfully integrate gender perspectives throughout…

Peacebuilding in a Changing Climate: Pitfalls and Possibilities

September 2, 2025 Chemonics
London, UK and online

Join us on 2 September 2025 at 17:00 BST for an event exploring the challenges and opportunities of peacebuilding in a changing climate.

"Peace Notes" Series: Session 3 (A Path to Ottawa Event)

September 1, 2025 Environmental Peacebuilding Association's Arts Initiative
online

As part of the Path to Ottawa series, join the Environmental Peacebuilding Association's Arts Initiative for a series of co-learning sessions about the intersections between environmental peacebuilding, climate justice, and ecological education --…

Library

In the last two weeks, 17 new publications were added to our online library of materials on environmental peacebuilding. Here is a sampling of the new additions:

Conflict Management as an Insular Strategy? Comparing Dyadic Learning of Dispute Resolution Strategies across Geopolitical Issues

August 19, 2025 | Andrew Owsiak and Sara McLaughlin Mitchell
Environment and Security

This study considers whether and how familiarity with (past usage) and the usefulness (success) of past conflict management strategies influence the way that pairs of countries address diplomatic conflicts over land, river, or…

Ecocide’s Evolving Relationship with War

August 19, 2025 | Racheal Killean
Environment and Security

This article examines the evolving relationship between ecocide and the regulation of war, tracing its conceptual development from a war crime to a broader environmental offence.

EcoPeace Middle East Desk Study of the Geo-political, Economic, and Environmental Feasibility of a Middle East - Europe Renewable Energy Corridor

August 19, 2025
Qamar Energy and EcoPeace Middle East

Clean energy is a crucial opportunity to foster sustainable development, economic reconstruction, and peace and reconciliation, between Israel, Palestine and the neighbouring countries of Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

The Problem of Social Justice in Environmental Peacebuilding: Between Thin and Thick Justice in Liberia

August 19, 2025 | Jacobo Grajales, Kou Gbaintor Johnson, and Hueward Neal
Environment and Security

Recent research on environmental peacebuilding has encouraged scholars to move away from technocratic definitions of peace and to pay greater attention to how peacebuilding policies interact with pre-existing relations of power, domination and…

River Conflicts and Hydrological Dominance

August 19, 2025 | Christina Boyes and Katherine Lynch-Dombroski
Environment and Security

How do the direction of river flow and the dynamics of power within a river basin affect international conflict and cooperation?

The Effectiveness of Joint Basin Institutions in Managing International Water Disputes

August 19, 2025 | Neda Zawahri, Susanne Schmeier, and Melissa McCracken
Environment and Security

While cooperative interaction so far outnumbers conflictive ones between states sharing transboundary water resources, the trend of interstate disputes is on the rise due to climate variability, mismanagement, and increasing demands.

The Many Voices of Environmental Cooperation: A Relational Analysis of 30 Years of Environmental Peacebuilding over Shared Waters in Israel, Jordan, and Palestine

August 19, 2025 | Laura E. R. Peters, Ken Conca, Aaron T. Wolf, Ari Lippi, and Jamon Van Den Hoek
Environment and Security

Environmental cooperation is theorized to contribute to peacebuilding, but the complexity of how this linkage is realized for the people involved remains out of view.

Murky Waters of War: Toward a Clearer Conceptualization of Water as a Weapon

August 19, 2025 | Charlotte Grech-Madin
Environment and Security

Water has long presented a potent means to harm and influence others in war. All states, and many non-state actors, possess water supply and/or storage infrastructure.

Climate, Environment and Human Security in Brazil: Response Landscape and Leadership Opportunities

August 17, 2025 | Raquel Munayer, Laís Clemente Pereira, and Héctor Camilo Morales Muñoz
adelphi global

Brazil is navigating a complex landscape shaped by the ongoing impacts of climate change and environmental degradation, with significant long-term implications for human security and sustainable development.

Geoengineering: Assessing Risks in the Era of Planetary Security

August 16, 2025 | Olivia Lazard, Mandi Bissett, and James Dyke
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

The 1. 5° Celsius global warming threshold that climate scientists have warned against for decades has been breached for several consecutive months over the last two years.

Data Collection in Fragile States

August 15, 2025 | Shahriar Kibriya and Naureen Fatema
Nature Food

Monitoring food security in regions experiencing multiple crises remains challenging. Satellite imagery combined with artificial intelligence can now estimate food availability in the fragile state of Yangon, Myanmar.

Cross-Border Tourism as an Agent of Environmental Peacebuilding

August 13, 2025 | Connor Clark, Daniel G. Pilgreen, and Dallen J. Timothy
Journal of Sustainable Tourism

This grounded theory study examines cross-border tourism as an agent in environmental peacebuilding by fostering cooperative resource management in borderland regions.

Jobs

Please visit our jobs page to view these positions and other job opportunities.

DRC: Deputy Country Director, Operations – Democratic Republic of Congo

August 15, 2025 | Mercy Corps

Mercy Corps is present in the DRC since August 2007 with a current workforce of more than 300 national and expatriate employees and operational presence in Goma and Beni (North Kivu Province), in…

Syria: Food Security, Nutrition and Livelihood Coordinator

August 15, 2025 | Première Urgence Internationale

Première Urgence Internationale (PUI) develops its integrated approach with infrastructure, WASH, education and livelihoods actions.

Yemen/Lebanon: Regional Food Security & Livelihood Specialist

August 15, 2025 | Solidarités International

Solidarités International (SI) is an international humanitarian aid association which, since more than 40 years, has been providing assistance to populations affected by armed conflicts and natural disasters by meeting their basic needs…

Syria: Study on the Impact of Climate Change on Agriculture and Water Resource Management, Adaptation and Mitigation Measures - SABIR Project

August 15, 2025 | Expertise France

Expertise France (EF) is a public agency part of the AFD Group, merging six agencies under the supervision of the French Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Economy and Finance with a strong inter-ministerial…

Somalia: Climate Resilience Advisor (National Position)

August 15, 2025 | CARE USA

CARE works around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty and achieve social justice.

Somalia: Displacement and Economic Advisor (National Position)

August 15, 2025 | CARE USA

CARE works around the globe to save lives, defeat poverty and achieve social justice.

Lebanon: Technical Coordinator Climate and Environment

August 15, 2025 | Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development

The Technical Coordinator Climate and Environment is responsible for the provision of strategic planning and technical guidance on activities within the area of Climate and Environment.

Ethiopia/Kenya/Uganda: Terms of Reference: Outcome Harvesting Consultancy for the Reclaim Sustainability Program

August 15, 2025 | Solidaridad East & Central Africa

Solidaridad Network is an international solution-oriented civil society organization working through eight regional expertise centres to transform markets to make them more sustainable and inclusive.

Multiple Countries: Food Security and Livelihood Advisor

August 15, 2025 | ForAfrika

The Food Security and Livelihood Advisor serves as technical leader for Forafrika's comprehensive food security and livelihood programming portfolio across multiple country operations in Africa.

International News

In the last two weeks, 33 international news items on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our website. The following is a sampling:

Afghanistan: Afghanistan Holds Two-Day Environmental Conference in Nangarhar

August 18, 2025 | Sadaqat Ghorzang
TOLOnews

Environmental experts emphasized the need to develop a comprehensive strategy for environmental protection.

Afghanistan: From Drought to Floods, Water Extremes Drive Displacement in Afghanistan

August 16, 2025 | Susannah Walden and Qubad Wali
Agence France-Presse

The water cycle has been sharply impacted, with Afghanistan again in the grip of drought for the fourth time in five years and flash floods devastating land, homes and livelihoods.

Food Security: Starvation Is a War Crime, but Will Justice Ever Be Done?

August 15, 2025 | Cathrin Schaer
Deutsche Welle

Experts say that food is increasingly being used as a weapon in conflicts in places like Sudan, Syria and Gaza.

Nigeria: Plateau State Trains Officials in Peacebuilding through Land Dispute Mediation

August 14, 2025 | Roger A. Agana
News Ghana

Government workers from four key Plateau State agencies transformed into certified peace mediators this week after intensive training in alternative dispute resolution (ADR) techniques.

Climate Change: Why Women, Peace and Security Plans in the Mediterranean Must Confront Climate Risks

August 14, 2025 | Ibukun Taiwo
CGIAR

Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) National Action Plans are a powerful but underused tool for tackling the interconnected challenges of gender, climate, and conflict.

DRC: Inside the Mine that Feeds the Tech World – and Funds Congo’s Rebels

August 13, 2025 | Giulia Paravicini and David Lewis
Reuters

Rubaya produces around 15% of the world’s coltan, all dug manually by impoverished locals who earn a few dollars per day.

China: Is China Moving into Position to Take over Iraq’s Key Oil Project from the West?

August 12, 2025 | Simon Watkins
Oilprice.com

The Common Seawater Supply Project (CSSP) is the key to unlock massive gains in oil output from Iraq.

Iraq/Syria: Syria and Iraq to Discuss Revival of Decades-Old Cross-Border Oil Pipeline

August 12, 2025 | Daniel Onyango
Pipeline Technology Journal

Syria’s energy minister, Mohammed Al-Bashir, has hinted at plans to visit Iraq to discuss reviving a defunct oil pipeline that previously transported crude from northern Iraq to a Syrian port on the Mediterranean…

Egypt/Ethiopia/Somalia: Somalia Caught in Crossfire of Ethiopia-Egypt Nile Dispute

August 11, 2025
The Weekly Vision

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty has accused Ethiopia of violating international law by filling the GERD with Nile waters, warning that Egypt reserves the right to ‘defend itself’ under the UN Charter.

Food Security: FAO Launches the Risk Monitor: A New Early Warning System to Tackle Food Security Risks

August 11, 2025
Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN

On the sidelines of the 44th Session of the FAO Conference, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) officially launched the first Food Security Risk Intelligence and Early Warning Room, a…

Afghanistan: UN: 16 Solar Systems Installed to Provide Clean Water in Three Provinces of Afghanistan

August 7, 2025
Hasht-E Subh

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with support from the UN Special Trust Fund, has installed 16 solar systems to provide electricity for urban water supply networks in three provinces of Afghanistan.

Liberia: Liberians Launch Global Alliance to “End Resource Curse” amid Discovery of 47 Strategic Minerals

August 6, 2025
FrontPage Africa

A new transnational coalition of Liberian citizens, diaspora leaders, activists, and scholars has officially launched the Resource Equity Alliance of Liberia (REAL) in a bold move to challenge what they call the country’s…

Iraq/Kurdistan: KRG to Resume Oil Exports after New Agreement with Iraq

August 6, 2025
Rudaw

Iraqi Oil Minister Hayyan Abdul Ghani on Wednesday announced a new agreement with the Kurdistan Regional Government to resume oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through Turkey’s Ceyhan port.

Liberia: EU-Funded Project Begins Distribution of Cocoa and Native Tree Seedlings

August 5, 2025
Global News Network Liberia

The European Union-funded Leh Go Green project, managed by UNDP in collaboration with the Forest Development Authority has officially launched its seedling distribution initiative, marking a key milestone in advancing climate-smart agriculture and…

Blogs & Opinion

In the last two weeks, 9 blogs & opinion pieces on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our website. Here is a sampling:

Greening the Military: Why Defence Spending Must Align with Climate Action

August 14, 2025 | Hema Nadarajah

In preparing for conflicts, we may be compromising our ability to confront the climate emergency. Sustainability must be part of our defence strategy.

Minerals over Peace? Rethinking the DRC-Rwanda Accord

August 8, 2025 | Batseba Seifu

On June 27, 2025, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda signed what has been touted as a significant peace agreement in Washington, DC—a deal mediated and facilitated by the United States.

Remembering the Journey: The GERD Dispute and the Promise of Diplomacy

August 7, 2025 | Seble Getachew

It is important to remember those early days of the GERD dispute, when there was genuine hope that dialogue and diplomacy would prevail.

Hallucinating Climate Security: A Cautionary Tale about Generative AI

August 6, 2025 | Tobias Ide

Recent studies indicate that over 90% of all students – and an increasing number of policy makers – are using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) to process large amounts of data and rapidly collect…

Trading Minerals for Security: Why Africa’s Latest Deal Could Backfire

August 4, 2025 | Conversation

Recently, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda struck a US-brokered peace deal that exchanges mineral wealth for vague security promises.

Join the Association

The Environmental Peacebuilding Association® (EnPAx®) is the leading global network that brings together practitioners, researchers, and decision makers working on environment, conflict, and peace. EnPAx includes both individual and institutional members. If you have any questions regarding membership, please contact us at membership@environmentalpeacebuilding.org.

Sharing and Posting Materials

The strength of the knowledge platform depends on submissions and suggestions on contents from users. To share publications and information on events, job opportunities, and other announcements, please contact share@environmentalpeacebuilding.org. Please also feel free to share ideas on how the platform can be further improved to meet your needs.

About Our Community of Practice

Environmental Peacebuilding is a knowledge platform and global community of practice on natural resources, conflict, and peace, hosted by the Environmental Peacebuilding Association. The platform unites a global network of researchers, practitioners, and decision makers in sharing experiences and lessons from managing natural resources in fragile states and conflict-affected settings. The platform also helps people to access new publications on the topic, conduct new research, and participate in events to support the growth of the field. As part of our Community of Practice, we bring you biweekly updates on recent developments, including news about our program as well as links to new publications, upcoming conferences and events, and job openings.

Please visit us at www.environmentalpeacebuilding.org for more information.

Compiled by Buket Altınçelep, Maria Camilla Cadonici, Amelie L'Henaff, Liz Hessami, Madeleine Loll, Kathleen McLean, Avery Thau, and Milen Yishak
Coordinated by Mara Pusic
Design by Graham Campbell
Managed and edited by Carl Bruch and Joel Young