Issue #167 – Jun 2, 2020

Announcements

EnPAx Launches Microsite on COVID-19 and Environmental Peacebuilding

May 19, 2020 | Environmental Peacebuilding Association

Recognizing the many diverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on environmental peacebuilding and the environmental peacebuilding community, the Environmental Peacebuilding Association (EnPAx) is pleased to announce the launch of a new microsite (http://www.

Events

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

Online Edition - Land, Security and Climate Summer Academy 2020

July 1, 2020 - 2020-07-05 Geneva Center for Security Policy
online

Conflicts over land have been a feature of human existence since time immemorial. Land confers livelihood, living space, territory, even national identity.

Berlin Climate and Security Conference 2020

June 23, 2020 - 2020-06-24 German Federal Foreign Office, adelphi, and Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
online

There is increasing evidence that climate change is undermining livelihoods, food and water security in rural and urban areas around the world, thereby acting as a “threat multiplier” in fragile and conflict-prone situations.

Introduction to Conservation Conflict Transformation Interactive Webinar

June 18, 2020 Center for Conservation Peacebuilding
online

In this 90-minute online session, Co-founder and Executive Director, Francine Madden of the Center for Conservation Peacebuilding (CPeace) will share an orientation to CCT.

Water Conflict Management and Transformation Course

June 15, 2020 - 2020-06-22 Oregon State University
online

This Water Conflict Management and Transformation course offers an opportunity for water resources professionals and graduate students to learn about current and leading-edge ways to work effectively in contentious water situations.

Land Rights Implications of COVID-19

June 3, 2020 - 2020-06-24 Land Portal, Landesa, the Global Protection Cluster HLP AOR, GIZ, Environmental Peacebuilding Association, LANDac, New America, and the UK's Department for International Development (DFID)
online

As governments press pause on economic activities and people change their work and social behaviors to halt the spread of COVID-19, there are several hidden dimensions that can put pressure on land governance…

Self-Paced MOOC on Environmental Security & Sustaining Peace (CLOSING SOON)

January 30, 2020 - 2020-06-23 Environmental Peacebuilding Association, UN Environment, ELI, Columbia University, Duke University, UC Irvine, UNDP, and SDG Academy
online

Conflicts over natural resources and the environment are among the greatest challenges in 21st-century geopolitics. These conflicts present serious threats to human security at both the national and local levels.

Library

In the last two weeks, 39 new publications were added to our online library of materials on environmental peacebuilding. Here is a sampling of the new additions:

Svalbard and Conflict Management in a Changing Climate: A Risk-Based Approach

January 1, 2020 | John Ash
University of Cambridge

Conflict in the Arctic is nothing new, and Svalbard is a geographical confluence of factors that create the potential for inter-group violence.

Climate Change from the Streets: How Conflict and Collaboration Strengthen the Environmental Justice Movement

January 1, 2020 | Michael Mendez
Yale University Press

This book is about people, place, and power in the context of climate change and inequality.

Climate Extremes and Conflict Dynamics (chapter in "Climate Extremes and Their Implications for Impact and Risk Assessment")

January 1, 2020 | Jürgen Scheffran
Elsevier

A growing body of literature analyzes interactions between climate extremes and conflict dynamics, with a focus on the social, political, and economic consequences of climate extremes which can destabilize and transform societies.

Mali's Fertile Grounds for Conflict: Climate Change and Resources Stress

January 1, 2020 | Shreya Mitra
Clingendael Institute

Local natural resource conflicts in Mali have spill-over effects, to other sectors, and to other regions.

Searching for Holistic Approaches to Protect Water in Relation to Armed Conflict

January 1, 2020 | Mara Tignino and Britta Sjöstedt
Review of European, Comparative & International Environmental Law

The relation between water and armed conflict is complex. Water scarcity can have destabilizing effects and exacerbate existing tensions within and between countries.

Peacebuilding and Extractives in Fragile and Conflict-Affected States

January 1, 2020 | Brigitte Rohwerder
Institute of Development Studies

Despite often being a conflict risk, natural resource extraction can offer potential peacebuilding and development opportunities if managed effectively.

Ready for Take-off? Military Responses to Climate Change

January 1, 2020 | Louise van Schaik, Dick Zandee, Tobias von Lossow, Brigitte Dekker, Zola van der Maas, and Ahmad Halima
Planetary Security Initiative and Clingendael Institute

The military is only just becoming aware of the scale of the social and environmental impacts that climate change will have in the coming decades.

Climate Change and Security: The Handbook

January 1, 2020 | Stella Schaller, Katarina Schulz, and Beatrice Mosello
Climate Diplomacy and German Federal Foreign Office

A collection of documents analyzing different trends related to climate change and security sponsored by the German government.

COVID-19 and Armed Conflict

January 1, 2020 | Tobias Ide
SSRN Working Paper

This paper studies the impact of COVID-19 on armed conflict. The pandemic has significant health, economic and political effects.

Energy Cooperation in South Asia Utilising Natural Resources for Peace and Sustainable Development

January 1, 2020 | Mirza Sadaqat Huda
Routledge

The eight countries of South Asia are currently at the heart of the debate on the nexus between energy, environment and sustainable development.

Creating Environmental Subjects: Conservation as Counter-Insurgency in Aceh, Indonesia, 1925–1940

January 1, 2020 | Matthew Minarchek
Political Geography

This article examines the creation of Gunung Leuser Wildlife Reserve in the highlands of Aceh, Indonesia within the context of the Dutch-Aceh War in the early twentieth century, arguing that conservation was used…

The Role of Multilateral Environmental Agreements A Reconciliatory Approach to Environmental Protection in Armed Conflict

January 1, 2020 | Britta Sjöstedt
Hart Publishing

The environment suffers enormously during armed conflicts and, despite the increasing awareness of the pressing need to protect the planet, devastating environmental damage can occur legally at times of war.

Landscapes of Violence and Peace: Resource Frontiers, Smallholder Territories, and Other Mobile Sites of Struggle [Video]

January 1, 2019 | Nancy Peluso
Environmental Peacebuilding Association

Nancy Peluso delivered the Sixth Al-Moumin Distinguished Lecture on Environmental Peacebuilding on “Landscapes of Violence and Peace: Resource Frontiers, Smallholder Territories and other Mobile Sites of Struggle.

Jobs

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

Colombia: Country Manager for the South America Regional Initiative for Transnational Conservation Crimes Program

June 1, 2020 | Chemonics

Chemonics International, Inc. is a private international development consulting firm.

Syria: RESTORE WASH Coordinator

June 1, 2020 | GOAL

GOAL is an international emergency and development NGO dedicated to alleviating the suffering of the poorest and most vulnerable.

Guinea: Basic Analysis Study of the Migration, Environment, and Climate Change

June 1, 2020 | International Organization for Migration

The International Organization for Migration is an intergovernmental organization that provides services and advice concerning migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrant workers.

International News

In the last two weeks, 20 international news items on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our website. The following is a sampling:

DRC: Congo Moves to Monopolise about 25 Percent of All Cobalt Exports

January 30, 2020 | William Clowes and Michael J. Kavanagh, Bloomberg

The Democratic Republic of Congo created a state monopoly for hand-mined cobalt as the government tries to exert more market control on the battery material.

Colombia: Pablo Escobar's Hippos Have Become an Invasive Species in Colombia

January 29, 2020 | Alison DeNisco Rayome, CNET

In the early 1980s, infamous drug lord Pablo Escobar created a family zoo full of exotic animals in Colombia, including rhinos, giraffes, zebras and hippos.

'Join Foces in Defense of Life, Territory and our Womanhood!' Statement Signed by Indigenous Women of the World, Present at COP 25

January 28, 2020 | United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Afghanistan: ECHO Extends DACAAR’s Emergency Response Mechanism (ERM) Project in Afghanistan

January 28, 2020 | Danish Committee for Aid to Afghan Refugees

In December 2019 DACAAR received an extension from the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) for Emergency Respond Mechanism (ERM).

Sudan/South Sudan/Abyei: UN Urges Calm after Deadly Attack in Disputed Abyei Border Area Between Sudan and South Sudan

January 25, 2020 | Lisa Schlein, Voice of America

The United Nations is condemning the deadly attack on a village in the disputed oil-rich area of Abyei between Sudan and South Sudan Wednesday.

Nigeria: Conflict over Fertile Lands Threatens Nigeria’s Food Security

January 22, 2020 | Andres Schipani, Financial Times

The pastoralist Fulanis have traditionally migrated south during the dry season in search of water and grazing land for their cattle.

Myanmar: Conservation Group Says Mandalay Birds Need Help

January 21, 2020 | Phyo Wai Kyaw, Myanmar Times

A local conservation group will present to the Mandalay Region Forest Department a list of birds that need to be protected.

Liberia: Fisheries Sector Attracts US$40M to Boost Revenue

January 21, 2020 | Joaquin M. Sendolo, Observer

The National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA) and the World Bank are expected to sign a $3. 7 million agreement today, January 21 to improve the fishery sector in the country.

Iraq: BP Pulls out of Iraq's Kirkuk Field as Expansion Plans Stall

January 21, 2020 | Dmitry Zhdannikov and Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters

BP has pulled out of Iraq’s giant Kirkuk oilfield after its $100 million exploration contract expired with no agreement on the field’s expansion, dealing a fresh blow to Iraq’s hopes to increase its…

Blogs & Opinion

In the last two weeks, 8 blogs & opinion pieces on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our website. Here is a sampling:

Colombia’s Environment in the Post-Conflict Transition – New Setbacks by the Global Pandemic

May 31, 2020 | Torsten Krause, Ana Maria Vargas Falla, Britta Sjöstedt, Sandra Valencia, and Fariborz Zelli

In 2016, Colombia officially emerged from one of the world’s longest internal armed conflicts when the government, under former President Juan Manual Santos, signed a peace agreement with the country’s largest and most…

Exploring Environmental Harm from Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas

May 28, 2020 | Roos Boer and Wim Zwijnenburg

In conflicts around the world, the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA) is one of the greatest risks to civilians.

Building Sustainable Peace: Transforming Environmental Peacebuilding in Times of Climate Change

May 27, 2020 | Christie Nicoson and Barbara Magalhaes Teixeira

The Sustainable Development Goals outline a “shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future”.

Afghan Gold Mining: Is Blockchain a Solution for Violence and Volatility?

May 25, 2020 | Manasee Joshi

Centar Ltd, a company that engaged in Afghan gold exploration and mining activities, was the brainchild of the former investment banker and mining trader from JP Morgan, Ian Hannam.

Land and Resource Investment Consultations in the Time of COVID-19: The Hazards of Pressing on

May 24, 2020 | Sam Szoke-Burke

Communities in countries as diverse as the Philippines, Liberia, and Colombia are experiencing increased pressures on their lands and resources.

Exploring Environmental Governance in Eastern Ukraine

May 21, 2020 | Olga Shashkina

What happens to environmental governance in areas where governments lose control during conflicts?

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 Elsa Barron, Andrew Blunt, Rollin Bresson, Alex Caplan, Jordan Dieni, Claire Doyle, Matthew Gallagher, Giovanni Galli, Emma Gillies, Bay Hanson, Desirée De Haven, Liz Hessami, Ellen Johnson, Chiara Maero, Marie Mavrikios, Julia Monsarrat, Lucy Rosen, Rachel Stern, and Sammy Wong
Edited by Joel Young
Coordinated by Sierra Killian and Rachel Stromsta
Design by Graham Campbell
Managed and edited by Carl Bruch and David Jensen