Issue #182 – Dec 29, 2020

Announcements

Final Call for Abstracts for Presentations at Conference on “Environmental Governance for Peace in Colombia” (Deadline: 2020-12-31)

December 28, 2020 | Environmental Law Institute, Global Green Growth Institute, Environmental Peacebuilding Association, UNDP, Externado de Colombia University, and Duke University’s Center for International and Global Studies and Nicholas School of the Environment

31 December 2020 is the deadline for priority consideration for participation in the Conference or Poster Session.

Write for Conflict Trends

December 27, 2020 | African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes

The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD) is presently soliciting contributions for the first 2021 Issue of Conflict Trends (CT 2021, Issue 1).

Gift Idea … Sponsor Members in the Association!

December 15, 2020 | Environmental Peacebuilding Association

Are you looking for the perfect gift for the holidays? Consider sponsoring a new Member of the Environmental Peacebuilding Association (EnPAx)!

Events

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

Care for Creation as a Common Denominator: Interfaith Approaches to Environmental Peacebuilding (A Road to Geneva Event)

February 11, 2021 Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies & Ansari Institute for Global Engagement with Religion (both at the University of Notre Dame); Environmental Peacebuilding Association; and Young Evangelicals for Climate Action
online

This event was recorded and can be viewed here: https://www. youtube. com/watch?

Environmental Degradation, Climate Change, and Mass Violence: Intersections with Gender (A Road to Geneva Event)

February 10, 2021 International Association of Genocide Scholars, Raphaël Lemkin Genocide Prevention Program, and Environmental Peacebuilding Association
online

This event was recorded and can be viewed here: https://www. youtube. com/watch?

Indigenous Perspectives on Conflict and Conservation: Sámi and Ainu Communities (A Road to Geneva Event)

February 8, 2021 Mirali Shukla
online

This event was recorded and can be viewed here: https://youtu.

Indigenous Perspectives on Conflict and Conservation: Māori and Ni'Van Communities (A Road to Geneva Event)

February 7, 2021 Mirali Shukla
online

This event was recorded and can be viewed here: https://youtu.

Environmental Degradation, Climate Change, and Mass Violence: Ecocide and Law (A Road to Geneva Event)

January 26, 2021 International Association of Genocide Scholars, Raphaël Lemkin Genocide Prevention Program, and Environmental Peacebuilding Association
online

This event was recorded and can be viewed here: https://www. youtube. com/watch?

Environmental Degradation, Climate Change, and Mass Violence: Intersections with Indigenous Issues (A Road to Geneva Event)

January 14, 2021 International Association of Genocide Scholars, Raphaël Lemkin Genocide Prevention Program, and Environmental Peacebuilding Association
online

This event was recorded and can be viewed here: https://www. youtube. com/watch?

Environmental Peacebuilding - The Year in Review and the Year Ahead

January 13, 2021 Environmental Peacebuilding Association
online

The Environmental Peacebuilding Association will host its third year-in-review seminar on “Environmental Peacebuilding: The Year in Review and the Year Ahead.

Library

In the last two weeks, 19 new publications were added to our online library of materials on environmental peacebuilding. Here is a sampling of the new additions:

Armed Conflict, Militarization and Ecological Footprint: Empirical Evidence from South Asia

January 1, 2021 | Unbreen Qayyum, Sohail Anjum, and Samina Sabirc
Journal of Cleaner Production

Environmental degradation as a consequence of military activities largely remains a neglected subject, especially in South Asia.

Peace-building or Structural Violence? Deconstructing the Aftermath of Nigeria/Cameroon Boundary Demarcation

January 1, 2020 | Ndubuisi N. Nwokolo
African Security Review

There is a great conviction that the International Court of Justice’s ruling in 2002 on the Bakassi boundary dispute between Nigeria and Cameroon, and Nigeria’s decision to obey the ruling may have stopped…

International Law, the Paradox of Plenty and the Making of Resource-Driven Conflict

January 1, 2020 | Eliana Cusato
Leiden Journal of International Law

Access to and distribution of natural resources have been since immemorable time at the root of violent conflict.

Program for Regional Conflict Prevention when Using Natural Resources

January 1, 2020 | Irina Yurevna Novoselova, Andrey Alekseevich Avramenko, and Ruslan Allahverdi Ogly Aliev
Èkonomika Regiona

The extraction of natural resources in the mining regions causes environmental pollution, changes the landscape, and reduces biodiversity, and leads to conflicts between the local population and the mining enterprises.

Reflections on the Legality of Attacks Against the Natural Environment by Way of Reprisals

January 1, 2020 | Stavros Pantazopoulos
Goettingen Journal of International Law

The paper examines the concept of belligerent reprisals and assesses the legality of attacking the environment by way of reprisals.

Can International Law Protect the Environment in Armed Conflict? [Video]

January 1, 2020
International Institute for Strategic Studies

Dr Cordula Droege, Jonathan Somer, Stavros-Evdokimos Pantazopoulos and Dr Eleanor Beevor discuss how international law might be able to protect the environment in the increasingly complicated landscape of armed conflict.

Violent Natural Resource Conflicts: From Definitions to Prevention

January 1, 2020 | Marie K. Schellens
Stockholm University

General scientific consensus is growing that natural resources play an important role in violent conflicts. Both scarcity and abundance contribute to violent conflict, depending on the socio-economic and political conditions at play.

How to Sow Peace? A Value Chain Approach for Environmental Peacebuilding in Sierra de la Macarena National Park, Colombia

January 1, 2020 | Kathrin S. Hegger
Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies

Ecological rehabilitation projects - as a form of reforestation interventions - are increasing worldwide and present an opportunity for climate change mitigation and supporting local livelihoods.

From Conflict to Cooperation: The Trajectories of Large Scale Land Investments on Land Conflict Reversal in Ghana

January 1, 2020 | Mohammed Abubakari, Kwaku Owusu Twum, and Gertrude Amissah Asokwah
Land Use Policy

There have been studies on land-conflict and its implications through large scale land investments in Ghana and beyond.

COVID-19 and Armed Conflict

January 1, 2020 | Tobias Ide
World Development

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

First Comes the River, Then Comes the Conflict? A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Flood-Related Political Unrest

January 1, 2020 | Tobias Ide, Anders Kristensen, and Henrikas Bartusevicius
Journal of Peace Research

Disasters triggered by natural hazards will increase in the future due to climate change, population growth, and more valuable assets located in vulnerable areas.

The New EU Peace Mediation Strategy: A Step in the Right Direction on Climate Issues

January 1, 2020 | Florian Krampe and Elise Remling
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

With two new documents, the European Union (EU) has officially recognized the relevance of climate change to peace mediation.

Jobs

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

Deputy FAO Representative, FAO Afghanistan

December 28, 2020 | Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN

The main aim of the FAO country offices, which are headed by an FAO Representative (FAOR), is to assist governments to develop policies, programmes and projects to achieve food security and to reduce…

Climate Change and EU Green Deal Expert

December 28, 2020 | Center for Operational Analysis and Research

COAR is an independent social enterprise that directly supports practitioners, policy-makers, and donors by facilitating humanitarian and development interventions in complex, fragile, and high-risk environments.

DRC: Senior Program Officer

December 28, 2020 | Natural Resource Governance Institute

The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) is a non-profit policy institute and grant-making organization that promotes the responsible management of oil, gas and mineral resources for the benefit of all.

Myanmar: Landscape Conservation Manager

December 28, 2020 | World Wide Fund for Nature

WWF Myanmar was established in 2013 and is working to conserve the country’s biodiversity and build a secure and sustainable future for people and wildlife.

Climate Advisor Middle East

December 28, 2020 | Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre

The Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre is the expertise centre of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent in the field of climate change and climate disasters.

DRC: Consultancy, Mining and Hydrocarbon Peer Reviewer

December 28, 2020 | Natural Resource Governance Institute

The Natural Resource Governance Institute is an independent nonprofit organisation dedicated to improving countries' governance over their natural resources to promote sustainable and inclusive development.

DRC: Law Enforcement Advisor - Okapi Wildlife Reserve

December 28, 2020 | Wildlife Conservation Society

The Wildlife Conservation Society is a non-governmental organization headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, that aims to conserve the world's largest wild places in 14 priority regions.

Research Assistant, Climate Change and Risk Programme

December 23, 2020 | Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is seeking a talented Research Assistant for the Climate Change and Risk (CCR) Programme who will support high-quality research on climate-related security risks and policy actors’…

International News

In the last two weeks, 15 international news items on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our website. The following is a sampling:

Burkina Faso: Conflict and Coronavirus Spark a Hunger Crisis in Burkina Faso

August 19, 2020 | Sam Mednick, New Humanitarian

The number of people in need of emergency food aid in Burkina Faso has tripled to more than 3.

Sudan: Flooding, Heavy Rainfall Leave over 60 Dead

August 18, 2020 | Environment & Energy News

Flash floods have ravaged swaths of Sudan for weeks, leaving at least 60 people dead and destroying thousands of homes since late July, authorities and the U. N. humanitarian agency said Sunday.

Nigeria: Herders/Farmers Conflict: Gombe to Establish Cattle Grazing Reserves

August 16, 2020 | Chima Azubuike, Punch

The Gombe State Government has said the state was in the process of establishing cattle grazing reserves to resolve the perennial herders-farmers conflict in the state.

Iraq/Kurdistan: Iraq Agrees to Pay Kurdistan Region Share of Federal Budget

August 16, 2020 | Mina Aldroubi, National

Iraq has agreed to resume monthly payments from its federal budget to the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil.

Afghanistan: Afghan Province Grows Bananas to Replace Opium Poppies

August 14, 2020 | Mohammad Ilyas Dayee and Abubakar Siddique, Gandhara

Officials in Helmand say they hope to add bananas to alternative cash crops such as saffron and aloe vera to help the region’s farmers move away from planting poppies.

Conflict Minerals: Searching for Blood Diamonds

August 13, 2020 | John Jeffay, IDEX

Search for blood diamonds on Google and you'll find plenty of entries. But try finding the real thing, also known as conflict diamonds, in a jewelry store today and you'll struggle.

Students Study Conflict and Collaboration at Bears Ears

August 12, 2020 | Emma Venarde, Columbia University

This summer Josh Fisher, the director of Columbia University’s Advanced Consortium on Cooperation, Conflict, and Complexity, has been teaching a summer course at the Columbia School of Professional Studies called Clinic on Conflict…

Nigeria: Nigeria Developing Plan to Address Effects of Climate Change - Minister

August 12, 2020 | Alfred Olufemi, Premium Times

The Nigerian government is developing a gender-based plan that aims to address the vulnerability of Nigerian women to climate change, the Minister of Environment, Mohammad Mahmood, has said.

Blogs & Opinion

In the last two weeks, 2 blogs & opinion pieces on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our website.

Terror in a Renewed Era of Interstate Conflict — Bringing Climate Change Center Stage

December 28, 2020 | Mohammed Sinan Siyech

The year 2020 has been marked by COVID-19, a pandemic that took over the world and complicated the security landscape in various nations of South Asia.

Climate Change in the US Arctic: A Growing Concern for Homeland Defense?

December 21, 2020 | Agata Lavorio

Is climate change shaping U. S. Arctic posture? For much of its modern history, the U. S. has been considered a reluctant Arctic state, given its limited interest in the High North.

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 Rosabella Bojin, Amber Bosse, Elen Bueno, Alex Caplan, Claire Doyle, Bay Hanson, Desirée De Haven, Liz Hessami, Ellen Johnson, Avak Kahramanian, Andrew Light, Marie Mavrikios, Charly McConaghy, Anna Rossi, Rachel Stern, and Rachel Stromsta
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Coordinated by Shehla Chowdhury and Jordan Dieni
Design by Graham Campbell
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