Issue #318 – Mar 17, 2026

Announcements

Request for Proposals to Host the Sixth International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding

March 17, 2026
Environmental Peacebuilding Association

The Board of Directors of the Environmental Peacemaking Association® (EnPAx®) invites proposals to host the Sixth International Conferences on Environmental Peacebuilding in 2030.

Draft Agenda for the Fourth International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding (NOW AVAILABLE)

March 2, 2026 | Environmental Peacebuilding Association and the University of Ottawa

The draft agenda for the Fourth International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding is now available for review here!

Call for Expertise: EnPAx Gender Interest Group Interested in Behavioural Science Expertise for Collaboration

February 17, 2026 | EnPAx Gender Interest Group
Environmental Peacebuilding Association

We're seeking GIG members with expertise in behavioral science approaches—particularly using behavioral interventions—within environmental peacebuilding contexts to contribute to a workshop we're developing for the 2026 EnPAx conference.

Events

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

Fourth International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding

June 16, 2026 - 2026-06-19 Environmental Peacebuilding Association and University of Ottawa
Ottawa, Canada and online

The Environmental Peacebuilding Association® (EnPAx®) and the University of Ottawa are delighted to announce that the Fourth International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding will be held on June 16-19, 2026.

Adaptive Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning (MEL) Approaches in Complex Environments

June 3, 2026 - 2026-06-05 swisspeace and University of Basel
Basel, Switzerland

There's a rising demand for more adaptive methodologies as traditional monitoring and evaluation (M&E) approaches struggle to answer questions such as: How does our livelihood project strengthen or undermine social cohesion?

Climate Change, Natural Resources & Conflicts

May 20, 2026 - 2026-05-22 swisspeace and University of Basel
Basel, Switzerland

This course explores how climate change and international and national climate policies impact conflicts.

Blue Peace and Security: Building Momentum for Ocean Action in Environmental Peacebuilding (A Path to Ottawa Event)

April 28, 2026 Oceans Futures, World Wildlife Fund
Washington, DC

This event will familiarize the environmental peacebuilding community with WWF's Blue Peace Framework, increase the role of ocean conservation in environmental peacebuilding, and increase awareness of environmental peacebuilding in DC policy and conservation…

IPT Specialization Course on Environmental Peacebuilding

April 24, 2026 - 2026-05-02 Austrian Centre for Peace
Stadtschlaining, Austria

Climate change and environmental degradation affect human security in diverse and intersecting ways and can amplify existing conflicts and humanitarian crises.

Defining Environmental Peacebuilding: Contributions from Colombia & Latin America (A Path to Ottawa Event)

April 14, 2026 Environmental Peacebuilding Association
Bogotá, Colombia and online

This three-hour hybrid event brings together environmental peacebuilding researchers, practitioners, students, and policymakers to engage with the EnPAx Glossary of Environmental Peacebuilding in Spanish — exploring its concepts, applications, and implications through the…

Collaborating for Change: Research and Action on the Environmental Impacts of Conflict in Africa (A Path to Ottawa Event)

March 26, 2026 - 2026-03-27 Armed Conflict and Environment Research Program
online

Although Africa is the continent most affected by armed conflict globally, there remains a significant gap in research examining the environmental consequences of warfare across the region.

Navigating a New Era in International Environmental Diplomacy (A Path to Ottawa Event)

March 26, 2026 Ohio University
Athens, OH

In 2025, the United States started pulling out of prominent environmental treaties and international institutions.

Leaving No One Behind: Climate Action in Contested Spaces (A Path to Ottawa Event)

March 25, 2026 Centre on Armed Groups
online

The event will present the findings of novel research the Centre on Armed Groups is undertaking on the environmental governance practices of non-state armed groups, their perceptions of climate risk, and what works…

A Close Look at the OTP-ICC Policy on Environmental Damage (A Path to Ottawa Event)

March 24, 2026 EnPAx Transitional Justice Interest Group
online

Environmental damage in conflict and post conflict societies, and its subsequent impacts on both ecosystems and the peoples’ human rights, has increasingly become a point of concern for practitioners from diverse fields.

Water, Conflict and Governance in Fragile Contexts: Insights from Yemen and Iraq

March 24, 2026 Berghof Foundation
online

The ongoing war in the Middle East highlights how water infrastructure functions as a significant pressure point in times of crisis. Attacks on desalination plants can leave large populations without drinking water.

Sulh for the Soil: Integrating Islamic Peacemaking and Environmental Justice in Family Dispute Resolution (A Path to Ottawa Event)

March 23, 2026 Sulha Solutions
online

How can culturally grounded conciliation resolve land disputes that have lasted not just decades—but generations?

Focus Group: Urban Environmental Peacebuilding (A Path to Ottawa Event)

March 18, 2026 EnPAx Urban Interest Group
online

This event consists of two parts: a presentation of a review study on urban environmental peacebuilding and a focus group conversation.

Library

In the last two weeks, 8 new publications were added to our online library of materials on environmental peacebuilding.

Climate, Peace, and Security Consultation in Yemen – Results Report 2026

March 17, 2026 | Elias Kharma, Laura Geres, Albert Martinez, Suaad Al-Salahi, and Hashim Al-Omeisy
European Institute of Peace

This report presents the results of an extensive consultation that reached out to over 3,600 people in Yemen as part of the project Environmental Pathways for Reconciliation in Yemen, which aims to support…

The Iran War’s Hidden Front: Food, Water, and Fertilizer

March 17, 2026 | Michael Werz
Council on Foreign Relations

The consequences of the Iran conflict, which are already being felt in the region, will reverberate globally as an exacerbated food crisis swells.

Briefing on Energy, Critical Minerals, and Security

March 17, 2026
Security Council Report

This briefing aims to explore the link between energy dominance and competition for natural resources, such as critical minerals, and its implications for the maintenance of international peace and security.

Drylands as Frontlines of Adaptation: A Shift Away from the Climate-Conflict Narrative

March 17, 2026 | Lina Eklund
Cambridge University Press

Drylands account for a disproportionate share of the world’s armed conflicts, a pattern frequently interpreted through the lens of resource scarcity – where climate change and water stress are seen as primary drivers…

Operation Epic Fury: Emerging Environmental Harm and Risks in Iran and the Region

March 17, 2026
Conflict and Environment Observatory

An updated overview of emerging environmental issues and perspectives arising from Operation Epic Fury in Iran, Israel, and the Gulf States.

Peace Infrastructures: How UN Peace Operations Build Roads, Bridges, and Solar Farms in the Pursuit of Sustainability

March 17, 2026 | Silvia Danielak
MIT Press

The first comprehensive account of infrastructure building in United Nations peace operations.

War at Sea and the Environment

March 17, 2026 | Camille Maisonneuve and Wim Zwijnenburg
PAX

While attention to the environmental dimensions of armed conflicts has been growing, much of the analysis focuses on land warfare – examining air, soil and freshwater pollution, acute exposure to hazardous substances, biodiversity…

Nature Crimes: The Convergence of Criminal Ecomonomies in the Mekong Region

March 17, 2026 | Kevin M. Woods
Forest Trends

The Mekong Region—particularly the tri-border “Golden Triangle” of Myanmar, Laos and Thailand—has become a hub where environmental exploitation and criminal activity converge, collectively generating billions of dollars annually for transnational enterprises.

International News

In the last two weeks, 35 international news items on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our website. The following is a sampling:

Ukraine: Food Waste Reforms Could Boost Food Security in Ukraine

March 16, 2026
University of Portsmouth

Improving how food waste is managed in Ukraine’s retail and hospitality sectors could help strengthen food security, according to new study published this week.

Sudan: Sudan’s Gold: A Wartime Refuge or a Smuggler’s Paradise?

March 15, 2026
Sudan Tribune

As missiles arc across the Middle East and global oil markets tremble, a quiet frenzy has taken hold of the dusty gold markets of Khartoum.

Iran: Toxic Skies and Scarce Water: How the Iran Conflict Threatens the Middle East Environment

March 14, 2026 | Mohammad Ehsan Leghari
Friday Times

The US–Israel–Iran conflict has entered its tenth day, birthing a profound and complex environmental crisis alongside regional security threats.

Somalia: Somalia’s Unregulated Gold Mining Creates Continental Governance Crisis

March 14, 2026 | Muflih Hidayat
Discovery Alert

Across the developing world, remote territories rich in valuable minerals frequently operate outside traditional regulatory frameworks, creating what economists term "governance voids.

Iraq/Kurdistan: Erbil Rejects Exporting Oil for Baghdad without Conditional Deal

March 11, 2026
Asharq Al Awsat

Two Kurdish officials ruled out allowing Iraqi oil exports through the Kurdistan Region’s pipeline to Türkiye’s Ceyhan port “without a deal and conditions.

Myanmar: China Quietly Moves Its Border Fences into Myanmar

March 11, 2026 | Athena Awn Naw
Irrawaddy

Since December last year, along Shan State’s border, residents have described the same slow transformation: fences rising deeper into Myanmar territory, fields cut in half, streams reclassified overnight as “on the Chinese side,”…

Kyrgyzstan: Local Solutions to Strengthen Climate Resilience in the Fergana Valley

March 10, 2026
UNDP

Communities in the Fergana Valley are strengthening their capacity to address climate and water-related challenges while building dialogue and cooperation around shared resources.

Water: Water Emerges as a Dangerous New War Target

March 10, 2026
Straits Times

Attacks on water systems are uncommon in wartime, but they have appeared in the war in the Middle East with strikes on desalination plants – critical infrastructure for millions of people in the…

Iran: Bombing of Iran’s Oil Infrastructure to Have Major Environmental Fallout, Experts Warn

March 10, 2026 | Damien Gayle
Guardian

Israel’s bombing of Iran’s oil infrastructure will have major long-term environmental repercussions, experts have warned, as monitors admitted they were struggling to keep track of the environmental disasters arising from the widening war.

Liberia: Broken Land Systems Risk Liberia's Future

March 9, 2026
New Dawn

Land disputes in Liberia have reached alarming levels, threatening not only the nation's social stability but also its economic development prospects.

Venezuela: Venezuela Legislature Approves Mining Law in Initial Vote

March 9, 2026
Reuters

Venezuela's ruling ‌party-controlled National Assembly on Monday approved a mining law expected to open the sector to private and foreign investment, the latest salvo in a package of US-backed changes to the still-sanctioned…

Colombia: Climate Change May Push Colombia’s Cocoa Production Uphill

March 9, 2026 | Andrei Ionescu
Earth.com

Cocoa farming in Colombia may not disappear as the climate changes – but it may move.

Bahrain/Iran: When Water Becomes A Weapon: Desalination Plants Under Attack

March 9, 2026
Fanack Water

Iran’s war with the United States and Israel has now pulled one of the Gulf’s most fragile lifelines into the firing line: desalination plants that turn seawater into drinking water.

Iran: Iran Oil Facilities Hit for First Time as War with US-Israel Enters Day 9

March 8, 2026
Al Jazeera

Thick smoke has filled the sky over Tehran after Israeli air strikes hit Iran’s oil facilities for the first time since the war started, killing at least four people.

Iraq/Kurdistan: Oilfield in Iraq's Kurdistan Halts Production Following Attack

March 6, 2026
Xinhua

The ministry of natural resources of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region said Friday that a "terrorist attack" on an oil field in the region's Duhok province has led to the suspension of its production.

Somalia: Sweden Continues Support for Somalia's State-Building and Climate Resilience

March 4, 2026
Facility for Talo and Leadership

Sweden will firmly maintain its strategic focus on state-building, economic development, and resilience in Somalia, according to the Ambassador of Sweden to Somalia, Hans Henric Lundquist.

Blogs & Opinion

In the last two weeks, 11 blogs & opinion pieces on environmental peacebuilding were posted on our website. Here is a sampling:

In Context: Erika Weinthal and Jeannie Sowers on the Middle East Conflict’s Impacts on Civilian Infrastructure

March 11, 2026 | Stimson Center

Recent attacks on critical infrastructure in Iran and the Persian Gulf mark a troubling escalation in the widening regional conflict.

What International Law Says about the Israeli Strikes on Iranian Oil Facilities

March 9, 2026 | Saeed Bagheri

Israeli strikes targeted oil facilities near the Iranian capital of Tehran over the weekend.

Black Rain: The Health and Environmental Risks from Tehran’s Oil Fires

March 9, 2026 | Conflict and Environment Observatory

Overnight on the 7-8th of March, the Israeli-US war against Iran saw a significant escalation as Israel targeted Iran’s oil infrastructure.

Climate, Conflict and Synthetic Fertilisers Are Sowing the Seeds of Instability

March 9, 2026 | Tom Nickson

As the latest rupture in an increasingly unstable geopolitical landscape, military strikes on Iran by the USA and Israel will likely increase pressure on the world’s ability to feed itself – and it…

Middle East Conflict Carries Significant Environmental and Ecological Consequences for Small States Such as Ours

March 6, 2026 | Stabroek News

Escalating tensions involving the United States of America, Israel, and Iran may seem geographically distant from Guyana.

The Climate Briefing: The Future of Climate Diplomacy 4: Laurence Tubiana

March 5, 2026 | Chris Aylett and Laurence Tubiana

What are the most important changes the Paris Agreement has brought about? How should the COP process evolve? And why does geoengineering need to be approached with caution?

As the Gulf Conflict Widens, So Does Its Environmental Footprint

March 4, 2026 | Daniel Cressey

On 28 February, the latest escalation between the US, Israel and Iran moved from threats to open strikes, plunging the Gulf region into crisis.

Join the Association

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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.

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