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The Peace Piece: "Pieces of Peace: Formal and Informal Pathways in Resilient Environmental Cooperation in Conflict Contexts"

30 November 2023
Online

What is the role of politics in environmental peacebuilding? The frameworks and mechanisms of governance that underpin environmental cooperation in conflict contexts should address the politics as well as technical issues, Yet, a number of apolitical interventions, such as primarily technical coordination over shared natural resources in conflict settings, have been advanced toward peacebuilding aims only to fall short.

Environmental factors alone are rarely the cause of conflicts. Related factors such as food  shortage, lack of access to water and loss of livelihoods connected to environmental  degradation, however, often emerge as conflict drivers. The interplay and relationship  between politics, law and technical issues on environmental cooperation is as relevant  between states as it is at the local level or in intersections with non-state actors. This  interplay is important to understand to be able to find solutions to adaptation and  mitigation of climate change in conflict affected areas. 



The frameworks and mechanisms of governance that underpin environmental  cooperation in conflict contexts should address the politics as well as technical issues.  Yet, a number of apolitical interventions, such as primarily technical coordination over  shared natural resources in conflict settings, have been advanced toward peacebuilding  aims only to fall short.  



The webinar draws on different examples of formal and informal instruments that underpin  environmental cooperation in conflict contexts toward resilient peacebuilding. From  formal treaties to informal principles and diplomatic norms, this webinar emphasizes the  importance of advancing multistakeholder and multi-level engagement in ensuring that  environmental peacebuilding initiatives hold space for resilient political and technical  representation and advancement in conflict contexts. 



This webinar is an installment in the series, The Peace Piece: Primers for Peace at COP28, an online briefing series designed to inform policymakers, researchers, and practitioners about opportunities for peace at COP28. To learn more and view the full series, please visit: https://www.ecosystemforpeace.org/cop28.

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This description was excerpted from environmentalpeacebuilding.org