New paper highlights the co-benefits of coordinating climate action and peacebuilding
This article was originally published on alliancebioversityciat.org.
Access the full paper here.
Climate change can manifest in different ways: stronger tropical droughts, extreme droughts, warmer climates and highly unpredictable rainfall patterns. All these endanger the availability of food, which in turn could increase conflict over resources, which can turn violent in the absence of spaces for dialogues and negotiations to transform conflict by peaceful means. Violent conflict affects livelihoods and diminishes the capabilities of societies to cope with climate change.
What the above depicts is a vicious cycle that often occurs in fragile and conflict-affected settings. How can we turn this cycle around?
Climate action can deliver co-benefits for peacebuilding when there’s coordination between sectors.
The authors argued for the need for the peacebuilding and environmental sectors to collaborate based on the understanding of the relationships and overlaps between what causes violent conflict and its relationship with climate change, environmental degradation and social vulnerabilities. The recommendation follows an approach that draws on systems and co-benefits theories, both of which considers the interconnected factors that lead to certain issues and thus would require solutions that lie at the nexus of these different factors.
