SIDE EVENT
Thursday 2 June
11:30-12:45 CEST
Stockholmsmässan, Room 1
Organizers: Environmental Peacebuilding Association, Environmental Law Institute, Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, PeaceNexus, United Nations Environment Programme, University for Peace, Externado Universidad de Colombia, International Union for Conservation of Nature - Commission on Environmental, Economic, and Social Policy
About: Working at the intersection of peace, conflict, and the environment, “environmental peacebuilding” integrates environmental conservation and economic development to advance sustainable peace in the international system. This field is growing rapidly and promises to assist in implementing Sustainable Development Goals at multiple levels, especially in fragile and conflict-affected situations.
Through a series of presentations from respected experts and young professionals, this session will showcase initiatives in environmental peacebuilding and discuss their relevance to building a healthy, prosperous planet and fostering a sustainable peace. Participants will learn about groundbreaking visioning documents – including a White Paper on the Future of Environmental Peacebuilding and flagship report on Migration, Environmental Change and Conflict – and practical initiatives, including a monitoring and evaluation toolkit, educational tools, mentoring arrangements, a platform for identifying climate and environmental security risks, and an environmental peacebuilding arts repository.
This session will encourage environmental and sustainable development practitioners and policymakers to consider how their work can benefit from environmental peacebuilding approaches and to think proactively about what other tools they may need. Participants will be encouraged to ask questions of the panel, engage in dialogue with fellow audience-members, and share their feedback to shape future environmental peacebuilding initiatives and tools.
Moderator(s): Carl Bruch (Environmental Law Institute/Environmental Peacebuilding Association)
Panelists:
- Elsa Barron (Center for Climate and Security)
- Nancy Boyer (University of Delaware)
- Shehla Chowdhury (Environmental Law Institute)
- Annika Erickson-Pearson (Geneva Peacebuilding Platform)
- Rebecca L. Farnum (Syracuse University, London)
- Hesta Groenewald (PeaceNexus Foundation)
- Elaine Hsiao (IUCN)
- Juan Carlos Sainz-Borgo (University for Peace)
- Helen Obregon Gieseken (International Committee of the Red Cross)
- Ashok Swain (Uppsala University), Erika Weinthal (Duke University)
Contact person: Carl Bruch (bruch_at_eli.org)
Event outcomes (Key transformative actions):
- Environmental organizations and funders should identify risks and opportunities presented by conflict, peace, and peacebuilding to the achievement of sustainable development within 3 years.
- Sustainable development organizations and funders should utilize environmental peacebuilding toolkits, educational materials, and other resources to integrate conflict sensitivity into their policies and interventions within 5 years.
- The environmental peacebuilding community should create tools and other resources that support sustainable development organizations including open access databases, implementation toolkits, case studies, and conflict sensitivity trainings within 3 years.