Lessons from Environmental Peacebuilding Programming

Abstract

This rapid literature review collates lessons from conflict resolution/peacebuilding programmes that include land, resource management, and/or environmental issues. Environmental peacebuilding includes a wide range of environmental and natural resource activities, e.g. including activities in the areas of: climate change mitigation and preparation; agriculture and farming; natural resource exploitation; access, use and ownership of land; rewilding; and nature conservation; etc. This query draws on a range of examples from these areas, and from different countries, and provides lessons for the key issues most mentioned in that literature. There is a large and disparate literature base that could be considered to provide lessons on the broad remit of environmental peacebuilding. This is partly due to the broad spectrum of issues that the environment can be considered to cover (as above). The literature which provides high-level lessons on this is mainly produced by practitioners (especially the UN agencies), and there are a number of academic articles that provide micro-level case studies. While there is a lot of literature providing overall principles, guidance, and lessons, there is less literature that specifically evaluates programmes in this area. This literature has increased significantly in recent years as the environment has moved up as a political priority for many donors