Peacebuilding is both the theory and practice of identifying the conditions that can lead to a sustainable peace between past, current or potential future adversaries.
As envisioned by key thinkers such as Galtung or Lederach, peacebuilding refers to a comprehensive and long-term transformation of a conflict situation towards negative and eventually positive forms of peace.
[5] Beginning with Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali promoting An Agenda for Peace in 1992,[6] the United Nations adopted the language of post-conflict peacebuilding and developed programs based on it.
Actors such as international donors, governments or the civil society might work on their own or engage with other stakeholders to resolve environmental and resource management issues that give rise or have the potential to create conflict.
Building on Ken Conca's early work[19] the study suggests three potential mechanisms "through which improved natural resource governance in post-conflict contexts is theorized to have positive effects on peace: (a) the contact hypothesis, whereby the facilitation of intergroup cooperation reduces bias and prejudice; (b) the diffusion of transnational norms, where the introduction of environmental and other good governance norms supports human empowerment and strengthens civil society; and (c) state service provision, where the provision of access to public services addresses the instrumental needs of communities, thereby strengthening their belief in the state.
"[20] In their award-winning article,[21] McKenzie F Johnson, Luz A Rodríguez and Manuela Quijano Hoyos distinguish between five key mechanisms through which environmental peacebuilding can work: (1) improving economic development and the livelihoods of people (particularly in politically fragile areas), (2) establishing or strengthening resource management institutions that exert inclusive and transparent governance, (3) building trust and cooperation between (former, current or potential) conflict parties, (4) maintaining a sustainable environment (particularly for resource-dependent groups), and (5) enhancing knowledge, including on environmental conservation and conflict management.
Subsequently, working with Israeli and Palestinian experts, IPCRI undertook a study of the management of the trans-boundary Nahal Alexander / Wadi Zomer basin.
EcoPeace Middle East was founded in 1994 as a meeting place for Palestinian, Egyptian, Jordanian and Israeli environmental NGOs and became an affiliate of Friends of the Earth in 1998.
[28] Some external research on EcoPeace and the Good Water Neighbors have claimed that they provide small but positive contributions to peacebuilding and environmental protection in the Middle East,[29][30] in contrast to more critical and skeptical assessments that highlight their limited on-the-ground impacts.
In order to do so, it brings together Israelis, Jordanians and Palestinians, hence also facilitating trans-boundary exchange and cooperation, for instance to put up nesting boxes for barn owls.
[34] Assessments of these projects often highlight several negative aspects, such as the dominance of South Africa, the exclusion of local populations vis-a-vis state and business interests, and a low impact on peaceful international relations.
[36] There are also bottom-up dynamics of environmental cooperation amidst conflict between pastoralists and farmers in several African countries, including Ghana[37] and Kenya.
[38] In Europe, environmental peacebuilding has taken place in, for example, Cyprus[39] and the Kosovo,[40] focusing on managing shared water resources across political boundaries.
Latin America has also seen some environmental peacebuilding projects take root, including the establishment of a conservation area and demilitarized zone in the Cordillera del Cóndor which supported Ecuador and Peru in resolving their long-standing conflict in 1998.
[2] Environmental cooperation in the context of the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD) and in the Trifinio region had reportedly contributed to the termination of hostilities between El Salvador and Honduras in the early 1990s as well.
[50][31][51] For example, peace parks in southern Africa as well as large-scale hydropower cooperation can result in displacements of local populations and the occurrence of conflicts.
[57] The Association produces a bi-weekly update (or newsletter) that contains information about publications, events, positions and developments relevant to environmental peacebuilding.
Key academics and researchers in the field of environmental peacebuilding include (in alphabetical order) Saleem Ali, Ken Conca, Geoffrey D. Dabelko, Tobias Ide, Florian Krampe, McKenzie F. Johnson and Erika Weinthal.